Makutano: Pause for Concern

This past week, a lot has gone on south of the continent. First of all, the quagmire surrounding Jonathon Shapiro's satirical cartoon: I did mean to add my pithy contribution to the hullabaloo, it had the working title of Cartoon Culture but was stymied by the flu mid-way. I've subsequently read a couple of excellent blogs on the same subject, so instead I'm posting a link to one of the best takes, here.

And now a spot of voyeurism: Safiyyah and I tend to have enormously gratifying chats, intellectually stimulating, such that we start off sharing coiffure tips and end up debating South African politics. This is how we got round to cartoon culture:

(Caveat lector, it was a few words between friends, spelling is poor, opinion is decidedly candid, do be kind in judgement)

2008/09/10	10:42:53 AM	Safs	lol yeah whats happened to Makutano?
2008/09/10	10:43:08 AM	Safs	u really are going to neglect ur kids!
2008/09/10	10:43:09 AM	Safs	hehe
2008/09/10	10:43:12 AM	Kay	lol
2008/09/10	10:43:23 AM	Kay	a tragedy i tell ya
2008/09/10	10:43:45 AM	Kay	you've heard about the rumblings in these parts about the zapiro cartoon?
2008/09/10	10:44:13 AM	Safs	nopes, do tell
2008/09/10	10:44:22 AM	Safs	u are my window to SA
2008/09/10	10:44:38 AM	Kay	sunday times published a zapiro cartoon
2008/09/10	10:44:45 AM	Kay	wait lemme get a link for you
2008/09/10	10:44:53 AM	Kay	if i descreibe it it'll spoil it for you

2008/09/10	10:49:25 AM	Kay	opinion?
2008/09/10	10:49:59 AM	Safs	omigod
2008/09/10	10:50:12 AM	Kay	risque dont you think?
2008/09/10	10:50:18 AM	Safs	talk about a strong message
2008/09/10	10:51:35 AM	Kay	absolutely
2008/09/10	10:51:41 AM	Safs	sad to say it is true, but the image of a women being raped...i dont know
2008/09/10	10:51:58 AM	Safs	how has the public reacted?
2008/09/10	10:52:44 AM	Kay	that's the uncomfortable thing for me
2008/09/10	10:52:53 AM	Kay	has rape become so much a norm?
2008/09/10	10:53:13 AM	Safs	hmm or perhaps he just wants to portray the gravity of the situation?
2008/09/10	10:53:40 AM	Kay	you know it comes back to the freedom of expression vs hate speech quandry
2008/09/10	10:53:48 AM	Safs	like telling the public, open your eyes!
2008/09/10	10:54:49 AM	Safs	no matter what u think this cartoon wil force a reaction out of you!
2008/09/10	10:54:54 AM	Kay	absoluely
2008/09/10	10:55:00 AM	Kay	very strong reactions too
2008/09/10	10:56:12 AM	Safs	i dont know...
2008/09/10	10:56:14 AM	Safs	what to think
2008/09/10	10:56:55 AM	Safs	part of me is like yes, this is the right message to be sending out, but the feminist in me is saying no, why use a women
2008/09/10	10:57:15 AM	Kay	i keep coming back to the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
2008/09/10	10:57:25 AM	Kay	somethings are beyond caricature
2008/09/10	10:57:35 AM	Safs	uh huh
2008/09/10	10:57:38 AM	Safs	definitely
2008/09/10	10:58:40 AM	Kay	rape i think is one of them
2008/09/10	10:59:03 AM	Safs	im leaning towards agreeing with you!
2008/09/10	10:59:10 AM	Safs	he couldve used a murder scene?
2008/09/10	10:59:52 AM	Safs	but maybe he wants to show gross violation, which rape symbolizes, something deeper, more immoral
2008/09/10	11:00:15 AM	Kay	yea... but zuma's rape background makes using rape irresistable... taints him all over again
2008/09/10	11:00:21 AM	Kay	as if he was never acquited
2008/09/10	11:00:21 AM	Safs	ohhh yeah
2008/09/10	11:00:26 AM	Safs	i didnt think about that
2008/09/10	11:01:21 AM	Safs	wow, this cartoon is STRONG
2008/09/10	11:01:21 AM	Safs	what do u think?
2008/09/10	11:01:44 AM	Kay	it is absolutely
2008/09/10	11:01:54 AM	Kay	i mean to bring all this up it has to be
2008/09/10	11:04:48 AM	Kay	the anc claim they aren't going to prosecute zapiro
2008/09/10	11:05:00 AM	Kay	but i cant help thinking if they do, they'd probly win
2008/09/10	11:05:50 AM	Safs	i dont understand?
2008/09/10	11:06:13 AM	Safs	this deserves a makutano post u know, ppl to need to discuss these issues! or atleast be exposed to them
2008/09/10	11:06:16 AM	Kay	defamation of character
2008/09/10	11:06:23 AM	Kay	i'm thinking the same thing
2008/09/10	11:06:28 AM	Kay	let me get to it!
2008/09/10	11:08:43 AM	Safs	alright
2008/09/10	11:09:20 AM	Kay	perhaps you could do a couner post... out of context what it means to you
2008/09/10	11:10:54 AM	Safs	good idea
2008/09/10	11:11:18 AM	Safs	but i need a lead, so wil wait for ur ideas
2008/09/10	11:11:22 AM	Kay	K

And post Pietermaritzburg judgement :

2008/09/13	01:56:43 PM	Kay	i'm just looking at my half finished post for makutano i was too ill to finish it and now there's more to be said
2008/09/13	01:56:52 PM	Kay	anc's calling for mbeki to resign :S
2008/09/13	01:56:57 PM	Safs	i know!
2008/09/13	01:57:03 PM	Safs	i watched thenews
2008/09/13	01:57:06 PM	Safs	on al jaz
2008/09/13	01:57:13 PM	Kay	it's worrying
2008/09/13	01:57:21 PM	Safs	we were dumbfounded! there was this former anc guy
2008/09/13	01:57:31 PM	Safs	and he made such an import point
2008/09/13	01:58:15 PM	Safs	that if the president of the country, i.e Zuma, can get away scotch free from so many accusations, what message does that send to the public and the moral high ground
2008/09/13	01:58:26 PM	Safs	if anything, it will just fuel the crime
2008/09/13	01:58:27 PM	Kay	absolutely!
2008/09/13	01:58:45 PM	Kay	there's no real justice, because he's getting off on a technicality
2008/09/13	01:58:51 PM	Safs	so whats mbekis position?
2008/09/13	01:59:11 PM	Safs	yeah exactly, because the prosecution didnt give him time to defend himself
2008/09/13	01:59:17 PM	Kay	it's so ironic that in the week of mbeki's greatest triumph, power sharing in zim, he has to face this
2008/09/13	01:59:21 PM	Safs	looks the judge is bought over
2008/09/13	02:00:04 PM	Safs	yeah i saw that too, gosh zim is a mess... one lady said she doesnt care who gets whats position, because zimbabwe is hungry!
2008/09/13	02:00:20 PM	Kay	:(
2008/09/13	02:00:37 PM	Kay	there's so much going on in the world how do we remain in our bubbles

And then:

2008/09/14	11:24:22 AM	Kay	apparently mbeki has his weeks numbered as president :(
2008/09/14	11:24:34 AM	Kay	the media are so fickle!
2008/09/14	11:24:50 AM	Kay	it used to be bash zuma now it's bash mbeki
2008/09/14	11:25:17 AM	Safs	whoa
2008/09/14	11:25:20 AM	Safs	weeks?
2008/09/14	11:25:35 AM	Safs	yeah, whoever they can gain favour with right?
2008/09/14	11:25:39 AM	Kay	yea!
2008/09/14	11:25:50 AM	Safs	it wont do them any good to bash zuma if he gonna be next presd.
2008/09/14	11:26:00 AM	Safs	each to his own interests...sad
2008/09/14	11:26:02 AM	Kay	the sunday times esp are culprtis of sensational journalism
2008/09/14	11:26:16 AM	Kay	the drivel they print just to make waves!
2008/09/14	11:26:18 AM	Safs	i know! can u even call that journalism?
2008/09/14	11:26:31 AM	Kay	it's horrific!
2008/09/14	11:27:51 AM	Kay	i'm going to find it very hard voting for zuma
2008/09/14	11:28:07 AM	Safs	u CANT vote for him
2008/09/14	11:28:22 AM	Safs	what are the other options
2008/09/14	11:28:30 AM	Kay	and you know what i hate is this mentality in our community that says zuma's good with indians so we should like him
2008/09/14	11:28:39 AM	Safs	ugh!
2008/09/14	11:28:42 AM	Kay	bleh! what are we living in apaartheid?!
2008/09/14	11:28:45 AM	Safs	ive heard that before
2008/09/14	11:28:56 AM	Safs	from my own family!
2008/09/14	11:29:33 AM	Safs	does morality not feature anywhere in judgement?
2008/09/14	11:29:50 AM	Safs	as long as we're making money, and living above the masses?
2008/09/14	11:29:53 AM	Kay	exactly! cant we see beyond indianness?
2008/09/14	11:30:12 AM	Kay	that's all our community strives for
2008/09/14	11:30:46 AM	Safs	are we indian before we SAian?
2008/09/14	11:31:10 AM	Kay	in some sections of our community indian dominates
2008/09/14	11:31:16 AM	Safs	majority have never seen and never want to see india!
2008/09/14	11:31:36 AM	Safs	yet suddenly , zuma is the saviour of indians...
2008/09/14	11:31:41 AM	Kay	exactly! so why do we persist with this victim complex?
2008/09/14	11:32:04 AM	Safs	for securty i guess..
2008/09/14	11:32:39 AM	Kay	what worries me about zuma is he's playing populist politics
2008/09/14	11:32:54 AM	Kay	makes a few noises about the death penalty get the afrikaner vote
2008/09/14	11:33:10 AM	Kay	a few noses about economic reform gets the poor vote
2008/09/14	11:33:26 AM	Kay	what does HE stand for?
2008/09/14	11:33:51 AM	Safs	yeah that is worrisome
2008/09/14	11:34:05 AM	Safs	we dont knw what lies beneath the charismatic exterior
2008/09/14	11:34:25 AM	Safs	something evil and untodo lurking...
2008/09/14	11:34:58 AM	Kay	that's the worry
2008/09/14	11:35:02 AM	Safs	levels of uneducation must be higher than thought in SA if ppl fall for him...
2008/09/14	11:35:29 AM	Kay	that's what i say... i suspect a distinct lack of literacy!
2008/09/14	11:35:45 AM	Safs	certainly..
2008/09/14	11:36:37 AM	Safs	is there any anti zuma goings on ?
2008/09/14	11:36:52 AM	Kay	safs gtg visitors...
2008/09/14	11:36:57 AM	Kay	catch up later iA
2008/09/14	11:37:05 AM	Safs	ok np
2008/09/14	11:37:08 AM	Safs	enjoy