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Why I won’t vote

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Phumlani S. Langa
Phumlani S. Langa

I’ve been asked who I’ll be giving my vote to at the general elections on May 8 and what my views on the political landscape are.

I do my best to refrain from such banter because I end up either being made to feel bad for not being around during the struggle and ungrateful for enjoying the privileges that were once denied to us as black people, or I end up coming across as completely thoughtless because I feel entirely locked out of the current political rhetoric.

I’d like to think I have an extensive vocabulary, but there are moments when these guys – politicians – use strings of words, yet they say absolutely nothing.

Only around election time do we become reflective about democracy. It’s mostly during this time that we see roadworks on that strip of street where that pothole became a crater.

As a 27-year-old, I’ve voted in every election since I was eligible to do so and things seem to have got worse. I plotted this column sitting in darkness because of load shedding.

The ANC, your liberation party, brought us state capture and other “gems” on the timeline of our short democracy, including the Marikana massacre. The EFF vowed to bring economic freedom to our lives, but these dudes are abusive towards women last time I checked.

Then we have the DA. I’m not sure if this party even likes black people. It’s cute how they take such pride in being at the helm of the most polarised city in South Africa.

It’s usually at this point that I’m urged to at least vote for a party like the United Democratic Movement. The number of times I’ve been told to do that gives me reason to think they might do a little better in this election than usual.

Then, of course, a worried elder urges me to at least spoil my vote. “No, P, just write a message on the card.” Because they’re going to read my little message and take it to heart?

None of these parties speak to me and I don’t trust them. As soon as they get my vote and the hype dies down, they’ll disappear again, making decisions about my life in a building that I’m not even allowed to enter.

I do not take lightly the things so many of my elders had to endure for me to lead the life I do. I know as youngsters we carry ourselves with this cavalier swagger, but we’re not without knowledge of what it is like to rage against the machine.

The burning irony with the #Fallist movements is that we’re pleading with the same elders who said they were down for the young people, our access to education, and better and safer lives.

So I’ve decided that I will be abstaining from voting this year.

Instead of spoiling my ballot and writing “Ya’ll are corrupt!” across the card, I’m going to spend election day doing something my government has failed to.

I view the world through hip-hop and so I’ll be reaching out to a few young artists from the east side and will give them a platform to catch recognition.

They’ll blow up sooner from hip-hop than it would take these guys – your politicians – to offer them a way up and out without snags.


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