We are conditioned!

Why do we laugh at a Black Man/African people who are struggling to speak or write English and not laugh at a White man speaking appalling Zulu, seTswana, isiXhosa, xiVenda, Xitsonga or Sesotho? "We all have done this, we thought that Boxers, Musicians and/or Soccer Players who cannot speak English are idiots (Siyabonga Nomvete, Steve Lekoelea, Vuyani Bungu, Mandoza, Bashin Mahlangu)!
Have you ever thought about De Klerk who does not even utter a single Zulu, Xhosa word, he cannot even pronounce your name to start with. In the office they pronounce your name wrongly and you just smile (Mental Oppression I tell you!). You are impressed when Mrs. van Wyk tries to speak isiZulu, seTswana or isiXhosa. In 15 years Van der Merwe managed to learn Sawubona, Molo & Dumela only...and you are impressed by that sickening and Lousy Crap !!

Why does it never occur to you that Mrs. Van Wyk is an IDIOT, a Certified Moron... who is not capable of learning one single African Language! What is compelling me to be writing this blog in English and not in Zulu, seTswana, Xhosa; even though I know that all the Recipients are either amaZulu, baTswana, baVenda, baTsonga, amaXhosa or baSotho? Is it because I know that you will be able to read and understand this email instantly without asking for interpretation? The excuse "I am faster when I read or write English", My Foot; That's a big crap! You and I were not born speaking English but we attended English schools,"
You listen to your voicemail; it is in English and how many Whites call you compared to your fellow Africans? Why do you have to cater for the 10%? You do not even have a single White friend yet your everything is in English. That is pathetic, I say!!
If I told you that I had a Degree in Zulu, Setswana, isiXhosa or seSotho you would all laugh your head off, for you do not see why someone in his right mind would want to do a degree in vernacular instead of English, yet French classes are overflowing...Your son or daughter cannot even write a mere Zulu, seTswana, isiXhosa or seSotho, s/he detest the language and no one should be learning the Zulu; seTswana, isiXhosa or seSotho by Slave Mentality!

Nokia recently introduced a phone with menus in Zulu, isiXhosa & seSotho...and we think that's 'for people who cannot read/understand English', Amaqaba/Barbarians!! When you phone Vodacom Service Centre you always press 1 (to be helped in English press 1, Zulu press 2 (Xhosa), Sotho press 3, Afrikaans 4). Why is it that you'd rather stammer than proudly speak your own vernacular language? That is because we are all conditioned...they got to our minds and we can't see it, our minds have been crippled and will never be free until we free ourselves...

"Emancipate yourselves from Mental Slavery, no one but ourselves can free our Minds" so said Bob Marley and even Steven Bantubonke Biko said something to that effect!No one will free us from mental slavery except ourselves..!''

Stay African, for you are sons and daughters of the African Soil!!!

Here I am.

WE ARE ME!

A Forward Look, with a backward glance.

I once went to Golden Gate Highlands National park, which is the real highlight and main attraction of the Free State. The vegetation in the Golden Gate nature reserve consists mainly of indigenous grassland. Long hiking paths lead through the quiet mountain world, vigorous and boisterous river for river-rafting. I am fond of nature reserves, away from the hustle and bustle of the eclectic city of Johannesburg.

What stood out for me were the massive, colourful sandstone formations, which shone golden-yellow in the evening sun, and from which the area takes its name. But the splendour that I personally marvelled at was; after a long day of swimming, hiking, canoeing and foo-foo sliding-was reaching the tip of Golden gate in the evening and wanting to live there for eternity. I felt a sense of accomplishment and I felt that I had gotten my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Everything I had done throughout the day was rewarded by that magical moment of reaching the cliff and starring into the ‘beautiful’.

That is the moment when it dawned on me; this is how I would like the rest of my life to play out. Adventure coupled with hard work and enclosed with a magical reward afterwards.
Even now after my trip, I still see the glaciers vividly in my mind and every day I try to take myself back there. Try to reel in all the ecstasy that the cliff brought to me. But I have come to an alarming thought that what if with time I will slowly start to forget or maybe my mind will equate and transform all those memories to a fragment of my imagination.

So I decide to take a canvas, paint brush and paint... relive all those memories on paper for all to see, for my future to remember and witness all that I had experience in a moment of my life on a cliff... in my past. For that moment was life changing, it gave me perspective on how I would like to feel with all new experiences. In completing my artwork and master-memory I hung it on my bedroom wall, so as see it each morning when I wake up and glance back at it before I go out to the world and create my future.

All my dreams and hopes hang on this memory. Just as in life! In order for anyone to have a goal in life, we need to have a clear picture of what we would like to achieve. It has to play out like a movie in our heads, that way when opportunities knock at your door, we may quickly and easily identify it and welcome it in! We would’ve prepared a room for it and it will fit in like missing puzzle piece in your lives.

Then again in order to achieve this goal you need to have direction. This will be encompassed from the starting point to the destination-having a backward glance comes into play! Just like how I always glanced back at my painting and grab the euphoria that will help me through the day. That is the principle we should all adopt. Capture that memory that will be conducive for ones growth. Then glance at it once in a while so as not to forget what you are working on and that you can get a clear picture of where you would like to be.

Whether it is your studies, career, relationships or whatever else that needs your undivided attention, may you rediscover yourself, define your future and take the journey in a forward look with a backward glance!

Zoe Maphala- Tuks Magazine