I got mugged last week at knife-point. Yesterday, I was told that I am a victim. Today, I was sworn at for speaking my mind. Truth be told, I am angry. I am furious, but not with the people that mugged me. What makes me so livid is the indifference and naiveté of everyone else.
These men didn’t attack me because they wanted to hurt me. They attacked me because they were cold, hungry and tired of being trampled on by everyone around them. They were tired of living in poverty, hopelessness and pain. It is all too easy to place the blame on them. Even the police officers called them “bastards”! To all my global subscribers let me tell you that Grahamstown is a place of great contradictions. For 8 months of the year the affluence of upper-income society parades its way through the streets of town, lavishing in their freedom, yet blissfully unaware of the intense poverty surrounding them. Maybe it’s just me, but when I see a drunk, fat student swearing at a street-kid because he asked for an “onion roll” I feel acid in my veins.
Too many people in society struggle to see past their own private gratifications because, as always, while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. Something needs to be done, some sort of responsibility needs to be taken. The problems facing society need to be addressed at their core because we created these problems. Or as Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves."
The solid reality is that in South Africa and across the world we are forgetting that we are one people, with one destiny. Our false belief is that whilst fuelling our insatiable material greed we can casually and effortlessly walk past those in plight. George Orwell said, “sooner or later a solid reality bumps up against a false belief, usually on a battlefield”. If we are not careful the “battlefield” Orwell so eloquently relates to will be our own homes.
This problem is not a new one for South Africa, it started long ago through unequal governmental action and unjust social practices. The previously advantaged are beginning to fear the implications of any change from the status quo. Poverty, racism, xenophobia and violence can be overcome. Many young people are acutely aware of these problems in South Africa and are subsequently leaving our beautiful shores in search of the Pound and Dollar. Do not turn your back, do not shy away from your conscience. We need a moral rejuvenation, we need to find the moral strength to stand up for what is right.
If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every facet of your life and the lives of others. It all begins with your very own power of choice and whether you have the determination to see it through. I speak mainly of the problem in my own country, but the issue of intense poverty and inequality can be observed around the world. It is a global problem that will require a global solution and you can start right now!
I know one thing for sure, I am no victim. Rather, I am blessed to be alive in the right time and place to make a difference. Think about it, please, before we tear each other to pieces. Personally, I love Africa, Captain Morgan and my life so I’m not going anywhere!
Take it easy,
Captain Morgan
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2 comments:
You say, “These men didn’t attack me because they wanted to hurt me. They attacked me because they were cold, hungry and tired of being trampled on by everyone around them. They were tired of living in poverty, hopelessness and pain”. Is this really the reason these men attacked you? Did you ask them this before or after they did it? And the men who rape women before making off with their possessions, is this also because they are tired of living in poverty, hopelessness and pain? Are you suggesting that when one is in pain we should ensure that someone else experiences pain too? Is this the justice you are suggesting? A hurt for a hurt, a scar for a scar? And how does one go about selecting ones victims? Or does this not matter so long as you do not suffer alone. I am not suggesting that we should not try to eliminate poverty but poverty is not a good enough reason to hurt others. And no, they may not have physically hurt you but psychologically they did. And finally when you say, “You have the ability to totally transform every facet of your life and the lives of others” do you mean we have this control by using violence and knives?
Captain Morgan, just like you, I am a young, pissed off South African. The sound of gun shots, everyday; the muggings, the usage of brutal violence; have been my everyday experiences. I too have been a victim of crime in South Africa.
Life in this country could be so much better without high walls, electric fences and constant alertness that "maybe it is going to be me today".
I have seen the worst side of South Africa, but I choose to remain optimistic and actually do something about the situation.
Personally, I do not believe that the people who mug us and rape women are "useless mongrels" that need to be shipped to an island of highest calibre sinners. They are human, most of them have deeper lying social problems. I don't think that there is anyone in their right mind who goes out to specifically hurt or kill another living human being, but I know many people who will do anything to provide something to eat for their family, to send their younger sibling to university, like you and I.
Don't get me wrong. I do not condone any act of violence aimed at another human being, but what I'm trying to point out is that I understand why sometimes I will be held at gunpoint in broad day light. It is because I have something that they don't have. I have a guaranteed opportunity to succeed in life, and unless I am willing to share my resources with those less fortunate then myself, I will(indirectly)threaten their "down-troden lives", as an everyday reminder that their chances of amounting to anything are slim.
What is stopping us from taking an initiative to combat poverty? When should we realise that poverty plays a huge role in crime? Such realisations star with us, the victims.
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