Cultural historian Leo Braudy gives an insight into this in his book The Frenzy of Renown. This delves into the democratisation of celebrity status.

Influencer Belle Delphine

In 2019, Instagram influencer Belle Delphine sold her used bath water to her enormous following for R513 a pop. It was the gamer girl’s comeback to “thirsty gamer boys”.

She has since been mocked for her seemingly ridiculous PR stunt, but it seems that the joke is on us.

The bath water sold out instantly! It also gained her an amount of clout that would otherwise not have happened. 

But how did we get here? Where did things get so weird?

Influencers boast millions of followers and brand deals, and have redefined the status of celebrity completely. But they are, after all, mere mortals also.

The first recorded influencer

Perhaps the first global influencer was Alexander the Great. The reason we still know his name is due to his insatiable need to conquer the world.

He was one of the first to slap his face on items, for example, starting with coins. He removed images of monarchy from coins and replaced them with his own face so his followers suddenly knew him more intimately.

During his reign, Alexander commissioned statues that he altered to portray only “the best of Alex”. Is what he did so different to using an Instagram filter today?

Alexander the Great established the basics of fame we still follow till this day: Be seen! 

Vanity paintings

After Alexander kick-started the culture of vanity and staring at your own face, along came the portrait artist sof the 1500s.

The extremely wealthy could have portraits of themselves painted and this is where famous artists like Leonardo Da Vinci made their mark.

The upper classes adorned their homes with unnecessarily large canvasses with faces no one outside their family necessarily wanted to see.

The portrait, and portrait artist himself, became a status symbol that the rich revelled in and the working class envied. 

How photography changed the game

Then came the photograph in the 1800s and this technology made widespread distribution of your own face much simpler.

The rise of the Industrial Revolution made way for cheap manufacturing and printing processes that made “celebrities” more accessible to the rest of us.

Photography, unlike art, made it possible to copy images for mass production.

And then, with the rise of motion graphics and movies, the celebrity barrier broke down completely.

They and the characters they portrayed on screen became a relatable bunch. This made the audience believe that they too could become famous if more people saw their face.

Once again, you only matter if you’re seen. 

The impact of reality television

In the late 1990s a very specific genre ruled our television screens: Reality TV.

Shows such as Big Brother, Jersey Shore and The Bachelor became iconic overnight and drew audiences of millions.

The characters of these shows were seemingly ordinary people who simply “got lucky”.

This way of thinking fed into our beliefs that we too could easily become famous. All we needed to know was how to party, be beautiful or show some small fragment of a hidden talent. 

It seems we are more obsessed with the process of celebrity today than the person themselves.

We become fixated on the way the Kardashians became famous so that we can somehow match their lives to ours.

The influencer in 2020

The modern-day influencer seems to be a casual character who drives success just by being themselves.

We also think that we are deserving simply because of who we are. We project their pseudo-celebrity status onto ourselves because “they seem so normal, right?” 

We live in a time where Instagram Reels, Spotify Plays and TikTok views rule in a way.

The modern-day influencer has made it seem that one viral post could change your life too.

Achievements have gone from Alexander dominating the world, to the Youtubers that create snatched brows.

Things have changed a lot, and the next generation of celebrities might even be more ridiculous. 

We buy their bath water because they tell us to.  Perhaps we buy their bath water because we secretly want to sell our own!

As the rainbow nation celebrated Heritage Day, I watched in jubilation. Some South Africans adorned themselves in traditional attire, while others took videos showing their fluency in our 11 official and other African languages.  It was very beautiful to watch.

However, a couple of questions struck me:

• Why is it that we only celebrate our different cultures, heritage and who we are on one specific day a year?
• Do we need holidays and traditional ceremonies to remind us to celebrate who we are?
• Why is it that we try to learn other languages, different cuisines and explore heritage sites only on Heritage Day?

I believe that civilisation and urbanisation are the main reasons why we have lost our roots, especially as Africans.

Heritage of herbal medicine

Back in the day, traditional herbs and medicine played a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing.

Even though our ancestors weren’t educated, they knew a lot of things and were in touch with mother nature.

A good example is the herb umhlonyane (African wormwood). This was the most used and sought-after herb over COVID-19 when it the pandemic was at its peak. Madagascar claimed it had developed a cure using this herb.

I assume the death rate in many African countries was lower than expected because of the use of traditional medicine, especially in South Africa.

Heritage of mother tongue

With the move to urban areas we often leave behind our mother tongues and culture as well.

Research has indicated that people often do not know the value of their mother tongue. Even though English is the universal language, it is important to teach the current generation the importance of knowing their mother tongue.

What will we pass on to the next generation if we do not know who we are? What will we teach them if we do not know and embrace our culture and language?

Heritage of natural food

With a population that is increasing almost every day, farmers use chemicals to help them grow food to meet the demand and prevent food scarcity.

Scientists and farmers therefore produce a lot of food with artificial methods. This means also that we are now able to get fruits and vegetables even when they are out of season.

The question is, however, are they healthy and do they have as many nutrients as when they are in season?

Research has indicated that eating too much processed food is actually causing our health to deteriorate. We now have incurable diseases because of the unhealthy food we eat.

But, imagine if we were to grow our own food. If each family had a herb or vegetable garden, perhaps we would be healthier.

Sure, food brands and manufacturers have decreased sugar, salt and other ingredients that are bad for our health. Even so, much of the food we eat is unhealthy.

Advertisements in the media encourage us to indulge in junk food because it is rare to hear or see adverts for healthy food.

Every day should be a heritage day

Besides that, healthier food is often more expensive. This is why I say every day should be heritage day because traditional food is healthier.

Growing our vegetables could save us a lot of money, and opting for traditional medicine and herbs may help us to heal some of our ailments.

South Africa is a very diverse country in terms of language, race, and cuisine.

So let us embrace the rainbow nation that we are by learning other languages while ensuring that our mother tongues will continue to exist.

Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the basic ground of equality of the sexes. According to South African History Online, the South African society is conventionally patriarchal which means men held the authority in society and women were subordinates to men.

Waves of feminism

Feminism as a movement developed in waves over time to address different issues. 

Waves of feminism

1. The first wave of feminism was the right to vote. South African white women were first able to vote in 1930, but black women only gained this right in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
2. The second wave of feminism includes workplace rights and reproductive rights.
3. The third wave of feminism includes identity in terms of beauty, femininity and masculinity and more. 
4. The fourth wave of feminism is now, and focuses on women empowerment through internet tools. This includes Hashtag Feminism.

There are also many different variations of the movement, ranging from liberal, radical, black and intersectional feminism, among others. Each of these brought in social changes to the wider movement. 

Students’ views on feminism

However, despite all the literature and background information, there are still many misconceptions. Students, as the thought leaders of the future, give their viewpoints and experiences.

Let’s start with the views of a few female students at Durban University of Technology (DUT).

1. Women think they are superior to men

A common misconception is that feminists think they are superior to men rather than equal.

“A misconception is that feminism is for the superiority of women, when it is actually for equality,” says fourth year radiography student Feroshia Osman. 

This sees feminists as overly radical individuals, who are fixed on being superior to males, says BTech journalism student Carissa Marnce.

“However, our current culture operates with men receiving the benefits of patriarchy in society,” says Marnce.

“This means that women are the disadvantaged group who do not have the same rights and opportunities as men. Therefore, feminism aims to fight outdated gender stereotypes that are preventing women from empowering themselves in every facet of life.”

The view of the “superior feminist” is common, says first-year journalism student Sisanda Ngongoma.

“In a traditional home or rural area, they say that feminists are a bunch of women looking down on men and they take it as bashing men by looking down on their roles. They see feminists as disrespectful,” Ngongoma says.

 2. Feminists hate men

This misconception is where people believe feminists hate all men.

“In the past, when I said I was a feminist, I was asked if I hate men or if I thought that women are above men,” says first-year business and information management student Marissa Naidoo.

She says people “further sent memes that paint the picture of women hating men”.

“People have this misconception that because you’re a feminist you think females are above men. But we just want equality,” Naidoo says.

3. Women want to be men

Many perceive feminists as women who want to be men and think they have masculine qualities.

“A lot of feminists exhibit qualities that are usually praised when seen in men. However, when seen in a woman it is as if something is wrong with her,” notes third year journalism student Nasiha Khan.

“They take it as if we want to be men. It is a double standard when it comes to how a woman and man should behave.”

4. Feminists lack femininity 

“Feminism is all about giving women a choice, whatever that choice may be.”

Sanelisiwe Mabaso

Another misconception is that feminists lack the softness that many expect women to openly possess. Many see them as not wanting to marry or build a family.

“The most common misconception I have encountered is people thinking I am against women who are housewives or married in polygamy,” says BTech journalism student Sanelisiwe Mabaso.

“This is not true because feminism is all about giving women a choice, whatever that choice may be.”

5. Men can’t be feminists 

Society automatically thinks “female” when you mention “feminist” but this is also a misconception. Feminism is a movement for equality and men can be feminists too.

Former United States president Barack Obama, for example, identified himself as a feminist. This was a huge positive boost to the perception of feminism. 

University of Witwatersrand politics and international relations student Agastya Thaker, 23, gives his perspective.

“For a lot of men that’s a misconception because it has not been normalised yet for men to be feminists,” says Thaker.

“The nature of the cause has put women at the forefront but I feel more attention should be drawn to how men can be functional feminists in their lives.”

Looking at the different student responses, perhaps it is time to tackle these misconceptions. After all, it would be ideal if men and women can exist peacefully and there was not need to fight for equality of the genders. 

We have transitioned from the campus to our laptops or mobile devices to learn over  the lockdown period.

The universities are prioritising quality online student services to rescue the academic year.

However, being at home means we face new levels of complexities that include not only studies but also family duties and limitations. Some students, for example, do not even have a study table or a quiet environment in which to study.  

Educational researcher and instructor Dr Tracy Orr says this can add up to affect our academic performance.

“When faced with so many challenges, learners frequently become overwhelmed, leading to increased levels of burnout and increased attrition,” Orr says.

Online health services are essential

Mental and emotional health are important factors in our cognitive processes. Health and wellness online services are as essential as our masks or sanitisers are offline.

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group testifies that at least one in five students have suicidal thoughts. What’s more, it says suicide is the second leading cause of death in university students.

We are subjected to strenuous and sometimes simultaneous assessments. Virtual learning has significantly amplified the amount of time we spend on our computers every week.

Poor sleep can affect your health

Besides, as students we often face altered sleeping cycles that interfere with prefrontal cortex function. This can also have an impact on our psychological and mental health.

Both factors have an influence on circadian rhythm the body’s “biological clock”. It regulates our sleep-wake cycle and other physical, mental and behavioural cycles.

Online learning has subjected students to a constant disruption of this cycle. And that, in turn, can lead to long-term difficulties in falling asleep, daytime fatigue, mood disturbances, anxiety and symptoms of depression.

All these can contribute to poor academic performance in the lockdown period.

As students we also may spend hours stacked upon each other in the house, or even just in our rooms.

Lack of human interaction

This is where you see the effect of how online learning affects our physical activity levels. There is no walking to classes, or moving around campus.

Online learning also has deprived us of human interaction between students of different disciplines and the little “giggles” before heading to class and heated group meetings at library logs.

These may have seemed less important some four months ago. However, they add up to form part of the modest human factors which help us not to crack under pressure.

As the tertiary environment evolves over the pandemic, there is a need for online health and wellness systems to be integrated with our studies. Higher institutions may have some mechanisms in place; however, their effectiveness remains unclear.

Tips to stay positive

We can adopt positive personal tool kits that can help us improve at a personal level. For example, it is good for us to stay physically active, and spend some time without our electronic devices.

Furthermore, students should prioritise their health and sleep. We can maximise this through simply switching off all electronics and doing something we revel in or that which relaxes our bodies an hour before bed. This could be reading a book, listening to music or writing something in a diary.

• Some have found it relaxing to get some beads and then make necklaces and bracelets.
• Another avenue to better health is to eat healthy food.
• It’s also an idea to call our classmates on the phone to check up on their wellbeing.

Update policies on student wellness

It is time to update institutional policy on student wellness. Now we are online, it needs to offer mental health education through links and videos and not only in on-campus counselling.

We need crisis services, such depression or suicide hotlines, to be available along with self-help services that provide self-evaluation.

Another important aspect over the pandemic is the need for online gender sensitive-counselling services and feedback channels.   There is a lot that educational institutions can do. It is important not only to provide academic tuition online

Where to get help

Here are some helpful numbers and e-mail contacts to access counselling from South African universities during lockdown.

If you are a student and you think you might need just a little bit more help, have look at our simple guide to mental health support at SA universities to see where you can find some assistance.

If the trust in the South African judiciary breaks down, and those tasked with upholding the laws fail to do so, there are implications. Many citizens will find little justification for obeying the law. In these unprecedented times, therefore, South African courts must behave as the Constitution tasks them to.

The Roman poet Juvenal famously penned the phrase “quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” which roughly translates as “who will watch the watchmen?”

We have been grappling with exercising control over the judicial branch of government since the dawn of the democratic nation state. Never has this been more relevant that in the current struggles of the South African judiciary.

Generally, democracy has three separate branches of government: the executive, parliament and the judiciary. Each exercises checks and balances over each other, avoiding the centralisation of power in the hands of a few. The judiciary is thus at the forefront of retaining a healthy democracy.

Keeping the watchmen honest

The Constitution gives the South African judiciary clear instructions as it orders them to behave “impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice”.

Judges are appointed, not elected, and it is difficult to remove them from office. This helps to ensure that they can act as the Constitution instructs them without any undue interference with their duties.

It is therefore of the utmost importance that judges maintain the highest levels of ethics. This helps to ensure the public has confidence in their rulings and the judicial system.

The recent developments in the Western Cape High Court are an excellent opportunity for all of us to pause and reflect on judges’ oath to the Constitution. We also may consider their role in a constitutional democracy.

The allegations

On 15 January 2020, Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath laid a complaint with the Judicial Services Commission. In it, she set out a string of allegations against the judge president of the Western Cape High Court, Justice Hlophe.

These included “attempting to influence judicial appointments, assaulting fellow judges, sexual impropriety and creating a climate of hostility and fear in chambers”.

There are other allegations, spanning a decade, against the Judge President. These include allegations that he tried to exert undue influence on Constitutional Court judges to favour then president Jacob Zuma in a judgement relating to his alleged corrupt affairs.

It also has been reported that the Western Cape High Court has descended into factions, with judges refusing to sit with each other.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, as head of the Judicial Complaints Commission, ordered an investigation into the conduct of the judge president.

Mogoeng argued: “It is simply unthinkable that a Judge President, however angry he or she might be, would commit a crime of violence against another person … within an institution that exists to rid society of criminality”.

The Judge President responded through his attorney. He argued that the Chief Justice was guilty of Islamophobia, a conflict of interest and of failing to comply with the “elementary principles of the Constitution”.

Judiciary must do better

The judiciary has to do better than this. Without jumping to conclusions, it is of the utmost importance to investigate as swiftly as possible to find out exactly what happened. The reputation of the entire judiciary hinges on it.

The recent developments in Malawi, where the nation’s top court nullified presidential results, shows us how important it is that the judiciary remains impartial and apolitical.

The judiciary often is the last bastion against the erosion of democratic ideals and structures.

Those wishing to be addressed as “My Lord” or “My Lady” therefore must understand the responsibility which comes with their jobs.

According to South African History Online, between 3 000 and 10 000 pupils were mobilised by the South African Students Movement’s Action Committee, which was supported by the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), to partake in a peaceful protest march against the compulsory use of Afrikaans alongside English as a medium of instruction on 16 June 1976.

The march was meant to culminate at a rally in Orlando Stadium, but the pupils were met by heavily armed police who fired teargas and later live ammunition.

Youth absent from key strategic positions

We often hear that young people are the future of a nation. However, exactly 44 years later, South African youth is nowhere to be seen in key strategic positions in the country.  

If we look at the current sixth administration, the majority age of members of parliament are 55 and above — and the same goes for political party leaders. How could it be that the National Development Plan and Agenda 2063 are being championed by people who might not even be alive when in 2063?

In my opinion, it seems as if young people are only considered important when it’s election time and do not receive the necessary grooming for them to step into leadership positions themselves.

Poverty, inequality still painful reality

The youth of 1976 fought for quality education. Black schools lacked qualified teachers, facilities and resources. While the access to education has improved since 1994, data indicates that  education levels remain low. 

The University of Cape Town (UCT), together with the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit conducted research on the state of the youth’s well-being in South Africa in 2018.

They found that after 26 years of democracy, the struggle for a better life, poverty and inequality remains a reality for many young people in our country.

Lockdown learning highlights gap

This became more evident when the nationwide lockdown was instated on 27 March. Marginalised and underprivileged pupils and students had to rely mostly on radio lessons to catch up while others were privy to online classes and virtual meetings.

The delay in the commencement of physical academic activities further proved the socioeconomic gap. Most schools didn’t open because they lacked basic resources, such as running water and proper sanitation. 

High youth unemployment rate

South Africa is one of the countries in the world with a high youth unemployment rate, currently at 29%. The UCT-led research also found that the official unemployed rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 52% in 2011 and increased to 64% in 2018.

There are many cases where young South Africans have been fighting for opportunities and representation in the upper deciles of the economy and key strategic positions in or country.

The youth is able, they just need opportunities. 

Many citizens returned to work, some schoolchildren started to prepare for a return to classes on 8 June and scores of people queued to stock up on their #HappyHour drinks of choice.

‘New form of normal’

After nearly three months of extreme personal restrictions and necessary health precautions, it seems that we are returning to a new form of normal. 

However, some citizens are notably apprehensive about these changes due to the fact that the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country. As of Thursday 4 June, South Africa has recorded 40,792 cases and 848 deaths, and new infections continue to climb at a rapid rate. To many it seems that we’re in uncharted territory and caution is recommended. 

Italy navigating mysterious terrain

Across the world, however, many countries are facing the same dilemmas. For example, Italy which seemingly weathered one of the worst outbreaks of the disease, is now navigating this same mysterious terrain and trying to establish what the best way is to re-open their country. 

On Wednesday 3 June, Italy Italy began to allow regional and some international travel and scrapped a 14-day mandatory quarantine period. 

• Watch the exclusive The South African video interview with Natale Labia for some of the key takeaways of this discussion and some insights into what we might expect as we move forward in these unprecedented times. 

According to dance and performance studies lecturer and founder of the Flatfoot Dance Company, Lliane Loots, the nature of the “persecution” of people living with disabilities has not been grasped as yet and as a result, individuals living with disabilities often have minimal access to resources due to the classification of their disabilities.

Integration and inclusive practices

Although this cause itself is traceable to the colonial design and institution of regal knowledge, we as society need to start rethinking ways in which to include people living with disabilities.

With that being said, the aim is to critically reflect and engage with the colonial rendezvous and its interrelation with disability as an attempt to underline the importance of decolonisation through integration and inclusive practices needed in South Africa’s educational system.

Universal narrative on disability

First and foremost, in order to comprehend “disability”, we have to alter it and understand the universal narrative.

Shaun Gretch puts forth in his essay “Decolonising Eurocentric Disability Studies” that “disability existed and was constructed, imagined and lived in the colonial”.

Thus colonialism cannot be disregarded as it is one of the common occurrences in diverse fractured spaces. 

This notion is further explained as Gretch mentions that “disabled people, like others, do not exist outside history and were impacted as part of the colonised”. Those who had been categorised as disabled, had also experienced the torment caused by the colonisers — if not equally, then more.

Gretch further argues that impairments were pitched to the colonised as the irreversible and consequent punishment, meaning that disabled bodies were used as examples of disciplinary action for those who dared to defy them. As a result, disability became an “accessory of difference”.

Social justice

Decolonising the South African educational system requires the use of inclusive practices which strives for social justice by resisting the notion of exclusion within and from communities and institutions.

The main question seems to be: How do we ensure inclusivity? For starters, by promoting participation and accessibility.

Loots, who has conducted various inclusive dance workshops, emphasises that “the educator and pupil enter into a mutual learning process” by drawing onto “their own localised knowledge and understanding of the world”. 

Case study: Oasis Group Home

This notion I had witnessed during a workshop conducted by Kate Jaskolski at the Oasis Group Home where we were divided into groups of varied abilities and were instructed to create a single still image (as a group) of what the term “home” meant to us, which eventually developed into a 30-second skit. 

This was when I realised that theatre was an abandonment of appropriateness and rather an engagement with the intuitive lived bodily experience.

Theatre as a tool of instruction

Loots further says theatre should be used “as a tool – or indeed a strategy – towards other kinds of learning that engage the issues that plague our own lived reality”.

In another instance, she mentions that when being inclusive, it is important to “look deeper into how we gave instruction” – which is exactly what Jaskolski did while facilitating her workshop at the Oasis Group Home.

The instructions given were left open for one’s own interpretation, instead of being closed off with extremely specific directions which would ultimately end up excluding someone, one way or the other.

However, at the Unmute Dance Company — where integrated dance occurs through inclusive practices — the term “disability” has been reclaimed.

Arts consultant, author, filmmaker and activist Simi Linton explains the reason for this by stating that “disabled people are taking the thing in their identity that scares the outside world the most and making it a cause to level in with militant self-pride”.

Opportunity and access

Thus when visiting Unmute, the dance company’s co-founder and artictic director Nadine Mckenzie mentioned that everyone –  people with different body histories, types and abilities – is able to discover and gain their full potential when given the opportunity and access to the appropriate resources.

While watching the rehearsal of Siphenathi Mayekiso’s solo on albinism, choreographed by Andile Vellem, it became evident that majority of the time as Lliane Loots mentions in her journal “You don’t look like a dancer!”: “when disabled bodies do dance, it is often met with – at best – pity, shame and a patronising critical inability to look at the creation of art/performance”.

Nonetheless, the solo work on albinism as a disability feeds into Linton’s statement in the publication Reassigning Meaning:

“Albinism includes the idea that a person’s abilities or characteristics are determined by disability or that people with disabilities as a group are inferior to non-disabled people”.

I concur that once we start looking beyond what society has deemed as “abled” and “disabled”, only then will we realise that the work which they have created is challenging clichés surrounding what varied abled bodies can/cannot do – something which can only happen through inclusive education which is congruent with the notion of ubuntu.

Learning across differences

Through visiting the Oasis Group Home and Unmute Dance Company, the notion of inclusivity needs to influence personal teaching practices.

By observing the way in which Mayekiso and Vellem communicated during rehearsal – through gestures and sign language – the importance of eye contact and focus became imminent; something which we often take for granted when we assume that everyone in the room can hear us.

In addition through participating in Jaskolski’s Oasis Group Home workshop, I learnt that stimulating learning across differences provides individuals with opportunities to engage and accept the next person’s differences.

From an applied pedagogical perspective, Jaskolski had mentioned that when one becomes familiar with who one will be teaching, it is important that activities are accommodating to all and can alternatively be modified (when need be) in order to be inclusive.

Disability as an identity

These inclusive practices ensure nurturing of cultural consideration and belonging.

Diverse manifestations in theatre’s primary manner of communication is the body and with the body comes consciousness to body politics. In order to understand the notion of body politics we have to recall that historically the colonizer framed the other culturally, spiritually, racially and bodily – measures which were used to isolate disabled people.

Despite having caused tremendous suffering, today disability is seen and understood as an identity.

In South Africa, disability can truly be seen as a form of discrimination that often excludes the disabled body, not only in a theatre setting, but in general.

Thus the practice of inclusivity and integration in the South African education system is important as it aids in decolonisation by teaching us to: Support diversity, encourage involvement, support safeguarding and promote equality overall.

#blacklivesmatter

No doubt you’ve come across the #blacklivesmatter tag accompanied by very graphic and shocking videos of the death of George Floydwhile he was being pinned down by a police officer after he allegedly paid with a fake $20 note.

Rape isn’t as important as death?

The inhumane treatment of Floyd sent shock waves across the world.

However, on South African soil, a young man has shown utter disregard for the women of our country who have been victims of sexual assault and rape. In reply to these victims sharing their stories on Twitter, he tweeted: “People are dying out there (America), now y’all bring up y’all rape story — like really?”  

This created a frenzy on Twitter and women who already weren’t feeling safe enough to share their stories felt completely invalidated through one tweet.

But in typical Twitter fashion, this man got major backlash for being so inconsiderate towards these women. And after realising how much outrage he has caused, he claimed that someone had his phone and that he wasn’t the one who tweeted. Nobody bought his story to say the least.

If you don’t report rape, it never happened… 

Another South African youth who got attention for the wrong reason was a teenage girl who seemed to have no sympathy when a friend of hers told her about her rape. She refused to believe her friend based on the fact that she did not tweet about the incident.

The Twitter streets proceeded to do what they do best and questioned her morals and values. The teenager added fuel to the fire and continued to act nonchalant about the comments headed her way.

The main thread in the Twitter comments was that she seemed to be an example of a female who belittles women who are rape victims and that “friends” like her contributes to the reason why women don’t report these crimes.

Throw away the rotten potatoes

Despite these individuals’ insensitive utterances on Twitter, the collective outcry has proven without doubt doubt that if we stand together we can create a barrier that’s unbreakable.   

British American Tobacco has also threatened  to take legal action if the cigarette ban was not lifted immediately and later dropped its plans to force the government to life the ban.

Last Sunday Ramaphosa announced the country’s move to Level 3 of lockdown on Monday 1 June. SABC News Channel (DStv 404) interviewed a number of political analysts to hear their views on the move with specific focus on the lifting of the ban on alcohol sales. 

Too much emphasis on alcohol and tobacco debate

Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute (ASRI) research director Angelo Fick feels that too much attention has been given to the issue of alcohol and tobacco in a country where people are living in poverty plagued by gender-based violence (GBV) and other pressing social issues.

“I feel that South Africans should focus on more important issues, such as the commencement of physical academic activities, the readiness of institutions, the reopening of schools and many other lockdown issues.

Political analyst Dr Somadoda Fikeni agreed with Fick, saying the debate around the sale of alcohol and cigarettes is only highlighting one thing, while the neglect of socioeconomic issues laid bare by the lockdown, is a fundamental one.

“The biggest debate would be how does one arrive at a conclusion that tobacco would be more dangerous than alcohol? Once people start drinking, you have car accidents, domestic violence and other forms of crime that will land people in jail. I expect more legal challenges, once all the minutes, debates and evidence around the tobacco ban are made public,” said Fikeni

Rather focus on GBV and safe reopening of schools

Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed during a media briefing on the crime statistics during the lockdown, that the calls — and not necessarily reported cases — made to the Gender-based Violence Command Council increased by 500%.

This increase further proves that South Africa has more important battles to fight and focus on besides alcohol and cigarettes.

Schools were set to reopen its doors for grades 7 and 12 on day one of Level 3. However, due to several schools not being safe and prepared for pupils’ return, the Basic Education Department on Sunday postponed the date by a week to 8 June.

These are the type of issues we should be focusing on: How we as South Africans can work together with the government instead of politicising the reopening of schools. 

As communities and companies we should rather donate cloth masks, sanitisers and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure that pupils and educators are safe. We can also come up with other ideas as to how social distancing can be monitored. 

Love is not bound by the self’s need for self. The poets could kill themselves for love because that is the proof required to eliminate the contradiction.

A mathematical introduction

In mathematics the set of complex numbers considers the ideal of imaginary numbers. As with many large sets, the possibility of an even larger set lingers. It may be the even larger set does not hold any significance to the world as we know it now, but holds the possibility of being the key explanation in future events. We look at infinity as a boundless object.

An endless value which can still be used and manipulated like any other object. With that said we consider Georg Cantor’s proof that there exist an object (set) larger than infinity. A larger infinity. My fairly basic understanding of Georg Cantor’s set theory stems from an understanding of romance and the movie The Fault in Our Stars.

If we consider the values between 0 and 1, we see that the set of rational and irrational numbers between 0 and 1 is incomprehensible, infinite. Yet we know there is a value bigger than 1, such as 1.1. Considering the values between 1 and 2, we see the exact same thing. Leading us to safely assume there are infinities larger than infinity.

Life as a set of plausible possibilities

If we look at life as a set of plausible possibilities, which are also infinite, we can also consider the possibility of an “imaginary set” of possibilities. Possibilities which by standard proof seem impossible. Just like the complex numbers, life itself can span into two categories: The real (plausible) and the non-real (imagination, impossible and not understood).

As in mathematics, the non-real reality is not considered real, but can still be put to “ideal” use. The non-real set of life possibilities can seem incomprehensible and not yet significant to the world as of now, but that does not limit its future impact on the society.

The non-real set of life possibilities can be considered to contain the imaginative ideal of humans. The superheroes and fiction and to some the existence of a higher power, offer a limitless set for the limitless mind. This can also be considered as the set that contains contradictions and paradoxical discourse (In the strictest sense that is).

Magical realism

The understanding of such a set could further open the mind to fathom such ideals as romance and love in its vastness, gods and fiction. This set could be the second apple in the Garden of Eden. A set containing infinite possibilities with as many infinite consequences.

This set gives provision to the more abstract of ideas and allows the individual to think of abstracts, such as love and flying with the wings of an angel, as possibilities yielding their own consequences. This is not much different from what fiction and television offers. This is just a set of life’s possible magical realism.

Consideration of expectations

We can consider the word “expectations” as a random variable X, with a chance of two outcomes, at different probabilities. Probabilities affected by factors of a relationship. Both initial factors and factors of progression.

Our sample space therefore is the parameters of an existing relationship. These parameters seem to expand with closeness and compatibility.

Suggesting a relationship between soulmates to have a limitless bound and infinite possibilities. Infinite set of possibilities factoring in the set of ideals, which we choose to only imagine the positive but put off the opposing ideals (negative expectations).

Ideals that suggest a deeper narcissism within all of us, which constantly threatens our relationships. There’s a constant change in the perception of Expectations due to natural narcissism.

Expansion on the non-real

Pythagoreans believed that everything can be reduced to numbers, thus the fundamental entities of which our universe is composed of is not matter, fields or strings but numbers. With this belief you can see how an individual’s life can therefore be seen as a set of numbers (objects). A set containing the real and non-real (The abstract of ideals).

Both sets being Infinite and yielding infinite consequences.

The set of life’s real is infinite but comprehensible. Even math-anxious people can stand to work with real numbers, but the more complex the mathematics gets, the less inclined they are to try.

Such is with the set of life’s non-real. We try to understand the vastness that is comprehensible, but put off the vastness that is associated with chaos, total disorder and the infinitely complex (Ampeiron). And let’s not forget Aristotle: Infinity is not a perfection but the absence of a limit.

Expansion on the love hypothesis

Within the infinite set of Life, we have an existing and seeming simultaneously non-existing entity. Love. Although so many people can contest to the existence of Love, they do so with their individual and unique premise. Love in its very nature is indefinite. I with my understanding could try to classify it as existing but someone can still argue that it doesn’t exist.

St Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica argues “Although God’s power is unlimited, he still cannot make an absolutely unlimited thing, no more than he can make an unmade thing (for this involves contradictions being true together). – This argument being self-contradictory it gives premise to the argument of loves elegant but flaw filled set of contradictions.

Link to expectations

The idea that we can learn to love as a form creation is that not explored. The idea that suggest that we can love someone because of how they perceive us in their minds.

From this idea we see that it is not the person you are attracted to but the image that person has of you. An underlying, natural narcissism.

This perception a person has of you is clouded with ideas and expectations. Expectations only perceived as expectations if they don’t agree with what we subconsciously want for ourselves.

However, the DStv channel has constantly come under fire for its controversial choice of content. What’s clear is that although Moja Love seek to improve and shed light on various social issues in South Africa, a part of their content always seems to have technical direction errors, as they tend to record the narrative first and then balance the technicalities with its captivating narrative. 

This past Sunday, Moja Love aired two episodes of Uyajola 9/9. The first episode followed Ledile, a woman who wrote in about her husband, Lewis, who she knew was being unfaithful to her for some time. After a day or two, Jub Jub and his team were able to spot Lewis with another woman at the local taxi rank.

Ledile was overwhelmed with emotion to see Lewis with another woman. Soon thereafter, we see the Uyajola 9/9 team intervene in the situation with viewers offered 10 minutes of drone footage showing the taxi rank with flashes of close-up footage of the couple with the other woman.

Technical and ethical concerns 

This raises a lot of questions regarding the show’s technical choices, beginning with the choice of the drone and how the drone was used in the show.

A drone is meant to introduce the viewer to the location and fly over the scene to give viewers an arial view of the action happening down below, instead the viewers saw a static arial shot of the taxi rank and had difficulty spotting the action in the taxi rank.

Secondly, the show highlights some ethical concerns about how the team finds the partner and “the other woman or man” in the relationship.

When Jub Jub says his team will find the subject’s partner, he uses the word “investigators” to describe them. As is the case with Cheaters, Jub Jub shows the subject footage of their significant other and the third party. One can’t help but wonder how the “investigators” find them so quickly? It’s obvious the “investigators” keep a close eye on the pair and follow them from a distance to pin their location and film the incriminating footage. 

Thirdly, the show is infamous for ambushing the subjects’ significant others in public spaces. Past episodes have seen the Uyajola team enter spaces, such as movie theatres, Pick n Pay aisles and taxi ranks.

Should it only be about ratings? 

A part of me feels that the show relentlessly chase ratings and publicity more than actually assisting couples troubled by infidelity. DStv’s April 2020 ratings place Uyajola 9/9 as the 10th highest watched show in the primetime slot, bringing in a whopping 1.3 million viewers per episode. 

One can’t help but question the popularity of the show. Why are there so many viewers tuning into Uyajola 9/9 every week? Do we enjoy reality television because we enjoy laughing at the despair of others?

Is the pandemic the most frightful event we should be worrying about, or is there something darker awaiting us?

When I was younger, I used to dream and fantasize about what a fully technological era would entail. I would sit back and imagine myself in a self-driving car, or a solar-powered jet pack that would carry me off to a different world.

After much consideration, I have to admit that life under lockdown has crushed these fantasies.

Life under a fully technologically advanced state

For the first time, I now see and experience what life under a fully technologically advanced state would mean for mankind. For many us, especially if we are in the process of acquiring one degree or another, lockdown has meant the end of teaching as we know. Everything is now going online.

For the first time, the saying you can get your degree from the comfort of your couch has taken on a literal meaning. And while we are talking of the online world, one can not believe how many stores have now ventured online.

It used to be that if you wanted to grab a pizza with friends, you would have to go out and have some actual human interaction.

Good old days of human interaction

Gone are those good old days when we used to be able to sit in new environment and reflect on what makes those memorable times we spend with friends and loved ones. So in today’s world we can order whatever want, whenever we want, wherever we are.

Have anyone, however, actually stopped to think of any of the risks involved? For the first time ever, all our information is available online for the skilled ones to see.

Risky ‘Big Brother situation’

Talk about the Big Brother situation. With all our data floating around in an information network, how safe are we? I know most people believe that the world will simply go back to the way it was after the pandemic has been brought under control, but I for one am not so naive.

The way that we live has changed tremendously and for the first time, we should actually fear living in such technologically advanced times. The world has been connected through the internet in ways that are simply unimaginably risky. If I could back in time, I would tell my younger self to stop day-dreaming and to start preparing for what could be the end of our world as we know it.

Ironically, a deadly pandemic might not be the biggest threat to human life.

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Even after his death, he reminds us that everyone should have access to education just like South Africa’s world-renowned Constitution would suggest.

Educational turbulence due to pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused overwhelming turbulence in all aspects of life, different sectors of the economy and mostly to education: Learning and teaching.

Some institutions of higher learning are already implementing remote learning as of the means to resume the academic programmes. The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has already distributed data and laptops to students.

Resources for online classes a challenge to many

Attending online classes requires a reliable internet connection, data, a quiet and proper working space, a laptop and other resources.

I don’t think this shift is possible to a student who resides in a one- or two-roomed informal settlements of Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Alexandra, uMlazi and Cator Manor. Social distancing is not even practical because a family of seven shares this tiny space.

NSFAS dilemma

The Department of Higher Education, Training, Science and Innovation introduced online lessons for students studying at TVET Colleges.

Again, I don’t think this will be of any use to a TVET student who has to date, not received a single cent of the NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] allowance — yet it’s been three months into the academic year. Remote learning does not favour a student who resides in a rural area where it’s even an issue to receive calls and SMSes because there’s no mobile network.

One of the lockdown regulations was that municipal libraries should be closed. This makes things worse because at least libraries have WiFi and computers for the public to use.

Proof SA is not ready for Fourth Industrial Revolution

This pandemic is proving that South Africa is not ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) if its implementation calls for some people to be left behind. It also highlights the gap that exists between the rich and the poor, and that the marginalised and disenfranchised are always left behind.

It is therefore my wish that whatever solutions institutions of higher learning come up with, should accommodate everyone, not just the elite.

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