Media Flaws

Love him or hate him, here stands the personification of viral marketing. It’s Wednesday. I’m on upper campus trying to figure out what junk food R20 can land me. Two Toyota minibuses swoosh by and come to a dead stop on the South end of campus. Out emerges yellow t-shirts, green t-shirts and a moerse big ANC Youth League banner.

Off to Beattie they go – nope - space too small.
Off to Jammie Hall they go – yep - just about right.

By then the 30 or so rented crowd has gathered enough moss to make it seem like a 1970’s protest and fill up an entire hall. Black, White, Indian and other labels converged towards Jameson Hall.

“Julius Malema is on campus!” pipes a calm, skinny, cigarette clad prima donna.
“Jesus! I have to see this!” jumped an excited probable first year. Within seconds the hall was packed.

There stood Malema on the very same spot I was twice capped on. There belched into struggle songs the 30-odd rented-crowd in the upper auditorium of the hall where my parents twice sat proudly. And then there settled that that sinking feeling; as I turned to witness the spectacle on stage, Malema:

“Even in this University, never feel like you are alone!”
 We are with you! We know your suffering! We know that forces that are opposed to our revolution, majority of them are still here!  Forces that are opposed to you having access to this University are still here!”

///APPLAUSE FROM RENTED CROWD///

“We must transform this University!
 We must change the council of this University!
 We must also change the lecturers of this University!

///APPLAUSE FROM RENTED CROWD MIXED WITH DISAGREEMENT FROM UCT LOT///

“This is a meeting of the ANC Youth League; this is not a SABC talk show; this is our meeting; and if you don’t agree with what we are saying - you are free to walk out!

///LOUD APPLAUSE AND LAUGHTER///

“If you have been sent here by Helen Zille…

///LOUD APPLAUSE///

“When your leader of a small party comes here to address you the ANC people never disrupt your meetings. You are setting a wrong precedence. And you are provoking wrong people!

“ We can stop Helen Zille from campaigning anywhere in South Africa. Do not provoke wrong people.You are told of our capacity!
It is us who brought down the nonsensical brutal apartheid regime!

///LOUD APPLAUSE FROM RENTED CROWD///

“We will never be defeated by any opposition in South Africa!
We want them combined – Helen Zille. The Apartheid General Bantu Holomisa. Mangosothu Buthelezi.
They will never defeat the ANC.
We have defeated you many times.

///APPLAUSE FROM RENTED CROWD///

“When we went to Polokwane you said Zuma must not be president. Zuma was elected president.Today, next week you are still arguing that Zuma must not be president of the republic! You must be realistic…

///LOUD LAUGHTER///

“…For those who have sugar diabetes and they are on the opposing side – their sugar levels will be high on the 23rd. Because the reality is we are going to win. Under Zuma we are going to make sure that we give bursaries and scholarships to many poor African people to come here. We know that in this University the fees are expensive therefore African children don’t have access… This is also a University of the ANC government! It is not different from the University of Venda. They are all under the leadership of the ANC. If you do not agree with this fact, then you’ll have to look for a private institution! This is our university.  What we do with it depends on the will of the people of South Africa!  We must change the look of this University! It must be a true reflection of a South African community…”

*whistling*