We’ve tried to avoid the whole #ZumaMustFall campaign here on Cape Town Etc. I even agree with Ranjeni Munusamy’s opinion that the campaign is misguided and there are far more important things to focus on in South Africa. I also feel you’re bombarded by enough negativity in the local media that we should be a bastion of positivity for all things Cape Town.
Last night, however, the building at the bottom of Kloof Street (or the top of Long Street if you prefer) – which recently became the centre of much controversy due to a somewhat over-the-top #ZumaMustFall billboard – hoisted up the South African flag, and I think that’s pretty cool.
A recent visit to the United States (before the Rand took a mighty plunge, mind you) showed me just how patriotic and downright proud some people can be of their respective country. As I drove through the suburbs of West Coast America, it was refreshing to see almost every second house had the star-spangled banner proudly positioned somewhere in the front garden. Americans love being American, and I can’t fault them on it because that’s what I want for South Africa. I want us to be proudly South African again; proud to display our flag on the front of our own homes. Not just on our tshirts when our preferred sports team is playing.
With so much racism and downright hatred displayed in the media on a daily basis, its almost as if we’ve taken quite a few steps back since 1994, and I don’t quite know how or why we allowed that to happen. ‘Proudly South African’ is not just a slogan we see on local products in the supermarket; it’s a mindset and a way of life.
For me, the flag billboard is a start, and long may it stay up there. #SAFlagMustNotFall
Photography courtesy Earl September, Gasant Abarder, @TheLukism on Twitter.
