Wednesday 21 April 2010

Lust in conferences

I attended Mass education Conference and film festival for workers and the working class in Birchwood hotel in Boksburg. I remember one of the films was by Michael Moore “Capitalism the Love story”, what a story.
It was for the first time I spend so much time with people in organised labour mixed with Community radio people from all provinces. I must say behaviour of some of the comrade as they would like to be addressed was weird at times down right bizarre.

As people were booked in double rooms I heard two gentleman discussing their sleeping arrangements with one sleeping with a woman and the other finding an alternative and the following day it will be visa versa. There is nothing wrong with that except that both of them at the time they didn’t know whom they were going to conquer for that evening.

My colleague complained that there was some sort of harassment from some guys. I asked one guy why is this the case he laughed and said surely I have never been to a conference “ what happens at conferences stay there”. I was also told there are a lot of young girls who don’t know much about what is going on here, they should find themselves waking up in the guys rooms as to how I have no idea.

Where women are concerned men have the right to make advances, but they should be within the limits. I heard a sense that guys wanted to sleep with some at all cost except rape, but intimidations. There were new workers who were there for the first time and they had to be subjected to this. Why man lack self-respect. During lunch time the others guys had a heated debate because the other felt that his colleague is barrier to some young women, really now does it really have to go to that?

At the end I was not surprised when one of those young ladies told the whole house that even though it was her first time at such gathering she felt harassed. She also felt that there was no one to hear their complains. The response from the house was even more shocking, the guys burst out laughing. I felt like the earth should open and bury me.
How do I allow my daughter to attend such important gatherings when there are vultures ready to pounce on her because of her vulnerability?

Friday 9 April 2010

Reconcile

I think as South Africans we like to hurt each other. I see no reason why after 1994 reconciliation we still have to sing the song that talk about killing others. Those are our struggle songs, our history which needs to be preserved not to be used at our convenience. History of whites also included “skiet die kaffir” do they have to preserve that history too? Can we allow them to say that in public forums?

But at the same time we need to be sensitive when we condemn people. Malema has been called names for singing “dubula ibhunu”, whilst the AWB proudly and publicly wear Vierkleur (Apartheid flag) and the government officials see nothing wrong at least their silence suggests that.

Black people hate that Flag as much as the whites hate the struggle songs, so instead of fighting Malema they should at the problem we have as a whole. Whites would like to humiliate Africans at every opportunity they are given  (disguising in hatred for Bee, transformation, service delivery, crime etc). Africans would like to do the same for no good reason either.

Mzwakhe Mbuli once said “an eye for an eye make  the world blind human kind must put an end to wars or wars would put an end to human kind” instead of blaming white can we look at what we are doing right and focus on doing better. Reconciliation didn’t end with Nelson Mandela era, but it was the beginning. Can black people condemn black people or is that reserve for white to do. Visa versa whites seem to be very quiet when one of them is out of order. I think the more we think of South Africa as a brand that need to be protected from the outside world who have a joll at the moment the better for our country.

We can’t wish away white people and they can’t wish Africans away either, so working together is the only viable option so let us make it work.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Supremacist

Terreblanche died then everyone else has to stand and listen to Boer crap.
When he shot a man where were they? I think it is better that we agree that the law should take its course as we did with the man himself. Now that two people have been arrested the law should take its course. I was worried that racists amongst us killed him, but no it seems like the motivation was not race or criminal. The other worrying thing is that there is a 16 year old involved. Whose salary was he fighting for? I know for a fact that child labour is illegal, but the problem is still rife especially in the farms. Can Labour Department do a useful thing for once and find out if that child was a worker. And leave politics to politicians

Talking about politics why are white people so afraid of communism anyway? An apparent pay dispute turned ugly and now all of a sudden people are carrying placards with “ down with communism”, did I miss something here. What has Terreblanche’s death have to do with communists? The underpaid workers wanted their peanuts to go spend them with their loved one over the Easter, apparently their boss denied them their right, then they acted stupidly.

In the newspapers this morning some comment are so hilarious. One farmer all the way from Northern province came to support other white supremacists and went as far as blaming FW De Klerk for the murder of their leader. White Boer proved over and over that they are not Africans they should stop calling themselves Afrikaners because they are not. 

The subscriber

Poor service is something we come to live with it, in these competitive times you would expect that good service will be a priority. The Sunday times voluntarily promised me that if I subscribe with them I will get the time daily for free. I have subscribed with them before, but this time there was a carrot being dangled in front of me so I was tempted enough. The very first Sunday that the newspaper was supposed to be delivered it was not.

On Monday I called and got a swift response and a promise that the paper will be delivered the next Sunday and that at the end of my subscription they will deliver one more paper to make up for the one they didn’t deliver. That week it slipped my mind that completely that I was promised a FREE daily newspaper. I called and got as quick response that it will be sorted soon “tomorrow you should have your paper sir” said the voice of a lady on the other side of the line. I spent the whole week doing the same thing and getting the same polite same answers.

I eventually drew up a timetable for calling them every week, this started in February until the end of November, when someone realised that my contract was due for renewal soon. I only got my first ever “The Times” in the first week of December.
What was really surprising was that they were so quick in closing the supply they didn’t even honour their promise of an extra week. I got the time for an extra week, but I don’t think it was an extra though. I never bothered them with any calls but withheld my money thank you very much.