How apartheid killed Johannesburg's cycling culture

[Mamil]

One thing is for sure, he is safe from the fate that befell MLK.

 

I'm a non black (why do we talk of non whites?) and I know what I think of him.

 

This preacher guy don’t pull no punches does he?

Wonder what the black community actually think of this, explosive stuff.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

https://youtu.be/CBMretoTFJg

 

Ted has over 20 million subs on Youtube. Yet so few people have actually seen this video. Or rather. Chosen not to watch it. Why is that? 

 

There is a word. I cannot for the life of me remember it. And google is no help either. It is loosely defined as: 'Makes sense when you first hear it. Enough not to bother digging any deeper. But when you dig. And really think about it. It doesn't sound right at all.'

I want to say sophistry but its not that, although closely related. Sophistry usually implies the use of clever arguments with the intention to mislead or carefully selecting observable truths to justify a false narrative. And no its not an Escher phrase either.

 

Anyways. Now you might watch that video and think. 'mmh, that's neat. But Skollie, Where are all the ships?' Well I'd argue that Africa is *** big. At least compared to Europe. And Europe also has a much longer coastline too. My theory is that back in the day Africans were like: 'Hey lets go see whats behind that mountain over there.' Then when they got there another guy would say: 'Hey lets go see what behind that mountain over there.' Meanwhile in Europe. They were like: 'Your highness. We have been everywhere. There is water all around us. We might have to swim to find other lands.

**** that Dartaniel. You better think of something.' 

Thanks for this vid, Skollie...

 

Personally, I don't think we can even begin to know how much of an effect colonialism (and other religious, imperial and political) expansions and sujbugations had on the local populations. One only has to look locally to see the effect that a lack of education and empowerment has on a population. Add slavery, religious war, power vacuums and other destructive processes into the mix, and is it any wonder that Africa, a once-bountiful continent, has a glut of countries that aren't run to the same "level" as other, "developed" countries, or have a lack of "modern" technological developments?

 

By removing education and other factors from a population, you're effectively consigning them to the technological dark ages. And when those powers leave, is it any wonder that things revert to tribalism? 

 

Think of it in this way: If you're a mechanic, used to working on and improving cars of the 70's and someone comes in and stops your ability to gain knowledge of technological developments, ECU's, variable valve rates, dual-lobe camshafts, multi-plate clutch systems, smart differentials and so on... and then 40 years later the person who told you "don't worry about these things, I've got all the information, I'll handle it, you just carry on working on those savage cars" ups and leaves, without even leaving a Hayes manual in their office... 

 

Saturday morning cogitations. 

[SwissVan]

This preacher guy don’t pull no punches does he?

Wonder what the black community actually think of this, explosive stuff.

Definitely not, and he is wrong on many accounts (for example see popcorn skollies video)

 

I don’t recall when I first saw it, but one thing struck a chord that made me think and IMO is a valid point. It can be heard between 2:55 and 3:01

 

Africa as a continent has everything required to be great and successful, yet how many countries within its borders live up to this?

[King_Crispy]

(Side note) - Tell you where I realised the extent of this, not on a bicycle but a motorbike. As you do one slips through to the front of a traffic light queue when everyone is waiting at a red. Suddenly one car, two cars, then everyone is driving forwards - light still red. Here I sit like a lemon on the line just waiting to be slammed.

 

Its getting worse. Taxis and these little delivery scooters are getting noticeably worse every day, joburg at least, and the rest of commuters seem to be quietly following suit.

Yip. Erosion of values and rules.

Sliding into a lawless society devoid of any form of respect (in jhb at least)

[IceCreamMan]

Thanks for this vid, Skollie...

 

Personally, I don't think we can even begin to know how much of an effect colonialism (and other religious, imperial and political) expansions and sujbugations had on the local populations. One only has to look locally to see the effect that a lack of education and empowerment has on a population. Add slavery, religious war, power vacuums and other destructive processes into the mix, and is it any wonder that Africa, a once-bountiful continent, has a glut of countries that aren't run to the same "level" as other, "developed" countries, or have a lack of "modern" technological developments?

 

By removing education and other factors from a population, you're effectively consigning them to the technological dark ages. And when those powers leave, is it any wonder that things revert to tribalism?

 

Think of it in this way: If you're a mechanic, used to working on and improving cars of the 70's and someone comes in and stops your ability to gain knowledge of technological developments, ECU's, variable valve rates, dual-lobe camshafts, multi-plate clutch systems, smart differentials and so on... and then 40 years later the person who told you "don't worry about these things, I've got all the information, I'll handle it, you just carry on working on those savage cars" ups and leaves, without even leaving a Hayes manual in their office...

 

Saturday morning cogitations.

Not all of Africa was colonised.

 

Some courntries which were colonised did pretty well post colonisation.

 

Cultures come an go. In the long run we all dead I spose.

 

One thing is happening an that is Africa is being colonised again an the masters will be ruthless.

[BigDL]

Not all of Africa was colonised.

 

Some courntries which were colonised did pretty well post colonisation.

 

Cultures come an go. In the long run we all dead I spose.

 

One thing is happening an that is Africa is being colonised again an the masters will be ruthless.

That’s the scary bit - the new colonisers appear to have zero compassion, environmental conscience or humanity in their approach.

[IceCreamMan]

That’s the scary bit - the new colonisers appear to have zero compassion, environmental conscience or humanity in their approach.

I have seen exactly that on mines and in factories in various locations throughout Africa. The new wave will extract their pound of flesh an pay no heed to rights. Africa’s biggest problem is only thinking bout today, whereas the colonisers thinking bout 100 years from now. Roger waters was right.

[bluewhite]

Mabey we should ask the Jews for advice. They have their identity stolen shops taken away then thrown into concentration camps 6m of them killed then miraculously become independent then just as they still vulnerable and finding their feet have war declared on them by Arab states more than once and after all that they still build a nation into an empire. No blaming Germany no previously disadvantaged Jew schemes they got On with it. It’s time to take that apartheid crutch and brake it. This new government is just as much to blame with all the money they’ve stolen . Can you imagine how much the (infrastructure with cyclists in mind) could have been boosted just by that useless snake infested arms deal ?

[Mamil]

It appears that most contributors to this thread are white which is pretty boring.

 

I have strong arguments against bluewhite's point about Israel (interestingly often compared to the apartheid state) and several of the other posts here but it's just more of the same really - there are much more interesting and far reaching discussions to be had once you get over the "get over apartheid" response to informed discussion on the far reaching and still present effects of our history.

 

There's a psychologist Jordan Peterson who shot to internet fame recently for his stand against prescribed speech legislation in Canada. One of the things he talks about somewhere is how to tell the difference between thought and what he terms being "ideologically possessed". When you are ideologically possessed you don't think your thoughts, they think you. 

 

It's a concept he borrowed from Jung's idea of the psychological complex. One way to tell if you are ideologically possessed, and it's not an easy thing to do, is to ruthlessly look at what you consistently avoid. What does all of your thinking consistently stop you from looking at. Another way is to really listen as closely as you can to the people whose arguments you want to refute. And another way is to challenge yourself to make arguments that oppose yours as strong as you can. 

 

For sure though Bluewhite - I join you in lamenting the horrific squandering of money and precious precious time that has so characterized post apartheid governance. The cycling infrastructure is the least of these - the biggest in my view is the power utility and of course the almost complete failure to build a functioning education system, most particularly in the early childhood stage.

 

 

 

Mabey we should ask the Jews for advice. They have their identity stolen shops taken away then thrown into concentration camps 6m of them killed then miraculously become independent then just as they still vulnerable and finding their feet have war declared on them by Arab states more than once and after all that they still build a nation into an empire. No blaming Germany no previously disadvantaged Jew schemes they got On with it. It’s time to take that apartheid crutch and brake it. This new government is just as much to blame with all the money they’ve stolen . Can you imagine how much the (infrastructure with cyclists in mind) could have been boosted just by that useless snake infested arms deal ?

[IceCreamMan]

Peterson certainly is a controversial figure, calling a spade a spade at times.

 

For which he probably gets pariah’d.

 

He reckons white privilege is a myth as an example.

 

Reality is, without getting over apartheid one cannot move forward. I lived in Israel for a while and was dating an Israeli lass. Lovely girl but I digress. She was eligible for a monthly grant from the German government due to the atrocities of WW2 committed on her mother. She chose to stop the payments which were not inconsiderable by the way and we discussed it. Her response was simple, so long as she was taking the payments she could not move on, it kept her “imprisoned” . Apartheid is being used as an excuse wherever possible as though to allow certain behavior and politicians use it liberally as it prevents deeper searching. Let’s fix the issues but let’s stop with the blame game, that just holds everyone back. A plougman cannot plough looking backwards. The ANC govt will soon have been in power longer than the nats, time to take responsibility for its actions.

[Mamil]

Peterson's view of white privilege can only be taken with a pinch of salt given that he is Canadian.

 

There's a talking at cross purposes in this discussion. Discussing and auditing the ongoing effects of apartheid and it's historical antecedents colonialism and slavery is different to using apartheid as an excuse for the failures of the post apartheid government.

 

Further, and specifically to the first point, getting over apartheid is something that all South Africans have to do - and as a social scientist I can tell you this without any of the equivocal ambiguity of most social science, if you think you're over apartheid as a South African of any colour - you're wrong. 

 

I also believe that part of holding the ANC government to account involves white South Africans, particularly those that were alive under apartheid, doing a few things and one of them is to listen carefully to what black people say about apartheid and to stop telling them to get over it. 

 

Most of the time though - the black guys don't tell us their experience because surprise surprise surprise (more Roger Waters) we're not interested in hearing it. So they keep quiet and all we're left with is reading News24 for the claptrap that populist leaders with their own selfish agendas spout about apartheid and the monotonous drone of our own ideologically possessed voices telling ourselves what black people should do.

 

Then we tell the only black oke to pitch up in this conversation that he needs to stop banging the apartheid drum. He shrugs off what he's heard a million times before and goes for a bike ride. 

 

Who is it exactly that needs to get over apartheid?

 

With regard to the reparation payments made by the German government to your Isreali friend - an admirable step for her to take.

 

But Icecream are you seriously distilling the massive complexity of the creation of the Israeli state after the second world war which still threatens global peace, let alone that there are still missiles and bombs being flung over the borders killing women children and civilians, down to the trite maxim "You have to put it behind you and plough forward, after all look at the Isaelis".? 

 

This is what Peterson means by ideological possession - instead of expanding consciousness and awareness, thought becomes the whittling down of almost incomprehensible complexity to support the same trite conclusions again and again and again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peterson certainly is a controversial figure, calling a spade a spade at times.

For which he probably gets pariah’d.

He reckons white privilege is a myth as an example.

Reality is, without getting over apartheid one cannot move forward. I lived in Israel for a while and was dating an Israeli lass. Lovely girl but I digress. She was eligible for a monthly grant from the German government due to the atrocities of WW2 committed on her mother. She chose to stop the payments which were not inconsiderable by the way and we discussed it. Her response was simple, so long as she was taking the payments she could not move on, it kept her “imprisoned” . Apartheid is being used as an excuse wherever possible as though to allow certain behavior and politicians use it liberally as it prevents deeper searching. Let’s fix the issues but let’s stop with the blame game, that just holds everyone back. A plougman cannot plough looking backwards. The ANC govt will soon have been in power longer than the nats, time to take responsibility for its actions.

[IceCreamMan]

I aint no expert on Israel or the middle east having only lived there for a brief period. I did work for an Israeli company for 7 years and got an insight into Israel, no more.

 

It is a melting pot of cultures and for the most part in harmony too. Israel is rarely the aggressor, mostly the defender and I guess it has every tight to defend itself. Israel is mostly at peace within its borders, sadly the same cannot be said for a lot of the region.

 

but we digress, maybe chit chat is a better location for the analysis of Israel.

[Slowbee]

*snip*

I see you are feeling better this morning.

 

What ever happens do not go to dischem for more Defcon 5's.

 

Nice post by the way.

[Max Headroom]

I slouched into the Dischem this morning armed with a script for Cortisone and Defcon 5 antibiotics, green mucous dripping down the inside of my throat and a heavy heart because my teammates are on the way to Willowmore for the Trans Baviaans.

 

One seriously FOMO MOFO.

 

The queue was about 8 or 9 people long and at it's tail, a black woman, probably in her early 40's, smartly dressed holding a Dischem document and a medical aid card. There's a gap between her and the next person and, sensing my question before I've asked it, she indicates that she isn't in the queue and so I take up my seat. We shunt along, one spot at a time for a while, more people joining, a young white guy, a couple of women wearing hijab, a white woman about my age, an elderly coloured man, each politely inquiring of the woman in the last seat on bench if she was in the queue, and she, a gatekeeper granting admittance.

 

I was reading this thread and thinking about the issues raised and reflecting on the recently scorned and repudiated image of the rainbow nation and allowing myself a few moments of indulging that wonderful dream that for a few moments captured our collective imagination and then faded. Here we are, all ages, hues, religious and cultural backgrounds, patiently waiting our turn without privilege or disadvantage, united by our collective coughs, sniffles and inflamed mucosa. Feeling a bit fanciful, perhaps because of slight fever, I wondered if it could be a nice metaphor; all of us sick somehow, waiting cooperatively for the medicine that could make us better.

 

The professional staff were also mixed, a coffee coloured senior pharmacist with an older white guy reporting to her, the patchwork of colours on both sides of the counter. My turn comes at counter 3 and I'm served by a white woman slightly older than I am, mid 50's probably. As I get to the counter a white woman my age asks if I mind if she quickly gets the pharmacy email address from the counter before I'm served and I indicate she should go ahead. 

 

I've dealt with this pharmacist before. She moved heaven and earth to assist me when I got cross with them not too long ago when they bungled a script. She pours out exactly the right amount of cortisone tablets from the bulk size jar and I tell her she's like a cowboy who can tell how many bullets there are in the six shooter simply by holding it. She laughs and we make a few more jokes. Another pharmacist says "Excuse me for a moment" and makes an inquiry of the woman who is helping me.

 

Everything is working well.

 

My medicines are in their cage, zip tied closed and I turn to walk away. As I do so and seizing the gap, the black woman at the tail of the queue says to the the pharmacist very softly but exasperated "Sorry, you haven't forgotten about me have you". The pharmacist's tone changes, becomes more clipped, her smile hardens "No We're still waiting she says. I'll call you don't call me OK, see lovey". 

 

There are no villains in this vignette. No bad people or monsters. Verwoerd is rotting in his grave but the stench of the ideology of which he was a prime protaginist has touched every single one of us in that queue, even those born after '94.

 

The white pharmacist who served me is an intelligent and kind person - I've seen this. As a white male in this domain I have privilege and power - if my script is botched and I am met with an indifferent response from the first line of customer service I can flex this power and demand and receive attention and if I do it skilfully I will be admired and respected for those actions. The white woman who reasonably and politely jumped the queue enjoys a similar set of tacit social permissions. The black woman who waited the 30 minutes plus however long before I got there, receives a tacit communication that she should just sit still, be quiet and wait.

 

I believe the pharmacist would deny that her tone changed - it's an unconsciously exercised behaviour. She doesn't know that she is doing it. If it was raised with her she would feel attacked and unfairly judged. IT doesn't make her a monster or a perpetrator, she is dusted, like all of us, with the accumulated social patterning of generations of violent oppression.

 

I don't know if the black woman was aware of it. I didn't look at her. At this point I stopped my observation of the scene. Perhaps because I'd had enough of the pharmacy and wanted to get home to feel sorry for myself and see what a bout of man flu might bring me by way of special treatment in the house, but more likely because this is what we do. We look away from it. And we look away from it because we are ashamed of it, we know that this is unjust. And maybe I looked away too because I don't know what to do about it. There's no point in attacking the pharmacist, and pointing out how her behavior changed towards this particular client. It would be poor form to patronise the black woman in some way by trying to protect her or make it stop.

 

Apartheid was a nuclear bomb on the social fabric and we are all still radioactive - the half life is centuries, the distortions and mutations of healthy social functioning are profound and often profound in their subtlety. 

 

It's a tragedy what has happened and what is still happening here and it makes me incredibly sad because this is my home and I am seriously considering leaving it.

 

It is bloody difficult being a South African.

 

Oh boy, this so so well written. Not just the message but the articulate fluid language.