Ballet Dancers Moonlight as Wrestlers

BaldOpinion 12(a)

Managing before the crisis:

Clarie arrived as a pup.  Her temperament is one of friendship – too much, but I learn that to have a good friend I have to be a good friend first. Clarie follows in a line of other dogs, Lampo, Boris, Bess, Foxil the 1st, Capone, Rocky and the more recently expired, Fancy Nancy.

Seven years ago Clarie’s nose was dry. Her tail would not wag. Her look was of sadness.  

’Where’s your ball Clarie?’ 

There was no exuberance.

‘Garbage Disease’ - that is what the Vet said. The puppy had Garbage Disease.

‘If you put rubbish in then you’ll get rubbish out’, so said Mr Williams – alas, I here sanitise the language he usedJ.

Mr Williams wore short sleeved check shirts and a tie that ended with a broad flair, like a bib. He had big forearms, many stories about rugby and; and his four front teeth were missing!  No matter what this teacher said the posture in his tone made one forget to disagree.  This Williams taught English, but did so using another very different language. When I complained to my mother her response was: ‘Concentrate and learn to speak English.’  

When she walked back into the consulting room I overheard her grumble:

‘You children should be grateful; after all you get two for the price of one.’ 

How do you take precaution against assimilating rubbish or; are you partial to the way Peter Block responds when he says “The Answer to How is Yes?”

Part One – of Three 

Here I broadly discuss employment, but much detail is omitted because the intention is to create a foundation for later discussions.  I am to tread on a number of proverbial toes, but my intentions are not malicious.

This is a rewrite for those who may have read my earlier writing, “Change is Permanent”.  The consternation then was almost comparable to “We Demand a Living Wage”!  Maybe this time I’ve caught up and am on the same page, singing off the same sheet as others:

When I was a boy my football friends went to church on a Sunday. I would accompany them. It was difficult to play football alone and to dribble against a dog served only to puncture my foot. No matter whether my football friends were Catholic, Anglican, or members of other Protestant faiths, the constant at the church was always a shrill voiced woman leading the singing – from the front I’ll have you know.  She would sing way ahead of the others. So far that a fellow footballer, after noticing my perplexed look, he leaned over and whispered, ‘That woman is in a hurry. She has a Sunday roast is in the oven and a match to referee this afternoon!’  

These up-tempo descant singing church women with roasts in the oven would bother me for a number of years.  The same bother was about the man in the front whom people referred to as Pastor and Father. He wore different garments in most every church I visited.  In my boy mind I knew that if I attend often enough then someday I shall understand what the front man was saying.

On a certain Sunday the man spoke about children. He spoke about parents who were previously married to other partners and; also about children who were born to parents who were not married to each other. I understood that, but he made it seem that we children were lesser than the others…

Sometimes we apply to be appointed against a job that we feel more than suited for. Receiving the regret letter, a standard letter, is a devastating feeling.  ‘It prepares you for life’ says that mother. If it is preparing me then why is it that I feel lesser when this happens?

Let’s examine the selection and recruitment processes applied in the world of work.  I draw against criteria that do not add to growth within business.

The purpose of recruitment is the identification of people who have ability, potential, passion and an inherent interest to become better at whatever it is they do.

All too frequently people are recruited because they are liked and less because they sport ability, growth potential, passion, talent and insight.  We choose people for appointment against certain positions because they suit our paradigm. We frequently disregard results drawn from achievement tests and; we forget that the position we seek to fill was created by the business, often a very long time ago.

When the Company is compliant with what is described as the minimum requirements in Equity Legislation then seemingly all is in order. Where fines are imposed for non-compliance Companies increasingly opt to pay instead of comply. No different to the ‘wild cat strike’ (where employees withdraw their labour without following the set procedure. In most countries this is a criminal act, and participants are frequently dismissed, but not in South Africa.)

Prior to and during the interview we observe and test for aptitude, gender, creed and many more. Do we test for whether the candidate is the best at doing the job and; whether such person is able to contribute to growth of the business? Surely, we want to build successful businesses and provide sustainable employment? Instead people are employed because they suit our paradigm and allow us to comply with the minimum requirement stipulated in the relevant Equity Act.

Is academic qualification an accurate measuring instrument; more so than experience?    

The concern about personal weakness is over-rated.  Most people only possess between 75% and 85% of the skill mix stipulated in the Company job description.

Jobs that are structured to suit the incumbents’ ability, passion and talents make weakness irrelevant. Jobs created by the Company should be fluid and selection processes should gear toward the appointment of people who can best contribute to building the business.

What if job descriptions are changed to contain only those tasks that the incumbent is good at; what if tasks are reallocated to those who have greater ability where there is deficiency and; what if jobs are more regularly scored in order to determine parity reward?

 'All the ballet dancers in the National Ballet Corps moonlight as wrestlers', so says Suleiman Hendricks, a theatrical lighting operator who is known for using hyperbole.   

Much truth is spoken in jest (Geoffrey Chaucer – 1390).  When the accountant is not a good salesman and; when the salesman is not a good accountant – why are we surprised?

Employees are not assets in the business. Only good employees are assets. Bad employees are a catastrophic liability. Williams would have been more descriptive!

The selection mechanism determines whether persons are attracted and subsequently employed. The selection process prioritises criteria in order to identify the best candidate. Selection panels are dictated to by law to interview and appoint from a pool of people who were, for political and customary reasons, excluded from certain employment bands. 

Why not search for the better talent and grow the business so that it can incubate for the future in a manner that is discriminatory only about ability and effort? The education system in South Africa is failing the people.  People are not being sufficiently prepared for the world of work – all the more reason why development at work is essential.

Experience has to be earned.

Create opportunity to harvest from a yield of proven/identified ability; create attainable aspiration within the business and; encourage the demise of entitlement.

Is it right to prevent ability and potential from having access to opportunity; particularly if opportunity is reserved for those who were wronged in the past and; is often at the expense of the better candidate.    

What can be done to fix the past and; what can be done to grow better future businesses, so that more people can have jobs with which to earn dignity?

To legislate who should be employed is defeatist. The selection mechanism should be defensible against and defined in legislation. Legislation should not be punitive to the appointment of talent and the best candidate. Skin-tone and the past are not going to build future businesses and create jobs - ability, talent, passion and opportunity for the better candidate will. 

It is important to reflect the demographics throughout the tiers of employment bands, but it should not be at the expense of ability and talent.  Selecting employees because they are/were recipients of negative discrimination will further stunt personal growth – ‘Those punch above their weight!’ says Williams

The role of the business includes supporting employees. People need affirmation as a form of and support.

Imagine, Abbe Zimmerman became fed-up with the noise; dropped his newspaper, removed his spectacles and in frustration shouted:

‘… For heaven’s sake, Robert! Put that there guitar away and stop singing that Knock, Knock, Heaven Door, thing, over and bloody over!

When is it enough!

Your voice, it, is monotone and, and irritating! ...’   Williams would have said it better.

However, had Mr Zimmerman consistently said this to Bob then the world would have been denied the incalculable musical influence Bob Dylan continues to exert on popular music?

There are times when judgement is rubbished by reality; … but how can we avoid garbage disease?

Businesses and organisations are the custodians of jobs for all who work.  

We have no choice, but to constantly seek a marriage between judgement and reality. Leadership is the ability to balance circumstance.

Conflict on the other hand, need not be negative.  The employer-employee relationship will always be one of conflict.  Leftover feelings following a bloody / bruising strike are more important than the act of flexing industrial muscle.  Is industrial action necessary; is it the only solution; has its time passed and; what are the alternatives?  My reference here is not limited to employees.

We want leadership to engender positive conflict. People who work want to celebrate their workplaces.  We want to be happy and enjoy the journey of growth without exploitation and disrespect.  

To hanker after, or fain blindness when we fail to facilitate the convergence of judgement with reality is a travesty. No employer or employee can dance alone.

In this context the guarding against paternalism is a puerile argument. We have to do whatever it takes so that people who have the best ability are attracted, identified, appointed and nurtured. Anything lesser shall serve to tamper with the custodial obligation employers have toward the jobs against which those who work are appointed.  Sustainable businesses and perpetual growth shall only occur upon solid defensible foundations and where nurturing for excellence is the left over feeling.  

Business has a responsibility to provide sustainable jobs – hold business leaders accountable. To strive for equity as determined by skin-tone and an unjust past whilst unemployment soars and sustainability of employment decreases is not constructive. Each one has to teach one, but such teaching must vest on a solid, sound and growing platform, failing which teaching shall continue to be a vacuum exercise.

When all is said and done go on, have a listen, enjoy –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2mhdidocTM

I Wonder - about fossil fuels

BaldOpinion 11

10 September 2012

 ‘I wonder how many times you’ve been had…’ says Rodriquez.

Sam wondered too.

Rodriquez was not allowed to be ‘in’ the wireless.

A chronic thumb-sucker was our Sam.  Blonde curly hair, knock knees and the always right thumb in the mouth aptly describes the bare footed child on a farm in the wine producing region of Cape Town, Sam.

Too lazy to speak was this Sammy.  Drew attention because of his different look and the always thumb.

In a squeak-like clip of words and baby-like tones the farm women, speaking in yet another dialect of Afrikaans, would say, whilst ruffling Sam’s hair, ‘Argh, so cute man’ and another would say, ‘…what are you going to be when you grow up my boy?’  Removing his thumb briefly to say ‘happy’….   

The dialect of speech differed from one region to another. People spoke the same core language though, Afrikaans. The many versions of Cape Afrikaans are a colourful cacophony of gripping, expressive and humorous language. For Sam it is the language of his nostalgia.

Farm workers of the Western Cape have over the past three hundred and fifty years developed habits, inadvertent dialects and customs.

Recreation was the wireless/radio.  Football too; across the dirt road on the grass patch, that’s where the children played the beautiful game.  The situate of the makeshift football pitch, there between  arum lily plants on a flat surface before the topography rises up into the Hottentots-Holland mountain range, that’s where the children played the beautiful game. That is where Sammy tuned his rhythm with the round ball – often a plastic bag stuffed with paper; but his incredible knowledge of music, that is derived from loneliness where the radio and a thumb were ample substitute for friends. You cannot miss an experience if you’ve never had it.

Sammy’s mother cooked the family meals on an enamel coated green and cream coloured stove, Dover.  It was a coal burning stove. They used wood instead. Hence, there always was a lingering smoky smell in the white-walled house nestled under that old grass roof, gables protruding on either side - worse was the smell of burnt wood during winter and on windy days, particularly because the worn stable-styled kitchen door remained closed.

The use of a gas cooker was too dangerous, ‘… the gas tank can explode you know!’  There are several instances to fuel this fear.  For quick and cheaper cooking pumping paraffin in the base of the little primus stove and then lighting the wick with methylated spirits remains the preferred alternative. Dangerous too ….

Most fires in informal settlements and townships are caused by paraffin.  There are many more instances, but the aunties on the farms, in the townships and informal settlements continue to proclaim that ‘gas is the most dangerous, because it explodes!’ ….

Years ago I had reason to be shown around the Red Cross Children’s’ Hospital, Mowbray, Cape Town – a lesson in humility. We have too much to be thankful for.

During the late 1960’s an embargo was placed on the supply of crude oil by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Alternative combustion fuels were sought. 

With the experienced energy shortages the precautionary storage facility situated on the South African west coast and elsewhere proved inefficient.  Own oil reserves were sought. The State created a company that uses soot derived from burning coal to manufacture oil (SASOL).

Methane gas reserves were located beneath the sea surface off the Southern Cape Coastal town of Mossel Bay (MOSGAS). 

Australia too was affected by the oil embargo. They found sustainable gas reserves inland near the Western Australia city, Kalgoorlie – the Johannesburg of Australia. 

Natural gas became a combustion fuel in Australia.  It is distributed ‘Australia wide’ is the turn of phrase used, but also to Malaysia and other countries who chose to embrace a cleaner and cheaper burning energy source.  

To encourage fossil gas usage incentives were created to encourage the use of gas. Today 23% of the world's energy requirement is derived from gas. 

Octane fuels derived from crude oil release toxic pollutants into the atmosphere during the refining process and again when it is combusted. 

The South African Oil industry is regulated. The State determines fuel prices and any changes are not legal.  This is how it has always been. Higher fuel prices result in higher fuel levies being paid to the State.

South African socio, political and economic issues are no different to the same in European, American and other African countries.  Like most countries, we too have challenges that are unique.  Often what is wrong derives from different self-imposed socio-political and economic policies that we practice.

‘… So, how did Apartheid affect you, Sam?’ 

‘No…, apartheid, (he said questioningly whilst pausing to think) I was not aware of how apartheid was affecting me.  It felt like normal to live like we did. I had the radio and my thumb. 

I knew what poverty felt like. When my tummy grumbled at night and I wished that sleep would replace it.

No matter…, today apartheid is replaced by affirmative action. The poorest of the poor do not know how this is advancement.

The South African education system is rated in position number 133 out of 142 countries measured by the World Economic Forum. (August 2012)

The poor continue to know poverty, what poverty feels like and that more people are becoming poor;

The poor also know that no respite is looming;’

There is a current issue about whether or not to release natural gas reserves located in the Karoo.  The question about whether to extract or not to extract this fossil fuel is concomitant with the vigorous and sometimes vitriolic toing and froing of whether to, or whether not to….

‘What is the environmental impact when hundreds and later, thousands of well pads are constructed in the Karoo?’

The Chairman of Shell (SA), Bonang Mohale, refers to new drilling methods, environmental impact assessments and job creation in defense of why gas should be extracted from its Karoo bed.

Lest we forget, the same Royal Dutch Shell plc, and the Ogoni People of South Eastern Nigeria, via their organisation, MOSOP, fought bitterly about the environmental damage Shell visited upon the now perilous, but previously sustainable Niger Delta region.  Oil spillage and no regard for the environment is why the Niger Delta became unsustainable.  Oil spilled due to negligent drilling processes fuel by greed.

Lest we forget, the Ogoni people, MOSOP, the writer and MOSOP Leader, environmental activist, Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others who were executed because of their stance against Shell’s exploitation, corruption and resultant devastation – 10 November, 1995.

Has the Niger Delta been restored; is it sustainable again and what sayest the Ogoni People?   

Will Shell and other companies have learned, or is the learning limited to more sophisticated means of exploitation?

•              Why has Shell not brought LP Gas to the forecourts in South Africa;

•              Why does Shell, Exxon, Total and BP make gas available on the forecourts in other countries, but not in South Africa;

•              Is it an okay excuse that LP and LN Gas is too expensive for it to be brought to the forecourt and sold as a cleaner burning combustion fuel;

o   But it is in order to permanently affect, alter/damage potable water and an icon region belonging to the world, the Karoo?

Increasing costs of refined crude oils is a norm.

Increasing unemployment in South Africa is also a norm.

The traditional band of people who are class defined - the poorest of the poor is expanding. 

Those in power eat with abandon, but;

The term ‘load-shed’ refers to an act of saving electricity. 

‘…four legs good and; two legs bad’, says Eric A Blair (G. Orwell – Animal Farm), back in 1945

Meanwhile, South Africans remain cautious about the use of gas in their homes. Gas to run cars, buses, trucks and trains remain a fallacy for most. Yet, the practice is a norm in many countries. The conspiracy theorist claim that fear of gas is a norm created by the price regulating cartel, which cartel includes the State. Has the conspiracy theory merit and; what is the State doing, this time, when the oil embargo is more sophisticated?

Given that the price of everything is affected by the rise in cost brought on by our almost exclusive reliance on refined crude oil what is the State doing about preventing the band of poor from expanding?

What is the gas we propose to extract in the Karoo going to be used for?

Creating jobs is not good enough. We should create Sustainable Jobs.

Gas extraction in the Karoo has potential to deliver many benefits for the people of this African region. Sam, now an adult, wants to support fracking in the Karoo. However, like Rodriquez, he wonders:

•              Is it to create sustainable employment

•              Provide cleaner, less expensive fuel to the people of Southern Africa and;

•              Will fracking be environmentally friendly and ethical?

The African sky is awash with sunshine. In many countries people farm with solar energy.  Solar entrepreneurs use what they need and sell/feed the rest to the national electricity supply infrastructure. 

In South Africa, we battle to entice people with ‘pay as you go’ electricity meters; we use television banner advertising to warn that big appliances should be turned off in order to prevent electricity outages.  We refer to this as ’load-shedding’.

In the workplace first we bicker, fuss and then fight.  Thereafter we investigate for acts of bribery in the awarding of contracts.

Senior people are suspended on full salary and service conditions.  After a protracted puerile and posture filled legal tussle the person is frequently found guilty. The matter is settled and the guilty is sent packing together with an excessive severance pay-out.

‘I wonder how many plans have gone bad…’ says Rodriquez

Mr. Moody’s Mood

BaldOpinion 10
02 July 2012

I wish that I was not going to write this piece. I have to though. The subject matter is painfully close to me, maybe too emotional for me, maybe unnecessarily emotional.  You be the judge.

Nonetheless, the situation I depict is real, sad, but real, particularly as I witness the degradation setting in, the reinforcement, the acceptance… and the decline of the people from whose loins I come.

I no longer live with my disparate people, but I shall never deny who I think I am and where I come from.

The mule is an interesting animal.  It is the offspring of a donkey stallion, a jack, and a horse mare. Hinnies, however, is the opposite in that this breed is the result of a cross between a stallion horse and a donkey jennet. For ease of reference, both are described as mules.

Folklore has it that when asking the mule about its parentage it, the mule, shall refer to the horse and to the donkey only under duress. 

Stereotypes inform norms.  In this instance the norm is accepted.  The donkey is stupid and stubborn.  The horse is elegant and intelligent.  The science people write that the average donkey is more intelligent when compared to the average horse.

Cape Town is a city in South Africa – often mistakenly referred to as the Mother City. 

We were driving, and the talk was on the radio. For good reason I was extra attentive. A diuretic sounding voice told about the need to change the name from Cape Town to //Hui !Gaeb. 

The would be proposed new name has properties reminiscent of a modern day email address, yet, the name seeks to establish what, according to the diuretic speech, is the original name.

That woman was being serious.

The South African, like any other national, is a very interesting person. It is often said how complex the South African political situation is.  I can’t see the complexity, can you?

Here’s my brief interpretation of the history:

The dark-skinned people moved into the country from the North of the continent. Where was the mother city?

The fair-skinned people moved into the country mainly from the North, but via the sea and landed at one of the many capes in South Africa.

Once upon a time, a long, long… long time ago, the fair-skinned people had dark skins and lived in Africa. They left to seek whatever turned them on at the time. The result is that their skins, amongst other features, changed; because of the climate. They developed fair skins, but it took a long time.  Methuselah’s mother was probably not born, let alone pregnant, so long ago it was.  Ooh, but we ignore this because someone must have decided that the latter migration took place too long ago to matter.  I ask again, “How long is long ago?”

Okay, so, the dark-skinned folk arrived from across the land and the fair-skinned people arrived mainly from across the sea.

On arriving the fair-skinned folk met two groups who refer to themselves as Khoikhoi and Khoisan respectively. They were either hunter-gatherers, pastoralists or they were part of a nomadic group, the original farmers.

The fair-skinned people, mainly men, saw these yellow-skinned folk and traded. Over time they also exchanged bad habits, language, sex and religion.

The dark-skinned people came down from the north, across the land.  When they met the yellow skinned Khoi similar relationships to those the Khoi had with the Europeans developed. These relations included a few wars. In fact, a few wars between the Khoikhoi and the Khoisan are also recorded. 

The iconic, Nelson Mandela, is genealogically proven to be of Khoikhoi ancestry.

Over the past four centuries one group always sought to dominate, or rule another; much to the chagrin of the often small in number and therefore less powerful Khoi peoples.

Later, the fair-skinned people also fought with each other.  There were two such wars between mainly the English and the off-spring of the Dutch.  These two separate wars lasted a total of FOUR (4) years, but there were many other warring groups too. 

Due to various liaisons between the dark-skinned, yellow-skinned and fair-skinned people, a community came to be that were neither Khoi, fair-skinned, or dark skinned.  They were the left–over people, the as a result of people, the half breeds, the bastards.  All of this in a fast becoming skin-tone obsessed society where the fair skin was king.  Many groups moved closer to the big City, Cape Town.  Once there, relations between persons originating from South East Asia, Mauritius and Madagascar also influenced the emerging populace who were not strictly defined by culture and religion, but who increasingly became sub-sets of their masters, the fair-skinned persons of European decent.

Labeling continued. The only group who retained their first names were the Muslim slaves.  These people brought their own religion to the Cape, Islam. They originated from the aforesaid countries, countries that included Malaysia, hence the colloquial term referring to slaves from Malaysia, Slams(e), or Cape Malay people.

The urbanised Khoi, the left-over group, traded their identity and took on European names and surnames and mainly strove to emulate those values and the lifestyle which they observed from their masters, the European people. 

It may be near heretic for me to allege that the mule syndrome has from that time affected how this disparate group assesses itself. In my experience, when asked about his European surname the answer would often be about the German, Dutch, or English grandfather, but never about the Khoi, dark-skinned, St Helena, or slave grandmother.  It is known that the European Governments often sent errant officials to Cape Town – as a form of punishment when they were naughty. It stands to reason that these officials were errant in the Cape, far away from their bosses’ gaze.

The labeling never stopped.  The disparate group of left-over / as a result of people needed a name.  Many were embarrassed about their Khoi ancestry.  The Europeans named the Khoikhoi, “Hottentots” and the Khoisan was called “Bushman”.  The dark-skinned groups have their own derogatory name for the Khoi (Batwa, Abatwa – small person). How does “Men of Men” and “True People” compare to small person?

Then Europeans decided that the growing disparate group should be labeled differently. Plurals, mixed and then finally, the Cape Coloured became the preferred label. Fair-skinned people of European ancestry allocated the label, Coloured, and the mainly brown-skinned people accepted this definition. 

Today many of these people refer to themselves by the imposed and derogatory term, Coloured. As a person of mixed parentage I find the label Coloured to be a bastard term. It is a term used to describe those in South Africa who are in excess, as a result of people.  It is a term created by the Verwoerd Administration.  Verwoerd was the creator of apartheid, a social, political and economic system that set out to legitimize superiority amongst people as determined by the colour of their skins, shape of their noses and texture of their hair.  It is this term, “Coloured”, this bastard term that was further legitimized by the Nelson Mandela Administration and the ANC ruling party in South Africa.

South Africa continues to claim that it subscribes to the principle of non-racism. I put it to you, South Africa is more racist today than it was during the Apartheid era. In South Africa I continue to be defined by the colour of my skin. Therefore, my skin tone continues to give me discrimination in South Africa.

Meanwhile, the same practice of labeling dark-skinned groups “kaffirs” and “bantu” was dropped in favour of self-determined names like Zulu, Xhosa, Venda, Ndebele, Shangaan-Tsonga, Sotho and many more.  To use the term “kaffir” in reference to a dark-skinned person is a criminal offense in South Africa.

It is fine, even correct and legitimate to refer to people with no consistent common heritage by the derogatory mongrel term, “Coloured”.  

My view is that those who label themselves Xhosa, Zulu, Indian, Griekwa, Baster and whatever else, they should be free to do so. Those who wish not to be labeled, or who cannot be labeled, because of the disparate nature of who we are, those people should be free to be people, South African people, because we live here. Why make the blood that courses through my veins the curse of my life?

The above is reason too, why Cape Town is Cape Town, viz. it is a geographical description of the town which situate is a land formation alongside the sea described as a cape.

A long while back, whilst visiting, for inspiration (served in a bottle), I met an elderly gentleman.  He introduced himself, “I am James Edwin Moody”.  Mr. Moody was visiting the pub long before I arrived. We slowly played pool, sipped on the inspiration and then sat to enjoy more – others told their spouses of the “book club meeting” they were attending, so the discussions were varied.  Mr. Moody and I, a few others, we sat aside and spoke about that, this, music of course and other world problems that as the evening grew a beard we became more inspired to define.

My name was asked, the genealogy questioned and I answered. 

Said Mr. Moody,   “St Helena, your Mum is St Helenian?”; …he wore a wry smile and gently said “Once I had a girlfriend from that West Coast Island, Saint Helena; they look similar to Indian folk, those people, islanders…”. “Not my mother”, I thought. My mother would be too old for this Moody, but age assessed against an indigenous skin is often deceptive. (At 90, my mother only has a small clutch of grey hairs.)

The discussion roamed from this, to that, the music, always the music, and back to the meaning of being classified “Coloured”; or “so-called Coloured”, said Mr. Moody as he readies to tell about his great grandfather who worked for an English gentleman in Constantia, “up where they grow a fine vine, near Cape Town”. This landlord wore the last name, Moody.  Later the workers each took this name to define where they lived, worked and in some instances, because that person owned them. It is with pride that Mr. Moody’s Dad named him after the English farmer… “You see, that is how I got my name”.

With reference to the Jamie Uys film, The Gods Must Be Crazy, Mr. Moody said, “Today I may look like Dawid Kruiper (http://www.google.co.za/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=dawid+kruiper+pictures&oq=dawid+kruiper+pictures&gs_l=hp.3...4349.11362.0.12096.22.22.0.0.0.0.576.6009.3-1j5j6.12.0...0.0.7IMpeDo8Gw8&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=ef3e47e2b0254e7b&biw=1093&bih=521) though my name represents nothing of where I come from. I wonder whether Dawid Kruiper’s name resonates with where he comes from…” I remember the sudden somber turn of that discussion.

 I sat, listening, and the moment clouded me too. I know that change is permanent; that a better tomorrow is not possible if we hanker after a near past - a past that is riddled with dispossession, displacement, robbery, rape, pillaging and so-called philanthropy. What merit is there should Mr. Moody have changed his name to //Xegwi, or if the vexed woman of the radio talk too, changes her name?

“Oh what the hell”, said Mr. Johnson (another of the long time visitors who had joined us earlier),”let’s have another round of inspiration boys - and James, play that piece, the one,…. the one with you, where you sound like a murder of crows being helped along by that most beautiful woman…, what is the piece called?”

 We each had a stab at guessing, but all were wrong.

“Moody’s Mood!” shouted Mr. Ngcukana whilst leaning over to take aim on the pool table.  He had been listening to the discussion all the while, said “If there’s a cloud up above us now, go on and let it rain…” I sensed he too was a tad sad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ4xFBs08mQ&feature=fvwrel

Mr. James Moody died in December 2010 – he was 85.

Brutus Stabbed Caesar With a Knife at Noon

BaldOpinion09

30 May 2012

Ok, so here we are back in South Africa where the majority holds sway.  This sway is held not because something is right, or wrong, but because the majority determines the way to go.

Why is it that we forget about context, about priorities; we also forget that respect, experience and growth toward maturity – all elements that are earned?

I cannot understand why people follow blindly. Why do we accept views that are determined by “culture” without constructive question?  Maybe it is my own blindness.  Why do I get the sense that we are blind to a practice when certain people enact and bright eyed, even vitriolic, when others do the same thing?

No matter how unreasonable the practice, or outdated, we chase after the one who questions a culture, particularly if s/he is not part of that way of life.  Why?

Some contend that the ANC has lost more than its moral compass.

In reference to the 14 year old girl and King Zwelithini, remember the fracas this caused when people dared to question?  What about the Swazi King Mswati III who has seven wives and lives large, attends an English Royal wedding and this, despite his Kingdom being amongst the poorest in the world? Question that and you’re in trouble.

Readers may refer to this writing as racist. In South Africa, when you are not able to substantively argue a point, then you label the one with dissenting view.  Today the common refrain is racism. During the 1970’s and 1980’s when it was decided that certain persons were to be discredited then the label, “police informer / sell-out” was apportioned, remember? The scourge of community organisation during the heady days of resistance was those, often among us, who took money from the state in exchange for information.

I am not suggesting that South Africa has and had no racists and that the past was not plagued by those who “sold out” to the apartheid government. Of the sell-out people continue to be politicians, even in the ANC. Today culture is a shield and you use it to justify why you need so many wives, and as reason for many other socially unacceptable practices. Racism that is what it is. People who question like this are racists.

Years ago my then colleague, Thandiwe Kgosidintsi, and I were in conversation.  I respected her intellect and her experience was of another world. I remember many conversations with Thandi. Those about religion come to mind.  “You’re a Catholic Thandi, and I have spent a substantial portion of my life in environs influenced by Catholicism, yet…  I feel that the Church and reality, in many respects, are not aligned…” (I have no reason to be critical of the many splendid Catholic men and women who are my friends.)  However, I have and continue to question certain practices and beliefs within the faith.  Thandi agreed, “But… you know, I know that all of what you say is valid. I go to church each week because it makes me feel good. I cannot explain it to you.  Maybe it is the singing, the incense, others perhaps. It is much bigger than me, you see. I do not go to the building, to see the priest, or to marvel at the decorations in the more affluent parish churches. No, I go to the church to get nourishment for my soul, and it is something that I get in a Catholic Church.  After all, this is what I am accustomed to…”  

Maybe the same applies elsewhere. We support that which makes us feel most comfortable and often we have no need, desire, or concern about questioning / examining our practice for validity in the new world order?

Sis Thandi died two years ago.  It was a heart condition. Thandi was sad, I think, and I think also that it is fitting that I dedicate this piece to her memory.  I continue to wonder what my strong resilient, combative and gentle friend would have made of the recent fiasco sweeping across our South Africa.

You see, the Advocate was in conversation with a client. “Why did you allow a forensic auditor to change the document I had written for your signature?” In reply, the Plaintiff, still shaking, she said, “You should have seen these people; they were aggressive and I felt intimidated…”

“Yes, but when you experience an ache in the region of your knee, is it reasonable to consult an optician…?” – Shame, lawyers also have a role to play.

The Lawyer cried in court. Yes, Malindi wept. He was representing the South African President in a case where an artist’s impression included a painted exposed penis. It was a decent penis; in proportion with the rest of the painting I mean.  No, nothing like the David statue, better, I promise, this was decent.

A silent group, whom I may not agree with, continue to hold sway that if you have a gripe with what is immoral and what is not, then do not consult Jacob Zuma; unless you believe that he has an ability to reason about fairness without allowing old and outdated cultural practices to determine appropriate behaviour in the new modern world, particularly if you are the president where the peoples are plural. 

“I see, an advocate cried about your President’s penis”, reads an international text message I received recently.

I wondered whether all this howling was because of the penis; was it because the penis had been desecrated; were the tears as a result of relief, glee, envy, or; perhaps his sob was informed by the artist’s interpretation, which interpretation the lawyer found constituted disrespect.

Is culture not defined by what is practiced over an extended period?  This practice later becomes a norm, the way things are done, culture, voilà! 

What is the correlation between the latter and the historic depiction, which the artist uses to illustrate the person of our South African President; even though this time the image features an exposed penis? Is this relevant symbolism or artistic license in need of censure?

Let’s examine / describe the subject:

1.    He has Five (05) wives;

2.    Is reported to have a child with his friend's daughter;

3.    Has stood trial for rape;

4.    Sports an affable personality with an inclusive leadership style;

5.    Is the President of one of the leading African countries;

6.    Is alleged to have more than 21 children;

7.    Is older than Seventy (70) years and;

8.    Continues to marry different much younger women –

If this is the subject and you are the artist, is it not reasonable to include a healthy penis in your depiction? I mean, what is the role of art if it is not also to reflect reality, create debate and examine certain practices?

How can an artist depict the described subject without reference to his enviable virility?

If asking these questions makes me racist, then I submit to being incorrigible. There is no racist as bad as the one who is benign, after all. However, before you apportion this label, think: 

·         Is your labeling me a racist defensible, given the circumstances;

·         is it justifiable, or;

·         are you using this label to shut me up, discredit me?

I saw a man being interviewed on the street the other day.  I saw it on an E TV news broadcast.  Speaking in a particular context, he said “To marry more than one wife is not love, but lust…” He was speaking as a Zulu man. I question whether this man is perhaps trying to communicate what he thinks is right in the modern world, or whether he is merely a sell-out?

View the above as funny, sexist and discriminatory, help yourself. Remember though, we are here referring to the President of South Africa.  All South Africans have him as our President.  He is my President too.

Meanwhile, here in South Africa, and on the front page of the Sunday Times, 27 May 2012, is picture of children learning under various trees and being taught by teachers who are not paid. http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/05/27/suffer-the-children

Yes, whilst this embarrassing act denying our children rains down we bicker about whether a painting of the President, whom some describe as lascivious, should be depicted with an exposed penis; whether this is an insult and; whether it is an affront to the Zulu culture. 

I put it to you that this fiasco we bring upon ourselves is embarrassing.  It is also piffle and trite of law and I wonder whether this is perhaps the real reason why Malindi shed tears?

It is indeed a crying shame. I think that we should let the President, the penis, the painting, the gyrating, and the oft marauding crowds and the large wives, they should all just be man, let them be. We should allocate this wasted resources and trite, to education so that the future can be created by teachers who are paid.

I am ashamed, sorry.  I herewith apologise to those children, the ones receiving instruction under a tree in 2012.  You will probably never get this message, children, but I am so sorry and sorry is not medicine, this I do realise.  We have to do something about the state of affairs.  We have to shut up and make this talk about a better life for all real.

Stab the bastard Brutus!