Spiders & Scorpions

As some of you may know I avoid watching the news, I don’t even read newspapers, read it online. This might sound strange to you perhaps a bit infantile but hear me out.

In South Africa propaganda has always been rife, yes I know it is the same world wide, but from my experience we excel beyond reasonable doubt at it.

Our schools teach warped history, our educational system is up the creek where by they have changed the syllabus to allow for a higher pass rate all of this is coated with “congrats everyone our school pass rates are on the up, we now have 60% of school leavers passing their final exams”. Congrats indeed but what does that really mean?

I am not negative by nature, right now I know I may come across as such, this is fine, there is positivity in negativity how ever you may see it. Don’t get me wrong, I love South Africa, it’s beauty and its people, but the reality is far different to what you read in the papers both nationally and internationally.

The reality is that everyone is crying out that our president, one Mr Mbeki, is fired for his “There is no problem in Zimbabwe, we do not have a crime problem, HIV/AIDS is not an epidemic, unemployment is not a problem” stance. (Sorry sir but I think you need a new spin doctor…)

Mandela was quoted this week saying “Take note of the lessons from the past my nation and learn from them, do not do what we fought so hard to overcome” (A wise man who is still a “terrorist” in the eyes of some countries???)

Jacob Zuma, the president of the leading political party ANC (African National Congress) was shocked to find so many homeless whites and mixed race humans on the streets and in unemployment offices, he thought that they were invincible and that the Affirmative Action didn’t have a bad side affect. He is also on trial yet again for fraud and corruption now that the rape charges miraculously disappeared. (Sir I think you need to read different reports, perhaps the unemployment one and not how to get out of jail free)

South Africa’s Scorpions, similar to the FBI in America, has been officially disbanded, why? Because apparently they have been unpatriotic in their actions by targeting politicians in government. The Scorpions go after white collar crime and gangsters such as our very own Mafia, they do not do it by race, political standing or just certain people, they investigate everyone no matter who you are. So now they have been disbanded, why would the government do this unless they are worried about being caught out?

The politicians that have been caught out were thrown into jail, they receive five course meals, satellite TV, mobile phones and wait for it… they are released within 3 months after reportedly stealing millions to take up their positions once again in government.

Why do I want to leave South Africa so desperately? Because I can’t take this negativity any more, always making sure the doors are locked and the security gates are closed, driving our cars with the windows up, putting on alarms, carrying Mace (Pepper spray/Tear gas) where ever we go. Because I feel that in another land I will be able to glean more positive energy that I could use for the greater good…

There are no “safe” places here, they are all high crime areas, my area was once classed as safe now it is like everywhere else. The complex next to me had a gun break in better known as robbery with big weapons. In South Africa, everyone knows the sound of a gun shot; People fear other people; We are taught that if someone is bleeding or hurt we do not touch them or go near them, why? Because most of our nation is suffering from AIDS and HIV. We are becoming a nation of non carers, a nation that looks out for number one and number one only and THAT makes me sad beyond words.

Do you know that as a South African in order to get visa’s for certain countries we need to have our lungs scanned for TB and AIDS test results with us when we apply? I am grateful that I have neither.

The reality is that this is not only South Africa, it is world wide, I just don’t know what I can do, if I can do anything at all, to change what is happening here. I will continue doing what I am in hope that some light shines through the dark cobwebs that society finds itself in, we as a nation need to stand up, we as a world need to stand up for what we know in our hearts to be right. I say these negative things not to be negative but rather to incite action in peoples hearts. There will always be problems in our world we can not run from that reality but if we stand up, stand together, perhaps it could change, perhaps these problems will become less.

I don’t watch the news, I read and take an over all look at what is going on and I see the true reality through my eyes and my interpretations, I give myself a chance to process what the information means to me and what is fact.

Why do I want to leave?

Fact is that South Africa has really big spiders, as big as your hand with teeth as large as the ones in your mouth, and I want out…. no that is NOT my hand on the right, I run when I see them… problem is they are often faster than I am!