Beware - Danger! Gevaar! Ingozi! Security Beyond local crimes.

In light of feeling a little overwhelmed with the increasing crime that South Africa has been experiencing from its own citizens, I pose a few questions that one needs to think about in relation to South African Security as a whole based on a few events impacting other matters that should be on the danger agenda.

The Gupta Wedding

(Photo: Zalebs Website )

Does the landing of wedding guests on a military airbase imply weak security?

The question as posed by Daily Maverick writers, here is:

"how a flight manifest, which consisted largely of civilian passengers, was allowed the special rights and privileges afforded only to visiting diplomats and states people?"

The average South African, has only seen a plane in the sky, on tv or some other media outlet, how then are they suppose to voice opinions on policies of what special rights belong to whom and why when it comes to planes landing, how is Mam'Sithole in rural KZN or a township like Umlazi suppose to know that this can be seen as a security threat.

She, like many South Africans remains ignorant on such matters that are marginalised by her very real struggles for a house, a job and some food to feed her kids. There it is, priorities, the only security fear she has is whether or not the drug addicted thugs in her area will rob her.

 The DA, in all its official opposition party glory has gone used this as a platform to question the South African President on his association with the Gupta family and raise flags on the weak security South Africa must have in order for such an event to occur. The DA Chief Whip Watty Watson stated:

"The abuse of government resources in this scandal has seriously undermined the integrity and security of the state, and Parliament must do everything within its powers to ensure that all those responsible are held to account,"

"We urge President Zuma to make himself available for this debate so that he can answer for his role in this saga"

The  Boeremag/Boer Force

 (Zapiro )

 

 
 
Does the existence of the Boeremag mean black South Africans should fear the rise of like "forces":

Contact Wiki for a quick summary

It is hardly an ideal to live in a country where 13 out of the 22 people that stood in the Boeremag trial refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Republic, challenging the court's jurisdiction, alleging that the post-apartheid constitution and government of South Africa are illegitimate. What if the plan to kill off the country's majority black population or drive them from South Africa had succeeded or could succeed in future, dying because of race seems an almost impossible fate in the democratic South Africa but what then of Claudia Mokone's death in the Soweto Blasts? (full articles here and here )

The victory in this trial should effectively mean that although racist South Africans against the rainbow nation exist, they seem unlikely to succeed in returning South Africa to an Apartheid like administration, because this administration will stop them in their tracks. So Mam'Sithole can continue fearing only the thugs that may kill her for her pension.
 
Al-Qaeda in South Africa
 

 
 
Are we to fear the implications of possible existence of Al-Qaeda?
 
In a recent article, Potgieter of the Daily Maverick writes an intriguing article on the real threat we may be under, from terrorist organisations existing within South Africa that are seemingly allied with Al-Qaeda.
 
Are we to then to think nothing of such accusations and pin them to conspiracy theories against Muslims or are we to begin fearing that we will be attacked by terrorist on the train from the CBD's back to townships, whilst working in government buildings or during the Comrades Marathon? And should such attacks take place, how far will they go. Am I to assume safety since I live in a township and fear because I attend a public university. I think the source of safety is found in the belief we hold in our Security and the lack of events that are Al-Qaeda-esque in our country. So Mam'Sithole can continue to keep her fear limited to local events.
 
There it is, the questions that we can internalise and decide the extent of fear, walking right over the Danger! Gevaar! Ingozi! Sign.
 

 

A response to "Is Love Colour Blind"

Find original article here

Do 10 black students really represent the thousands of black students that attend the University of Cape Town?

 At any point in time if one wants the view of 10 black students then it is important to look not only at their race but thier year at Varsity, their class, their self-confidence and whether are not they have freed their minds from the hands of the opressor.

In my opinion, that 10 interviewed by Varsity included a former Katlego who has become "Kat", a Xhanti who prefers "X" and a Khethiwe turned "Katy". It is important to know recognise that as one moves further away from thier high school years and shapes into a young man and women that, thier minds are freed by academia, self-belief and a general recognition and embracing of the rainbow nation that paints our social interactions they become increasingly aware of the beauty of blackness, the appreciation of curves and the ability to share sweet moments in ones vanacular language.

 I do not believe that the reality of love exists in the article, Is Love Colour Blind. I have friends in inter-racial, inter-cultural and inter-tribal relationships and they for me hold testament not to wanting to date above your race but of showing that love, for them, is about the person they experience not the one that we see in the world.

The controversy surroundng this article re-iterates the need for us to look deeper within ourselves and to deal with the reality of the inferiority complex that still resides for some within our selves and for others amongst our peers. It is a just reaction to be offended, not just by virture of where in the love chain of attractiveness your own race features, but to probe the reality of plunging inot this issue without considering your own situation.

As stated by Varisty their press release, this was in fact an opinoin peace but it was an opinion full of bias and awareness of one's own situation. the author really should have considered the position of people/students outside of their own social crowd or immediate situation.  Afterall Eve never wrote a song about whether or not love is COLOUR blind, the right lyric I believe is "Love is blind". With that saud I end with a quote from Shakespeare used in one of my favourite movies/books of all time- Jane Austins Sense and Sensibility.

Shakespeare Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved

So what do you do?

So what do you do?

(I'm studying/I'm working)

This type of answer is offered as an incomplete and more people should refrain from this limited answer because you know what follows right?

So what are you studying/where do you work?

This is then followed by either a pre-amble about why you are not where you think you are supposed to be or an epilogue about the realities of the harshness of life.

At this point you are reluctant to ask what the person does because the answer that would make you feel better is unlikely or merely improbable, like

(“I’m a serial killer/a stripper/a loser in general”)

Instead you get the normal answers that are either too vague or will let you be the judge of what is that they are doing, like

 (“I’m working at the foundation for …. /I’m working on a…/I’m interning at….”)

Of course then there are the friends that do not have to go through this tedious process, offering a response to the first, “So what do you do”

("I'm studying Accounts, Law, Medicine, Finance, Engineering OR I'm a lawyer/CA/Doctor/Banker/Engineer")

This list is what decides the confidence levels of the participants in the conversation that follows.

This is the moment where you show that either life has happened to you, is happening to you or you darn happened to life and are still at it. The analogies here are endless. The crux of this is that this is your own version of yourself; it is a crucial point of departure in any conversation, interview or discussion. It is where the world gets a glimpse into the man or woman you are. It separates the Harvey’s from the Louis. The hard facts are there, even though your teacher repeatedly told you to compare yourself against your own achievements or failures, you can't help but wonder about the better position of the person (insert better profession) with whom you are conversing. The biggest and scariest decisions you made are either reflections that you look back on and smile with pride or for some, these decisions are the source of deep seated regret.

The idea of living for the moment differs fundamentally from experiencing the moment. It the former you are a slave for it and you let life happen to you whereas in the latter you are present in your own life. So living each day as if it were the last is only afforded to the guy who desires no more from their tomorrow than what is their today.

The realisations that are afforded by growth are experienced incrementally. In Pre-School for example, the techniques you used to join the dots or colour in the teddy bear seemed no different to your peers. In Primary school you began to notice a separation between those who were more "gifted" academically or those who held prowess on the sports field. This is when the world seemed different and when you did/did not make the first team that you realised playing against yourself was impossible and thus the revision of your teacher’s notion of self-comparison; obliterated and replaced by a (Cinderella vs Snow White/Hercules vs Alladin/Chuck Norris vs No-one in the world ever) comparison. This is the crucial point at which your environment gives impetus to the realisation that "someone is better than you" / “you are better than someone”/”you are Chuck Norris”.

The years spent in high school then become a wave of either proving how much better you are or a general acceptance of your inabilities to be better than someone. The distinct difference in the developments your life are not determined but directed here, it is only the post-high school phase of your life that arranges the answer to that very deterministic question "So what do you do?"

It is here that one realises that they're friends, mates, chomee's, "girl's", buddy's may hold the more/less confident position in a conversation, the "someone who is better than you" or the “someone you are better than” is suddenly the same person who you swapped crayons with in primary school or the one you played with in the same team in high school.

So what? So you go back to the words of your teacher and realise how fortunate you are in your own situation. You compare yourself against your own achievements or failures, this is when you begin to realise that there are significant moments in which your self-pride could not be shaken or taken away regardless of coming third- you had done your absolute best, you look at how far you have come from whatever situation that got you down- the steps you take away from your failures, you realise that the quotes you read are seldom able to manifest themselves as actions in your life but that there are one's that are sober realisations in parts of your life. That no matter how better than someone you are in one part of life, there will always be someone better than you in another.

 This is when you once again realise, that the YOU plays a vital part in your journey and you play an active role in your life by taking hold of your mind, looking at the past as the reason why you are where you are but not the decider of where you are going and using the present as an instrument to get closer to the You that you will be able to love whole heartedly and thus allow you to look at your friends not as the someone’s but as the ones with whom you share your presumptions, pride, pain, potential and perpetual bliss.

From me to You, yes YOUth!

The only reason you are not considering yourself as the agent of change in South Africa is that somewhere, somehow, someone or some situation told you that "you are not" and once You let this statements take over not only your thoughts but your attitudes as well, You create a cycle of a life seemingly moving forward when you are a statue that you are not only are recipient of your fate but a passive participant in your own life.

The ability to analyse your own thoughts and their influence on your daily routine is not a given, but it involves taking deliberate steps to deconstruct your tunnel vision and look outside of your immediate situation; and use that as a backdrop as you embark on a journey to achieve a more conscious you, and ultimately fulfil the aim of this blog, creating a more conscious youth in this place We call home.

There are those amongst the youth who are perpetually engaging in conscious thinking and living but I will be the first to say that it is not a destination with a finish line, it is more a string of moments that allow for self-awareness, self-review and the ability to use our environment not only as a space but as a tool, capturing advantage by not letting things happen to us but actively engaging with opportunities around us to elevate our role in society and seeking ways to allow ourselves to be catalysts in the improvement of the situation of our neighbours.

This past weekend I met a revolutionary young person who shares my belief in the ability of the Youth of South Africa, someone who describes her experiences in growing this belief, as having found the sweet spot in life, where self-interest and  meets altruism.

DIYsquared is a platform that aims to challenge the status quo of the youth’s ability in South Africa through the most powerful tool at our disposal- our minds!

DIYsquared: Dlala Indima Yakho Youth!  Do-It-Yourself_ Play Your Part.

SA Youth- I believe in You!