Blue Bulls prop Bees Roux, charged with beating Tshwane Metro Police officer Johannes Mogale to death last week, was granted bail of R100 000 in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Monday. Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said on Monday his team "supports Bees Roux 100 percent" . At a press confer...
Apathy. This is a word associated with a ‘don’t-care’ outlook, an attitude of simply not caring about what is happening around one, disinterest, disengagement (or an apparent ‘checking out’) from society and a refusal to try and change what has gone wrong; sometimes, it’s the ignoring of a problem, burying one’s head in the sand, so to speak.
Picture a world in which every person you knew, regardless of their race, culture, religion, sexual orientation and gender fitted this description. Now, picture a world in which this trend was passed from one generation to the next. Seems bleak, doesn’t it? Tragically, this is exactly what is happening right now, at this very moment …
I am struck particularly by the apathy of young people; however, what’s worse is the apathy invading all generations. It seems that apathetic parents give rise to apathetic children. Today’s youngsters lack focus, motivation, determination and drive. A broad generalisation? Take a look at the calibre of today’s public school education graduates; aside from a handful who excel (despite being subjected to a painfully inept education system and syllabus), the vast majority pass by the skin of their teeth (or not at all).
Today, in general, young people have done the unthinkable; they are taking the freedoms our predecessors fought for and, ultimately, died for, for granted. It becomes glaringly obvious when one looks at most South African schools, from the appalling conditions of the classrooms (defaced desks, broken windows, stripped linoleum, and so forth) to the blatant disrespect for teachers.
I am the elder part of this same generation, yet even I am confounded by this dire and terrible shift. Teenagers of colour who lived during the 1950s and 1960s would have given anything to be afforded the opportunities scoffed at by today’s youth.
We live in exciting times; with enough diligence, the sky’s the limit as to what can be achieved. To echo the words of President Barack Obama, ‘where there’s breath, there’s hope’ – it is up to us as the younger generation to find it within ourselves.
When the age of democracy in South Africa began almost fifteen years ago, people were sceptical … They were scornful, cynical … They scoffed, but here we are, very much still standing. We’ve attained such great heights; this apathy is but a stumbling block to us flying even higher. Can it be defeated? Can we prove our critics wrong, yet again? The power lies with those, who are not even aware that they have it …
Our country stands out as a pinnacle of success and hope against a turbulent backdrop of corruption and violence that is the rest of Africa. As stated in a recent column by Mac Maharaj in the Sunday Times (dated June 7th, 2009) , “ [o]ur transition from white minority rule to democracy in 1994 has been hailed as the most successful power-sharing deal in Africa”. This alone, surely, has garnered us respect on a world-stage, and with regard to our African peers. With respect comes power, power to evoke change, to speak and be listened to …
South Africa has taken a stronger stance on Myanmar, asserting that Myanmar must make noticeable changes to the way in which the country is governed, with regard to their lack of basic freedoms, quashing and muzzling of political opponents and their blatant disregard of human rights.
I have a simple question: is the sudden change in attitude displayed by the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, with regard to Myanmar, promising and should we expect more interventions of this nature from them or is this step, this crawl, that they have taken merely a prelude to an imminent fall?
In my opinion, these baby-steps are too little, far too late. Why couldn’t we have made a stand like this earlier when the opportunity presented itself right on our collective doorstep? As a result of former President Thabo Mbeki’s policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’, we have blood on our hands – the blood of a nation. South Africa not only had the means, but the power, to intervene in Zimbabwe, before things spiralled so appallingly out of control – where was this apparent show of empathy and compassion when white farmers were forcibly evicted from land they had called home for generations? Where was this concern when Mugabe’s ZANU-PF attempted to kill off supporters of the opposition by threatening them with violence, imprisonment and even starvation?
The current situation in Zimbabwe, the power-sharing between the MDC and the ZANU-PF is tumultuous and rocky, to say the least – this is not necessarily because the system of power-sharing is completely flawed (for example, South Africa has blossomed in its wake). Indeed, power-sharing has become somewhat of a “knee-jerk solution” (as echoed by Mac Maharaj, in the same article); the reason for this can be attributed to the fact that it looks so good on paper – the former ruling party does not get shut out, while the voice of the opposition can also be heard. However, a system like this one, is like a knife; when given to a surgeon or murderer, each will use it differently (as we have seen countless times in the past).
Coming back, is what South Africa has done enough of a step in the right direction? Indeed, can what our Department of International Relations and Co-operation has done even be classified as a step? Aung San Suu Kyi has been muzzled for almost two decades in Myanmar; is this recent development even a stagger?
The recent spate of striking has left most people, especially those who require doctors the most, divided on the issue. People understand that doctors work in unhygienic, cramped conditions; work without substantial-enough pay and examine patients without basic equipment (gloves, towels, etc.), and yet they are angry that doctors have been striking for weeks. Is it fair to ask these brave doctors to endanger their lives everyday?
I think we all need a shot of empathy, change in perspective – a proverbial shoe-exchanging. Would these people, who are so critical of our medical staff, be able to work in nurseries (in which the air-conditioning isn’t functioning) for over forty hours, without a break, and without access to a shower? How about examining and treating HIV- and AIDS-infected patients without syringes, surgical masks and gloves?
I think not.
The government has offered a 2 – 26 percent increase, as opposed to the 50 percent requested by the striking medical personnel. This offer is an insult; doctors provide a service that is sorely needed, especially in a country like ours where violence-related injuries are a daily occurrence, and where our HIV-infection rate is scraping the ceiling; no wonder they are seeking greener pastures overseas. It’s sad that we only appreciate their services now that they are not providing them.
Sadly, this sentiment of appreciation and compassion (as I’ve pointed out) is not shared, and is even resisted, by our government. They even had the audacity to fire the people who have refused to go back to work! Talk about adding fuel to the fire, already raging out of control …
It is stark and unfortunate that those who have done nothing wrong, the patients (the elderly, the terminally ill, and so forth especially), have to suffer because of their belligerence.
It is yet to be seen how this will play out: doctors are now caught between what they swore to do when they took the Hippocratic Oath, and putting their own lives in peril – the proverbial battle between Life and Death rages on …
We all thought that the “PdV” acronym stood for Peter de Villiers, South Africans current rugby coach. Since last week-end, PdV has a new significance - Public defender for Villains (on the rugby field). Schalk Burger normally a magnificent tough but fair rugby player let the South African rugby fans down by his behavior on the field and has made the series victory over the B&I Lions a little hollow but what made it worse was the blind defence from Peter de Villiers over the incident and the way he went about it after the match. While most observers, including Springbok supporters were shocked at the incident, PdV reacted differently - “I don’t believe it was a card at all,” De Villiers said after the Springboks’ series clinching but extremely narrow victory. What would have happened if Schalk had been handed a red card and the Springboks had to play with 14 men for 79 minutes? Would the result have been the same?
Zapiro’s cartoon of the 2nd July 2009 in the Times says it all
For more Zapiro cartoons visit http://www.zapiro.com
People all over the world have been in awe of South Africa’s seemingly seamless transition into democracy, the passing of the baton from the previous government to, the then and current ruling party, the ANC and, most of all, they have been impressed with our Constitution, which has been deemed the most liberal in the world. Indeed, it is a thing of beauty, as was its predecessor, the Freedom Charter.
Every person has a right to life, basic amenities, freedom of choice … To education. Sadly, fifteen years into democracy, cracks are starting to show in the stone on which these beautiful sentiments were carved. The deepest crevices I have seen are, tragically, in the realm of education.
Aside from the mind-numbing format and newly-revised ‘more easily understandable’ syllabus and terminology, I am shocked to the core at how the principles echoed in this document have been perverted and twisted in South African schools. We are all aware that the rights of children are guarded closely in all schools (specifically, because of the ways in which children had been abused at the hands of teachers and fellow students in the past); even now, they are regarded as being vulnerable and often fall victim (South Africa is notorious for its shockingly high levels of violent crimes).
Understood.
Having said this, I often wonder if teachers are afforded the same rights spoken of in our Constitution. Teachers have decades of experience (in terms of educating and, indeed, life itself), but they are rendered almost children themselves.
Children must not be shouted at, belittled or hit because it diminishes their self-esteem and stunts their emotional and psychological growth but a 52-year old educator, with 30 years of experience can be completely ignored (or shouted at) by a class of arrogant 17-year olds. Teachers have been threatened, almost pummelled and sworn at, for merely doing their jobs. How is this being true to the Constitution?
Children must not be thrown out of the classroom if they are making noise and disrupting a lesson; instead, they should be allowed to stay and disturb the handful of learners who are paying attention. What of their rights?
What angers me is not just the apathy displayed by students, but the seeming lack of value and respect given to teachers by everyone. According to Hindu scripture, there is a hierarchy with which one approaches the people in one’s life:
Matha (Mother) Pitha (Father) Guru (Teacher) Deva (God)
As can be seen from this structure, one’s teacher is supposed to come before God. This is an indication of the high regard once held for teachers.
As South Africans, where is our spirit of Ubuntu? The principles of ‘I am, therefore you are’ have been forgotten by this generation. Teachers play a role of tremendous significance in shaping the futures of those whose lives they touch. Unfortunately, their students do the same for them …
The death of Michael Jackson, the King of Plastic and Pop (some may argue that both these areas are not wholly mutually exclusive and, hence, may consider this description of him redundant), as we have seen as consumers of any and all media, has been just as overly publicised as his life.
Why?
Sure, he wrote some perfectly-pitched, sappy, catchy songs with emotively-charged lyrics; he even sold millions of albums the world over. People called him an idol, an icon. But, ultimately, he was just an entertainer – he brought tears to many an eye; he managed to elicit many a smile from his fans but while he was tucking little boys in, sleeping in oxygen chambers and frolicking around with the llamas and chimpanzees at his Never Land ranch, he didn’t do anything that ‘made the world a better place’, as he himself so eloquently put it.
His eccentricities, mind-blowing excesses and apparent self-loathing (a shadowy, somewhat sleazy part of which, I may add, that was hidden from public view) fascinated us all. We all watched as voyeurs, transfixed, to see what ridiculous thing he would do next. His career was as much about his music as it was about his crazy antics.
People who have passed on, people who have made more of an impact (in terms of environmental protection, human rights, free trade, and so on) have fallen through the cracks in the media, nowhere to be found, not even between the lines …
This warrants an examination of our own lives and values; we need to ask ourselves which qualities we consider worthy of admiration in the people we look up to.
To put things in perspective, while most mourn the death of this performer, this one man, spare a thought for the millions dying of AIDS, those who have lost their lives during the Zimbabwe crisis and those fighting and dying in the name of freedom in Darfur and Myanmar. These are the real idols.
Eccentric, controversial to say the least but does anybody really know what made Michael Jackson tick. He had an enormous amount of musical talent, which shot him to the top of pop music world in the 80’s and helped him build a large fortune. Michael Jackson paid several visits to South Africa, even singing Happy Birthday to Madiba. His fans remained loyal to the end. You either loved him or you hated him but there is no doubt especially in the latter part that Michael Jackson’s life was characterised by odd behavior, unusual relationships, extensive plastic surgery, financial debts caused by uncontrolled spending sprees, overuse of prescription drugs and child molestation trials. At the end, was he in control of his life or was he under the influence of those doctors and promoters, who surrounded him?
So who was the real Michael Jackson? - composer, song-writer, singer, choreographer, a really down-to-earth human being, a nice person, courteous, humble, generous, giving, loving, amazing, extraordinary, unique OR a perverted child molester?
Is Zapiro’s cartoon published on the 3rd Match 2005 in the Sowetan unfair to the memory of Michael Jackson or did it reflect the world’s perception at that moment in time?
To see more cartoons visit www.zapiro.com
Bafana Bafana went down 1-0 to Brazil last night as they missed out on reaching the Confederations Cup Final. Very few people gave us any hope in last nights game but credit must go to the boys for putting up such a brave fight. If Captain Aron did not give away that silly freekick on the edge of the box that Brazil subsequently scored from, I believe we could have gone into extra time and then penalties and we could have won.
This Confederations Cup was meant to be Theko’s tournament to shine but he let us down big time. Maybe we put too much pressure on him to perform and it became a bit too much. I hope he can learn from this and he will be ready for 2010. With our lack of goals, I got to think, should we recall Benni McCarthy? We need someone come 2010 who knows how to score.
But all in all, well done Bafana, you did not let us down last night against Brazil. We can build from this experience and be ready for 2010.
Michael Jackson has passed away. We at InTheNews.co.za are saddened by this tragic news and we would like to pass on our condolences to the Jackson family for the loss of arguably the greatest pop entertainer of all time.
Paramedics were called to Jackson’s Beverly Hills home at about midday yesterday (Thursday) after he stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. It is believed that Michael suffered a cardiac arrest. Jackson was due to perform a couple of concerts in the UK from July13.
You either hated or loved Michael Jackson but there is no denying how talented he was. I think anyone who is into music will know who Michael Jackson is, even if you are not a music fan, I am sure you knew about the legend. Who can ever forget classic songs like Bad, Thriller, Lady Diana, the list is endless or the ‘Moon Walk’? Many artists today have tried to come onto the scene and emulate Michael Jackson but they have not come close, that is just how talented the man was.
RIP Michael Jackson, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
