Thursday 22 May 2014

Jokes aside

Sometimes our diversity is sad.  But I am not going to blame it on apartheid. When I saw the EFF MPs sworn in, dressed like maids and mineworkers, it pierced my heart. It was a weird feeling. I was with people who thought it is a fashion statement. It was a joke for some on twitter. I am quite sure there are some uttering racist remarks. To those who lived in the apartheid era like FW de Klerk, it must have been difficult to digest. 
Well it did not give me the complete sense of pride I wanted to have because of Julius Malema. For me, he is the wrong man with the right message. An important message. Nevertheless a point was made. The intentions are admirable and really hope they don't lose this identity to remind struggle heroes sitting on the oppsite side of the National Assembly why they are in Parliament. Their sudden middle class view of this country should vanish before they are exposed completely by the 25 MPs of the EFF. 
I am hopeful that the EFF is not using history to manipulate us, just like we are regularly manipulated by people who say they took us out of the unjust days of apartheid. 
Some of us were raised by mothers who were maids and fathers who were gardeners. We were raised by mothers who were not allowed to use the same toilets as their employers. Part of their job was to lose their dignity for as long as they are servants in the house of the Madam and Baas. Some of our mothers carried children fathered by the Baas while the Madam was away. 
It is sad to see the ANC Youth League that Nelson Mandela once led is now occupied by a different breed. Children of stalwarts who are empty cans on social media, detached from the people who actually propel the ANC to power. Far more educated than the people who put food on their table. Ironically those people don't even have enough to eat themselves. 
They are a blessing in disguise though, because this will only make the likes of Julius Malema even more radical amd say all the things that no one will dare say against what was once the congress of the people. The detachment of the ANC from the people, males space for EFF. 
I don't want to end this note without touching on the Democratic Alliance's stunt in a bid to block President Jacob Zuma's election. Their protest against the election was two-pronged. While it showed dissatisfaction with the Zuma administration, it also undermined the Chief Justice, the IEC and all of us who read and understood the Constitution. But my believe is that, history will give an acurate label to what the DA actually represents and stands for. I am not in a good position to say at this time. 
We are divided in our diversity and Mandela's mission was not accomplished. Sadly there is no one to continue.