Pinot, Bretzels, and Cathedrals

There is something about the 21st century that is getting up my nose.

 

Back in the ‘old ages’, writing opinion pieces was limited to real journalists, and the occasional ‘letters to the editor’, which were ususally edited. The norm now is that anybody and everybody spouts opinions in several very public arenas.

 

I won’t deny it that I am just as guilty as the next person.  After all, I am writing this, aren’t I?  I have, however, tried for about 3 months to hold my tongue, but if I don’t get this off my chest, it will burn a hole in my soul  that could embitter me indefinitely.

And if my embittered holely soul is a gross exageration, at least allow me to write this so that I stop crying every time I talk and think about it.

 

I started noticing this habit in December in the days following Madiba’s passing.  Being a lady of leisure, I spend more time than I ever have online, reading Facebook ‘shares’, blogs, YouTube videos, and the reams of comments that follow.

It is a great source of amusement the passion that is ignited; the comraderie, the bitchiness- it makes for light entertainment between trips to school on the bus and so on.

 

While there remains so much altruism and  allegiance to South Africa, there is still an element of intense distrust, and sceptisism, and many internet users feel it necessary to run down that that is what is making the rest of us proud.  

 

My first case in point is the Parkview Woolies flash mob with the Soweto Gospel Choir the day after the news broke of Madibas passing.

 

While most of the comments on YouTube, FB shares and News 24 were positive and humbling, there were still those nay-sayers that accused Woolworths of taking advanatage of an emotive situation; of not being sufficiently empathetic and usurping Madibas passing for financial gains.  

Their idea of a flash mob seemed to be that of spontaneity, and not a carefully exectuted display of harmonious voices, in a tribute to a man that is the core of who we should now be.

 

Added to the scepticism were the inevitable remarks that we as a nation idolise a ‘terrorist’, and that mourning his death was a disgrace.  

 

Those remarks hurt me-as a South African I am proud of what Madiba had achieved, and I really feel sorry for those people that don’t understand to what lengths the man went to to fulfil the charter he so deeply believed in.

 

While emotion and opinion ran rife in the weeks following Madibas death, with South Africa being in the worlds’ spotlight for two weeks, the interest petered out eventually.

 

Since then Bells whiskey launched their new advert and the ‘Neknomination’ craze has run amok on Facebook and YouTube.

 

You know which advert I’m referring to- you cant have missed it. The ‘literacy’  ‘Give that man a Bells’ has even been shared online by Americans, and spoken about in opinion pieces over the seas.  It has reached the global internet stream in a big way.  And well done to the South African creators to put together such an emotional piece of advertising.  I don’t know many people who saw it and didn’t at least get a lump in their throat.

But still, tears and emotions are not enough to determine a successful campaign it seems.

Granted, Amstel lager created a similar advert recently portraying a similar story line to the current Bells advert, and that the concept that adult literacy is not a current trend may be reason to critisice the lack of origonality.

However, is it really necessary to bring politics into your effort to critcise an advert for whiskey?

The criticism ran along the lines of why there are adults in South Africa that are illiterate, and complaints went on further criticising government for the more current failures in the school system.

I will not dispute that South Africa has a long list of governing flaws (and we will be going to Paris to vote in April), but why do people feel it necessary to voice their frustrations with a political situation in the stream of an whiskey advert?

 

And then two weeks ago neknominations were plastering my Facebook news feed.  Seriously Australia, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?  

The stupidity of this has been cast aside.  I am over it.  

What I am not over are the chops that critisised the South African guy in his car for offering a Coke, chocolate bar and a sandwich to a street beggar.

Ok, so a Coke, a sandwich and a bar of chocolate is not exactly a dieticians’ dream, but for the beggar that received more than 50cents or  wound up window, well, those sanctimonious shits that dared to criticise must take a deep breath and mind their own business.  And to those that claim to do it better, more regularly, well if you want the recognition, do something about it, instead of claiming one-upmanship.

Sadly, my irritation at neknominations do not stop with critics of the dude in his Jozi (??) vvehicle

Nope, one carefully placed act of kindness  has spread like wild flowers after a summer storm.  Mr Lindeques’ neknomination has spiralled like the fat tyres on his car on the N1 highway, and  now the nominations to challenging corporates.  Nando’s, FNB, MTN and the Cell C Sharks rugby are a few of the corporates I have seen giving back to the community.  Do you know what?  I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME  I watch them, and yet, there are still opinionated muppets out on the internet that feel that they should criticise these companies.

Really guys?  Really?  

Stop and think about it.

So it has taken Nandos’ a neknomination challenge to spend money and renovate the kitchen for the family in Alexander, Jozi, who cater for and look after 70 disabled members of society.

So what?  Why must you question their motives, accusing another corporate once again of using an emotional situation to further their own image and financial needs? So what if they are utilising money that is already within their social-conscience budget and publishing their efforts accross the media? They have the money to spend, and if it means that they get a little return, consider it an investment, because where would South Africa be without the big corporates propping up the economy?

What they should be looking at is the simple act of kindness.  Yes, I am aware that its not a random act of kindness, but it is an actual act of giving, giving something to people who don’t have the internet in the comfort of the Coricraft couches, drinks on their patio lounges, or even driving in their broken down cars.

 

Before you take the time to criticise large corporations, individual youngsters in fancy cars, and anybody else who has spread their good deeds on public forums, just stop.  Don’t open your mouth.  Your opinion is completely unnecessary.  Think it out aloud if you have to, but don’t write it across the world of dots and dashes.  Please.

 

In these times, we are all journalists,and people with opinions.  I wish to apologise that I have had to write this, because I have no more rights than the poor guys who I am writing about.

Their commentary serves to remind us to watch our tongue, for it is so easy to hurt one another.

I myself am not without my own faults, and in finishing this up, I realise that I too  need to look within myself.

What about you?