#Elections2014: 20 years of democracy

*Apologies, this was scrolled on my iPhone on my commute!

So today marks a landmark day as South Africa’s “born frees” can experience their first democratic vote. It is the first without Madiba, as RSA moves towards hopes, now, of more economic freedom.

Applicable, at least, to those who are not too apathetic to vote; and those who can decide or find balance between the self and the beloved country when selecting a candidate.

Unsurprisingly, Zuma’s govt is fave to remain in place – but is there hope of change for those failed by the current state? Will Zuma invest as much to protect the women of the townships as he did, purportedly for his wife, at his own Nkandla home?

A Fair Reflection? Oscar Pistorius & South Africa’s Hall of Mirrors

Reading Jonny Steinberg’s article about Oscar Pistorius last week was almost as frustrating as the sycophancy of most of the comments – who praised his assertions without question.

Alas, while I could follow what Steinberg was getting at – he ended up being almost as bad, and misguided, as the journalists and commentators he was criticising at the start of the piece. See, I raised the issue of Oscar Pistorius’ unjust personification of South Africa months ago – (in the weeks following the shooting, during the ‘trial by media’ which saw plenty of journalists insist that Oscar was, by proxy, to blame for all of South Africa’s crimes and failings.)

I am a little tired of coming across as an ‘Oscar apologist’ – I don’t want to be that. However, I would prefer his image not be used as a reflection of South Africa’s misgivings – because it is not a narcissistic love affair, but constrained within a Hall of Mirrors, being distorted to fit a series of expansive editorial agendas.