shakeitoutmimi
Politics
Everything is political. One's access to food, housing, education, water, movies, music, clothes, toys, etc is political. When I was in school, there was a strike for black girls to be able to wear their hair in an afro. While many schools still fight this hair policy, those who are not interested in politics simply have not had politics hurt them. I was radicalised at a young age because of this.
Being a black person in a country that still has not recovered from the effects of apartheid made me quickly realise that I could not ignore politics. While I did not have a solid understanding of how interconnected this all was growing up, I knew that those in power play a role in a normie's life. Over the years, the connections between parliament, the constitution, school policies, international law became much clearer.
So even if a certain policy isn't affecting you, doesn't mean you cannot speak for those being hurt by harmful policies. Because when they come for you, who will speak up for you?
"The most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening."
- Rosa Luxemburg
Elections
So...local elections are coming up and the people are sick and tired. In a good way(?).There are over 500 political parties in South Africa. If they make it into parliament, that salary sets them up for life. Which tends to reduce the vigour for change that they entered parliament with.
South Africa has had the same ruling party since we got independence in 1994. You would think that with that many political parties, the competition or opposition parties would motivate the ruling party to clean up their act when they slack off, right? Not really.
The current ruling party was very important in the fight against apartheid and so it feels like we owe them a debt. I would not have a problem with that feeling of 'indebtedness' if the leaders continued that fight all the way through. Feeling obligated to vote for a political party even when they are wrong is absolutely bonkers in my personal opinion. While it is expected of us (youths in my country) to respect those who have put their lives on the line fighting oppressive regimes (they are super old now), that does not mean these leaders are immune to critique.
When leaders fail, they must be able to handle criticism and corrections that the constitution or laws of the land dictate. These laws must be applied to all people equally. There's been a rise of anti-immigration sentiment towards people of colour and this isn't unique to my country. The United States plays a masive role in South Africa's policies and it's scary how many people are unaware of this.
I want people to be free to go wherever they want to. I am anti-borders. When situations are dire in one area, organisms migrate to an area that can sustain them. It is natural to do so. So when the ruling party goes into coalitions with parties that are pro-genocide and are anti-immigration, it's time to wrap it up.
There are left-wing or left-wing adjacent parties one can vote for. But because of how right-wing this country is, left-wing parties and policies are not popular and are viewed as hindering progress in the country. Even attempts at redress such as BBBEE (akin to affirmative action in the US but for the majority of the population) is being called into question. Not because political parties are looking for more effective ways to deal with the unemployment crisis, but to make it easier for companies to evade attempts at redress.
But, the more people get skrewed over, the more they are radicalised. There are many protests happening right now regarding high tuition fees, rising cost of living and the unemployment crisis. Majority of the population agrees that education should be free, even if the news and tiktok comments say it is not a popular position. There are many positive influencers teaching people about the importance of being aware of the politics happening around them. So even though times look dark, we continue to push ahead for land, peace and bread.