REDI TLHABI: The violent masculinity of the ANC
'She must have been very afraid - not knowing if she would make it past that solid wall of violent masculinity alive'
Picture-freeze this: a young man viciously kicks a woman in broad daylight. He kicks her while she is on the ground, having jumped from a moving car. Police are standing there, unperturbed, uncaring, visible. The man is the secretary of an ANC branch in Johannesburg, Thabiso Setona. Fast-forward and you will see that he is not the only one who should be in the dock. Nkateko Makete, 52, is surrounded by three other ANC supporters. Two are kicking her and another looks ready to hit her with a big stick. Onlookers are shocked, others run away, cameras are clicking and the police just stand there.She must have been very afraid - not knowing if she would make it past that solid wall of violent masculinity alive. Her fear was not misplaced. Our history is littered with stories of people who could not escape a bloodthirsty mob, suffered one blow after another, and died. This incident represents far more than a protest gone wrong. It is the quintessential South African story. The story of v...
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