Legalize It: Don't Criticize It

 Dear ANC

A party that cares enough to drink champagne on behalf of the people would surely never enact legislation that takes away freedoms.

That is why I hope that the strong reaction to the "Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Amendment Bill is merely the result of misunderstanding. Your intentions have always been of the poorest.., I mean, purest kind.

If the intention really is to stifle criticism of the ruling party, I have some suggestions that could save much time, effort and money:

1. Why not simply bugger off into the sunset, where 'never is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day'. We'll criticize the next ruling party, while you cook tinned fish and garlic dinners to post on Twitter.

2. Do something really useful, like actually tracking down terrorists and supporters. Okay, let's start small small, as my Sierra Leonian friends would say. How about some murderers, hijackers, muggers  - that sort of thing, for starters.

3. Those guys who keep making you look bad, as if it were their mission in life: fire their corpulent asses.

If the worst interpretation is indeed an accurate one, the benefit is that it will bring us closer to dear comrades. Those poster children for democracy and freedom of expression, the Russians,  Zimbabweans, Chinese and others.

"Shut up Comrade and drink your vodka."

I personally have no problem as I never criticize the ruling party. Ridicule - now that's a different matter. I hope that the bill makes the nice distinction. 

What makes this seem surreal is the silence from opposition parties. I might have missed the uproar, deafened by the intermittent gunfire in various places. If so,  I apologize now, in order to save expensive MTN data.  I also understand that opposition parties may have been engrossed in the horse and ass trading that gave us such glorious advances as the jojo-champion-mayor of Johannesburg.

I know that the national broadcaster was fully occupied with all important Tik Tok, soccer and Party regional doodad snippets.

A friend agrees that you should not be criticized. He says you should in fact be figuratively tarred and feathered for the tsunami of buffoonery, corruption and incompetence that has left our country sodden and drifting aimlessly. He was badly brought up.

Yours in the struggle against insensitive, hurtful criticism.

Richard

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723