Taking The Piss

 Dear Mr Mgambi

Like Mr Manyi, I too take strong exception to your 'reckless' use of language during the 'constitution urination' interview. In truth, I am quite pissed off.

Sir, One would expect a seasoned journalist to choose his words with greater care. What's wrong with the good Anglo Saxon word 'pissed'? 'Urinated' sounds rather pretentious; the sort of word that clever blacks and people with white tendencies might sling around when the subject of bladder function comes up at their Sandton parties.

Dr Google tells me that the word goes back to the Latin pissiare and in medieval times, the French pissier. There is a pleasant earthiness to the word and an almost onomatopoeic quality. The word 'urinate' suggests the use of a plastic container in the sterile surrounds of a clinic or laboratory. Mr Manyi was right to be outraged. If Mr Zuma did indeed piss on anything, I imagine he would have done it with his usual gusto and boldness. 

What's more, the piss word appears several times in the King James, for example: 'he that pisseth against the wall..' The word has an impeccable lineage. Incidentally, there is no mention of 'he that pisseth against the constitution'. Perhaps there was a little less tolerance for such activity back then. 

Mr Trump and an alarming number of other public figures in several parts have also been accused of reckless peeing on the relevant constitutions. You are not alone, Mr Zuma. 

Mr Zuma was accused of having gone the extra mile in peeing on the judiciary as well. Doubtless the arguments will rage on. But not for as long as Mr Zuma's tennis exchanges with the law. One empathizes. It must be frustrating to have one's deep desire for a day in court constantly thwarted by inconvenient illnesses and the struggle to find a  prosecutor of choice. Probably like needing to pee but struggling to find an appropriate  pissoir.

Yours in the struggle for proper, genteel use of language in journalism.

Richard 

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