Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Playing the victim

The other day I read a newspaper article about this man who the unfortunate encounter with this lady on the street. This man was on his way to work in his car and suddenly he spots this criminal sauntering on the street which he prides himself in keeping clean – even though he is not involved in the community criminal watch.
He decides to take action, by ridding these streets with this unnecessary announce that plagues this country with its abominable existence. He gets out of his car, adrenalin pumping, pulse racing, and his body ready for action. He approaches, stretches his hand to the gods as if asking them to give him power as he is about to cleanse these streets. He pulls his hand down from the heavens with such force I swear the onlooker saw his hand ignite with fire from the fiction caused by the descent of the hand like a NASA space drone re-entering the earth’s atmosphere.
PA! A resounding slap that sends this vile creature to the floor. Stunned by such power the creature slowly tries to get up and react to this attack, but the hero is on fire and will use all of his power to conquer and defend these streets. The hero will be remembered for his heroic acts for generations to come, he will make his ancestors proud, and when his time comes he will surely enter the gates of Valhalla.
So the other day I read a newspaper article about a man who had the unfortunate encounter of seeing a prostitute roaming around his neighbourhood; he did what any man would have done. He got out of his car, walked up to this ‘jezebel’ and slapped her across the face like how ‘A-pimp-named-slick-back’ would have done. He kept is pimp hand strong and told this bitch to get the hell out of his block, because he does not appreciate ladies like her defacing this wonderful and clean neighbourhood. Imagine the little white boys seeing such a lady? They would be distracted from their studies thus holding back the nation.
Stunned and confused the “jezebel” tries to get up but he persists, by pushing her down to the ground with his manly force… she had no chance of defending herself. She was embarrassed and vulnerable with no help from anyone and as soon as this man had left she wept, picked her purse and continued on her journey to work.
The other day I read a newspaper article about a black woman who had the unfortunate encounter of being assaulted by a white man in the streets of Kenilworth, the Southern suburbs of Cape Town.
This black lady was on her way to work – as she is a domestic worker – and suddenly this man came at her with such anger and such hate the she didn’t even have time to do anything except to stand there and receive a beating from this unknown stranger. She tried to get up and go to work but this random stranger proved to be too strong for her to do anything. She stayed put and she hopped that he would eventually leave her alone.
He left and she picked herself up. When this evil monster was in his car driving off, he screamed at her shouting “YOU CRIMINAL!”
When this story had reached a journalist the perpetrator tried to spin the story as if he was the victim in this situation. He says he thought she was a prostitute and so he got out of his car and slapped her once. He felt remorseful about his action immediately after he had assaulted her, he repeatedly tried calling her to apologies for his actions but she would not answer any of his calls because he thinks she wants his money.
The arrogance of this man is infuriating. What if that was my mother or your mother who was on her way to work trying to feed her family with what little she gets from her job? This is but one recorded incident that happened in the city of Cape Town, were domestic workers are beaten and threatened with clenched fists on a regular basis.
Post-Apartheid and we still have people treating our mothers as prostitutes, thieves and slaves that white men can do what they wish on them with no consequences. All I’m asking for is respect for your employees and to treat them as human beings.
Yes, I know that not all white men are evil and have no respect for other human beings, but when I read articles like this one, I’m heart broken and pissed off to learn that there are still people in this country who act like the oppressors that ruled this country.
When will this end?



Wednesday, October 8, 2014

That’s just how I feel.


My memory loves you; it asks about you all the time. When you’re far from me my memory reminds me of the times we spent together, it reminds me of the bad times as well as the uncomfortable moments we've shared.

My heart wants to stop loving you; it wants to stop beating every time I think of you. When you said you were done, closing the chapter without a beautiful ending my heart grew hard as if it had heart diseases. My heart is weak and my heart has been scared by your sudden change of mind.

My memory loves you; it taps my heart's shoulder almost every morning and almost every night. My memory speaks to me with a careless whisper forgotten as the sands of time reach the bottom of the hour glass. My memory has placed a force field protecting the memory of you from aging as I desperately try to forget.

My heart wants to stop loving you; it wants to stop and not beat in the same rhythm as your heart once did when we were chest to chest on a cold winters night. My heart wants to beat for the sole purpose of survival and not for anyone else. My heart wants the pain of losing you to go away.

My memory loves you; every lonely night when I blink I see your face and every fiber in my body is alive again. As the days turn into weeks, the weeks into months, and months into years my memory fights with everything it has to remember your laugh, your eyes, your fingers dancing on my hands. My memory does not want to let go.

This has become my life. This is me moving on. This feeling that has consumed and frustrated me has manifested it's self as an ambitious writer who hangs on to his surroundings like a drunk ghost in an empty vessel .  

But please don't worry about me. My heart will keep beating and my memory will keep record of your existence, I'll be okay my love; I'll be all right.