Thembile Ndabeni
When we grew up, it was said that our behaviour was a true reflection of our background or our home.
In politics, our behaviour, especially taken to the extreme, is a true reflection of what kind of government we are going to be.
The DA is a master race, a supremacist party in a smart form. With the DA, “SA” stands for “Supreme Aryans”, or “Smart Aryans”, striving towards Smart Apartheid. It has been trying hard to hide its true self. Now it is out in the open (“umqol’uphandle”).
It says it is diverse and the best ruling party, yet it cannot properly address the challenge of housing because some areas in Cape Town are reserved for rich, white people.
If not so, why does it avoid spatial development for people of colour? A lot of people of colour, some looking forward to having houses, live in the townships, yet they work in the central business district.
That costs them far more than it costs rich, white people, in terms of convenience, transport and safety. That is because of the maintenance of apartheid status quo – the reservation of certain areas for rich, white people.
The “banning” of the people of District Six through the promotion of “gentrification” relates to the burning of the flag. How can a party that burns a symbol of compromise, nation building and unity govern the country?
What a disrespect to the people who worked so hard to bring together people who were sworn enemies! What an attack and disrespect to the entire country! An act of a well-dressed, camouflaged Nazi party!
Imagine such a dictatorial arrogant party like the DA ruling with a two-thirds majority. A party that sees wrong in other parties and challenges them, yet it does not want other parties and people to see it is wrong because it perceives itself as always right and perfect.
Except for smartness, “moderation” and camouflage, the DA is following in the footsteps of the previous master race supremacists. Just like the DA, again except smartness, semantics in this context, the previous master race supremacists did wrong under the “umbrella” of their own, that they were sent by God. That is the message the DA is conveying, that because it is the only one with brains, it can do whatever to “save” the country, even if it means burning the flag.
The DA patronises people from other parties to challenge and vote against the decisions of their parties by saying they must vote with their heads and not their hearts. But when it comes to it, it disciplines its members who do that. It took the ANC to court over its cadre deployment policy, but when it was exposed that it was also doing it, the DA changed the lexicon, saying the problem was not the individuals but the procedure.
After handing over its documents, the ANC challenged the DA to do the same. The DA is resisting. Therefore, according to the DA, word of mouth is enough and the entire country must believe it.
To prove that it is following in the footsteps of the National Party, that is does not care about black people, even black children, it says nothing against racism. It did not care about the killing of Palestinians.
Instead, the DA leader went to Israel and Ukraine to show support.
It all boils down to the fact that under the DA, the Western Cape will be a “Whitestan” and not a Bantustan this time around. Therefore, the party speaks about devolution of powers while pretending to be opposed to the Referendum Party. Therefore, it burns the flag that symbolises unity.
After that, the DA has got the audacity to mention Mandela. The most individual person that flag symbolises is Nelson Mandela, a figure respected for peace, reconciliation, nation-building in South Africa and example to the world.
Nothing will justify anything and nothing will change anything; Mandela, Tutu and the country were disrespected. After the SABC banned the DA’s destructive advert, it said the SABC was infringing on its political right to campaign. It thinks it is in power to do as it pleases. What kind of a government-in-waiting, or in-wanting, is the Destructive Alliance, the DA?
* Ndabeni is a former history tutor at UWC and a former teacher at Bulumko Senior Secondary School in Khayelitsha.
Cape Times