Julius Malema’s politics of deflection
The EFF’s claims about Gordhan are magician’s stunts taken from the Donald Trump playbook
The greatest exponents of misdirection are magicians; think of bodies being sawn in half then miraculously reappearing in whole form.Modern politicians are catching up fast, yet in SA misdirection is arguably losing its effectiveness.Minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan complained at the state capture inquiry this week about various kinds of misdirection over the years. Outside the Tiso Blackstar Group headquarters where the inquiry is being held, the EFF held a protest accusing Gordhan of being not the antidote to state capture but, in fact, its enabler.The claim contains elements of the kind of misdirection magicians use all the time. It is sometimes defined "as the intentional deflection of attention for the purpose of disguise". The essence of misdirection depends on directing perception and controlling attention. This is why magicians often wear white gloves; all the better for grabbing your attention while the helper sneaks behind the curtain.Another aspect of misdire...
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