Columnist William Saunderson-Meyer writing this weekend (again) about Donald Trump's executive order suspending aid to South Africa and offering minorities refugee status.
"One would have hoped that the blizzard of bad news would trigger just a modicum of introspection in the South African body politic. Alas, it seems not. There ensued a swooning media narrative depicting a plucky Ramaphosa dishing it out to that thuggish US lout kicking sand in our faces. Ramaphoria —the uncritical media-fuelled adoration of the president that characterised the early years of Ramaphosa’s first term but gradually waned in response to his inability to match inspiring speech with action — is definitely back in favour." (Note: in the early Ramaphosa presidency, Saunderson-Meyer too was a Ramaphoria, as was most of SA's elite.)
"While there were bitterly few dispassionate journalistic assessments to be found, there was plenty of mockery by columnists and cartoonists of Afrikaners and their supposed lack of gratitude for the tolerance they have hitherto been shown by what is apparently a remarkably forgiving black government."
The left of centre, and that includes mainstream media, has decided its version of the Expropriation Act - that's it's justified, it rights past wrongs etc. It is the typical ANC view. The right of centre - including DA, IRR, AfriForum - believe it's a threat to property rights, poorly written and another phase of the NDR (see Politicsweb's editorial). To the left they're "fear-mongering".
Either both sides are right, both wrong or a little of both. As a centrist liberal I believe the Act, especially the proposal coming from where it originally did - EFF - that leaves the possibility of "nil compensation" is wrong. If that was not its intention, why write it so that possibility is open to interpretation. In other words, bad law. But I think it was as the ANC intended and anyone who says otherwise is dishonest.
The left goes on and on about how little land is in black ownership (I assume they mean black African). But whose fault is that? The left, in a demonstration of Ramaphoria 2.0 and jingoistic pride about their man telling Trump to F-off, deliberately forget the ANC have truly damaged the country, land transformation included. Why will things suddenly be better with the Act, which btw was cynical of Ramaphosa to sign into law (Bela and NHI too) given that coalition partners viscerally disapproved.
But that's OK, ANC Still Rules is the left's motto.
My late father and his two brothers inherited a smallholding in Alice after their father's death. It was in the family for generations and was a large, rambling place. The brothers had moved to Cape Town but had held onto the place, to sell and share the proceeds to put down for their own homes here. But they got next to nothing for it. It was the mid-60s. My mother told me about it when I was a young adult - that my father was very upset about losing the place like that and never spoke of it again after he, executor of the estate, returned from Alice.
My parents were poor and had to borrow the deposit to buy a modest house. They had no legacy from Alice. In effect it was expropriation for nil compensation in another era's political ideology. SA claims to be far better now but the colour of politics still sways. (Former slaves make bad masters is the dictum from Roman times.)
We got on with our lives, as most people did during apartheid. The difficulties we had was about everyday things. We did not carry the difficulties of apartheid around like a millstone as many of the left intelligentsia pretentiously still do. This is so even if they hadn't been born during apartheid or were to young to remember. How old was Malema in 1994? He and his generation, of all races, were the born frees. What do they have to complain about, except what the present government didn't do for them?
Politically connected people on the left including media and academics (of all races), who're among the most strident about real and imagined injustice, have material opportunities that most ordinary black and brown South Africans don't. But it's they who tiresomely complain about how blacks (browns seldom if ever mentioned) still suffer the legacy of apartheid, this while having drinks and dinner at the V&A, hangout at fancy places and do whatever well-off people and those with networks do.
The irony is lost on them like the Daily Maverick editor-columnist who wrote about poor landless blacks as justification for the Expropriation Act from her rented sea-view Sea Point flat, which costs millions of rand. This is how out of touch with reality and deaf to history the ANC and their mouthpieces are.
Of course it's never the ANC's fault - they saved us, didn't they?
To an extent their attitudes are matched by the amnesia of many whites today who were alive during apartheid and benefited from it, forgetting what it did to the country. I want to slap both groups, the former for their self-pity, chip on their shoulders, denial of responsibility and thirty-year-long facilitation and appeasement of a dreadfully corrupt and inept party that - it's no exaggeration - is ruining this beautiful country. And the second for their smug air of studied ignorance when presented with how other people live and for over-simplifying history.
Most of us, though, just want to get on with our lives and wish for the day we have competent leaders. We might discuss politics but quickly move on to other topics - the cost of living, social gossip or what's on Netflix. We don't study statistics on farming and land ownership and race going back to 1652.
Few expected the ANC to receive less than 50% - I didn't - but losing the majority has not changed their fuck-you attitude and toxic legacy. I don't trust them and never have but it still surprises me there are so many people - often good, well-meaning and intelligent people - who still do (even when not long ago - before the last election - they had written them off) and believe whatever tawdry idea they're promoting.
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