HALF ART
CHRIS THURMAN: Fears of collateral damage from Shakespearean political tragedy lend poignancy to Bystanders
‘While watching, we are waiting to see what will happen in Parliament, in the courts, on board that ship of fools called the ANC’
I don’t know about you, but the absurd daily pageant of political-criminal manoeuvring in SA has turned me into a passive spectator. At the very moment that I should be most driven to action, to critique, to protest, I am instead paralysed by the bizarre, disorienting twists and turns of our national plot – it’s like watching a cross between a complex Shakespearean history play, a pantomime and a soap opera.
The tale is replete with obvious scoundrels and redoubtable heroes, but it is also full of characters of ambiguous moral standing: those who used to be the enablers and underlings of the arch-villain but are now changing their colours, or those who are patently not to be trusted but who seem to be serving a useful purpose in opposing the wicked puppeteers pulling strings behind the scenes. While watching, we are waiting. Waiting to see what will happen in Parliament. Waiting to see what will happen in the courts. Waiting to see what will happen on board that ship of fools called the ANC. Waiting. We are witnesses, bystanders, rubberneckers, voyeurs — desperately hoping we won’t become part of the collateral damage caused by the battles that so entrance us. But as we try to discern the contours of this very public conflict over the future of our country, we become passive spectators of our own private lives. We hold off on important decisions. Or we make impulsive decisions, driven b...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.