乐播传媒

Last Sunday, a few friends and I went to see聽 speak at a rally. Since the national election is coming up this April, heavy campaigning has begun. In South Africa, instead of voting for one person as president you vote for an entire party, who then makes the appointment. For the first time since 1994 (the year apartheid in South Africa ended) the ANC is not the clear winner, so everyone on both sides is pretty heated about what will happen in the coming months. The rally was one of the best experiences I鈥檝e had so far. Even though most of Zuma鈥檚 speech was in Zulu, it was great to be near so many who truly trusted this man with their own salvation. Throughout the day numerous phrases were chanted, including but not limited to: 鈥淰iva ANC Viva!鈥�, 鈥淰iva Zuma Viva!鈥�, 鈥淩oar Young Lions, Roar!鈥�, 鈥溾��, 鈥淛Z, JZ, JZ鈥�. Musical artists and famous comedians within South Africa made appearances that drove the audience wild.

Along with music, dancing and comedy Zuma鈥檚 appearance was prefaced with other speakers including the president of the South African communist party. Zuma鈥檚 speech (what I could understand of it) for the most part covered the basics: healthcare, education, crime, housing, and general equality for South Africans. What I was most surprised at was the entire party鈥檚 disdain for other parties. Sure, in the States we trash talk the opposition, but not without tip-toeing around hurt feelings. Our politicians are so concerned with playing face that they never flat out say, 鈥淿_____聽 _聽 ____ is an idiot and has no business running our country.鈥� At this rally though, there was no holding back on the part of Zuma and his comrades. I鈥檓 still not sure if that鈥檚 a better way to handle political beef 鈥� it seems a bit reckless. For much of his presentation, Zuma鈥檚 audience didn鈥檛 seem completely focused (side-chatter was prevalent), but when he finished and broke into his signature song, 鈥淟ethu Mshini Wami鈥� 鈥� translated into English as 鈥淏ring Me My Machine Gun鈥�, everyone was on their feet and attentive. The song was used most in the depths of Apartheid oppression as a popular rally cry against the inequality. Zuma has adopted it as his own to show his commitment to fighting oppression, I presume. It鈥檚 one of his trademarks. Here鈥檚 a picture of a man at the rally with his AK-47 made from ANC/Zuma posters and cardboard:

Clearly, not everyone is down with the song about machine guns; but honestly, Zuma has way more problems to worry about. He has lingering corruption and rape charges that lurk above and around him. I actually think he may be acquitted of at least one of the two, but most people (outside of the die hard supporters we were surrounded by at the rally) still associate him with the crimes, and some of the heinously ridiculous things he鈥檚 said regarding protection against HIV.

While I am unsure about how I feel about Jacob Zuma as a president, it was really incredible to be apart of a political rally of tens of thousands of people. Besides the size, it was kind of like one big party which included a good message and lots of singing. The fact that Zuma broke out in song and dance after his speech made some level of his popularity clear. He spent so much time making jokes about the opposition that had the audience rolling and closed his words with a performance. Bravo JZ, Bravo. Here鈥檚 a picture of his final moments of stage, breaking it down, 鈥淢shini Wami, Mshini Wami鈥�.

Peace and then some,

Naima