E-Tolls: We are the wives of the governors. All of us!

The amazing thing about e-Tolls is that even young men from RDP houses in extension 5, Soshnaguve are upset about them. They don't even own cars and their future is bleak because of the lack of economic transformation. So, I suppose this takes a toll on them too. I cracked up laughing listening to some of their criticism of the tolls. The not so funny part though of this whole saga is that there is a clear US and THEM sensed by people at the bottom of the food chain. The people that we rub shoulders with every day. 

My take on this is that we as South Africans are treated like the wives of powerful men who will not listen to us. We are the submissive wives of the governors who come back home, or sometimes don't even come back to see how we are doing. Those of us who are employed generate this economy and keep the wheels turning. We are just like the wives who continue to bear children too scared to ask "what will my children eat". No time to even assess our reproductive health, we just continue to deliver. The unemployed ones are like the older, unattractive wives they married under pressure from family. And you know you can't choose your family. So those without work are a serious inconvenience to the governors. We are like the wives of the governors. We have no say in what goes on in our household. We just make sure everybody eats at the end of the day. 

Probably this might be a horrible analogy. But if you know toxic relationships and have seen how patriarchy has shaped this country you will not find it hard to agree that we are like the wives of the ones who only use us for their own gain. We give more than we receive. Yes, this is an emotional rant because I may be dragged to court forcing me to pay for using the road I use to go to work. 

Today I tweeted to my mentor and good friend Dan Moyane (@danmoyane) that the songs our mothers sang at community meeting in the 80s and late 90s are still relevant even now. Senzeni na? What have we done? The difference now is that even white South Africans might have to learn the words soon, because we are boarding the same boat. Even though some are more disadvantaged than others, we are herded into the same corner. We are the wives of the governors. Pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen. That is the conclusion that e-Tolls brought me to. In Nelson Mandela's name, Amen.