Religion is not really as tricky as some people think. It's just addictive and billions are high on it. Religion is just like music. It motivates, inspires, uplifts, encourages, teaches, preaches and many other things. And just like music, it's not something you should take too seriously. It's not something you should live your daily life by. In one of his songs, Burna Boy sang: "Anybody! Wey no want to soji... nack am something." If you go, in real life, to nack something on somebody wey no want to soji, you are on your own o. That's how it is with religion too.
There are parts of the Bible (Deu 22:20-24) that dictate that any woman who just got married and was found not to be a virgin should be stoned to death, and any rape victim who was raped in the city should be put to death because 'she did not scream'. These were the commandments of 'God' as stated by Christianity. Islam also has its own list of terrifying ideals, like Prophet Muhammad (salla Allah u alihi wa sallam) marrying a child far below 18. I'm sure no one would wish such horrible things on themselves or their kids. So why do you live your life under the influence of religion? It's like somebody living his/her life by the lyrics of his/her favourite song. You're addicted. And when many others catch the same infection, it becomes a cult and a couple years later, a movement pops up, named after the singer of that song and before you say Jack, you might just have a new religion. That's how religions are created. Some clever dude just comes up with a lot of charisma that attracts people with certain things in common and in a couple years, the group becomes a religion, just like Nation of Islam. All these things are man-made. Yes, there may be a God. Actually, I believe there is a God. There was a Jesus, there was a Muhammad, there was a Buddha. But they were just like you and me, perhaps a little smarter or maybe luckier, otherwise they're ordinary human beings. There's no need to kill yourselves over what they allegedly said that God said.
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Friday, November 1, 2019
Monday, October 28, 2019
South Africa and the Madness of Xenophobia
Recent waves of xenophobic attacks from the Republic of South Africa will not come as a surprise to those who know and have been following the country and its post-Apartheid struggles. Having been nicknamed the rape capital of the world (where at least 2 women/children are being raped every minute), crimes against women, children, vulnerable, defenseless and outnumbered people is extremely high in South Africa. An inept system, twisted myths, cowardice and a culture of denialism makes the so-called rainbow nation a very dangerous place to live in.
Government report say that 41% of REPORTED rape cases in South Africa have children & infants as the victim and it's estimated that 40% of women in South Africa will be raped at least once in their lifetime (Wikipedia). Only a tiny amount of the few reported cases lead to prosecution and since members of the police force are also perpetrators, there's neither trust nor serious action taken by the government other than lip service. With at least 46 children raped and 2 children, 50 men and 8 women 'butchered' every single day... rape, assault and murder seem to be deeply rooted in the South African culture. Studies and surveys have discovered that 2 in 5 men indirectly interviewed have admitted to having forced sexual intercourse with a woman. But the most alarming part is that it is extremely prevalent among the younger generation. A CIET survey found 60% of boys and girls believed that it was not violent to force sex on someone they knew while a quarter of 1,500 schoolboys interviewed said that gang rape was fun.
The cowardly act of rape is seen by South African males as a show of power and dominance over women, the government even stupidly referring to it as an evidence of partriachy in Black culture. To them, it's a manly thing. With a society highly saturated with cowardice, violence, unemployment and lack of proper education for most Blacks, crimes like burglary, robbery and murder are the only violent acts that can stand toe to toe with rape. In a country where the men are cowardly and idle enough to rape two women every minute, it makes perfect sense that they would turn their attention to visiting foreigners who their celebrities and local politicians have accused of 'taking their jobs and women'. For one, women are loth to fall in love with rapists, so it makes sense that their long-suffering women would gravitate to the less violent foreigners. Secondly, lack of quality & standard education, laxity
and reliance on miracles from churches among Black South Africans have made them ill-prepared for gainful employment and entrepreneurship. Inept leadership and governance, coupled with incapacity and corruption of the police force has further sunk the country deeper into a quagmire of poverty and hardship for the Blacks.
After suffering for so many years under Apartheid rule - poor education, a restricted world view, lack of exposure and gross inequality; Black South Africans have moved into an even worse post-Apartheid era, where they are free to do whatever they like, but have been unable to be weaned out of the violence that formed the basis of their lives during the Apartheid era. It is like a Stockholm Syndrome. They are comfortable with violence and have even come to love it. That's why the attacks have been treated with kid gloves by the government. Many have even come forward to justify it or lousily deny it. AKA, the infamous rapper, even claimed that only two foreigners were killed in the attacks. Such is the nature of indifference among government officials and the more educated masses due to the country's culture of denialism. Rather than fix a problem, they find it easier to first, deny the facts, before downplaying it or shifting blame to someone else.
It is true, some South Africans' claim that there are a large number of foreign criminals in their country, many of them Nigerians. But there are also peaceful and law-abiding foreigners too. I remember the rush among Nigerian youth, especially those from the West and East, to travel to that country. Some go there for legitimate business, having perhaps found a better business climate in South Africa while others go there for unpure and criminal purposes, having found gaping loopholes in the South African culture and system. It is this propensity to commit cowardly acts of violence that has enabled foreign criminal elements to thrive in the country. But rather than face the problem squarely, wild South Africans launch cowardly attacks on individuals and their businesses. The more educated ones along with their government perhaps feel it would be a good thing if the foreigners are gotten rid of once and for all, so while having the education-inspired civilization and lacking the bravery to publicly support the attacks, they hide their heads in the sand like an ostrich. Some denying South Africans claimed that the xenophobic attacks were perpetrated by foreigners and a tiny amount of their people, but they failed to express remorse or sympathize with the victims, instead they were strongly intent on being mere spectators and blaming the so-called thugs. Also, they stonily refused to apply adequate or even any pressure on their government to put an end to the attacks.
Bottom line, as was seen during the anti-Apartheid struggle, the South Africans are very much capable of forcing the authorities to focus and deal with the problem of xenophobia in their country. The fact that they were not so eager to do so can only mean that they are comfortable with it and would like to see it happen again and again, albeit more clinically. South Africa is perhaps the world's most violent nation during peacetime and currently, there are no indications of the abatement of this evil record. Therefore, it would be in the interests of every peace loving person, especially women and children, to stay entirely away from this fractured country.
Government report say that 41% of REPORTED rape cases in South Africa have children & infants as the victim and it's estimated that 40% of women in South Africa will be raped at least once in their lifetime (Wikipedia). Only a tiny amount of the few reported cases lead to prosecution and since members of the police force are also perpetrators, there's neither trust nor serious action taken by the government other than lip service. With at least 46 children raped and 2 children, 50 men and 8 women 'butchered' every single day... rape, assault and murder seem to be deeply rooted in the South African culture. Studies and surveys have discovered that 2 in 5 men indirectly interviewed have admitted to having forced sexual intercourse with a woman. But the most alarming part is that it is extremely prevalent among the younger generation. A CIET survey found 60% of boys and girls believed that it was not violent to force sex on someone they knew while a quarter of 1,500 schoolboys interviewed said that gang rape was fun.
The cowardly act of rape is seen by South African males as a show of power and dominance over women, the government even stupidly referring to it as an evidence of partriachy in Black culture. To them, it's a manly thing. With a society highly saturated with cowardice, violence, unemployment and lack of proper education for most Blacks, crimes like burglary, robbery and murder are the only violent acts that can stand toe to toe with rape. In a country where the men are cowardly and idle enough to rape two women every minute, it makes perfect sense that they would turn their attention to visiting foreigners who their celebrities and local politicians have accused of 'taking their jobs and women'. For one, women are loth to fall in love with rapists, so it makes sense that their long-suffering women would gravitate to the less violent foreigners. Secondly, lack of quality & standard education, laxity
and reliance on miracles from churches among Black South Africans have made them ill-prepared for gainful employment and entrepreneurship. Inept leadership and governance, coupled with incapacity and corruption of the police force has further sunk the country deeper into a quagmire of poverty and hardship for the Blacks.
After suffering for so many years under Apartheid rule - poor education, a restricted world view, lack of exposure and gross inequality; Black South Africans have moved into an even worse post-Apartheid era, where they are free to do whatever they like, but have been unable to be weaned out of the violence that formed the basis of their lives during the Apartheid era. It is like a Stockholm Syndrome. They are comfortable with violence and have even come to love it. That's why the attacks have been treated with kid gloves by the government. Many have even come forward to justify it or lousily deny it. AKA, the infamous rapper, even claimed that only two foreigners were killed in the attacks. Such is the nature of indifference among government officials and the more educated masses due to the country's culture of denialism. Rather than fix a problem, they find it easier to first, deny the facts, before downplaying it or shifting blame to someone else.
It is true, some South Africans' claim that there are a large number of foreign criminals in their country, many of them Nigerians. But there are also peaceful and law-abiding foreigners too. I remember the rush among Nigerian youth, especially those from the West and East, to travel to that country. Some go there for legitimate business, having perhaps found a better business climate in South Africa while others go there for unpure and criminal purposes, having found gaping loopholes in the South African culture and system. It is this propensity to commit cowardly acts of violence that has enabled foreign criminal elements to thrive in the country. But rather than face the problem squarely, wild South Africans launch cowardly attacks on individuals and their businesses. The more educated ones along with their government perhaps feel it would be a good thing if the foreigners are gotten rid of once and for all, so while having the education-inspired civilization and lacking the bravery to publicly support the attacks, they hide their heads in the sand like an ostrich. Some denying South Africans claimed that the xenophobic attacks were perpetrated by foreigners and a tiny amount of their people, but they failed to express remorse or sympathize with the victims, instead they were strongly intent on being mere spectators and blaming the so-called thugs. Also, they stonily refused to apply adequate or even any pressure on their government to put an end to the attacks.
Bottom line, as was seen during the anti-Apartheid struggle, the South Africans are very much capable of forcing the authorities to focus and deal with the problem of xenophobia in their country. The fact that they were not so eager to do so can only mean that they are comfortable with it and would like to see it happen again and again, albeit more clinically. South Africa is perhaps the world's most violent nation during peacetime and currently, there are no indications of the abatement of this evil record. Therefore, it would be in the interests of every peace loving person, especially women and children, to stay entirely away from this fractured country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)