Why South Africa Is Such A Violent Society

#WhyIsSouthAfricaSuchAViolentSociety

The question always arises as to why South Africa is such a violent society.

And too often the question is met obfuscation and generalizations that there is usually no in-depth analysis to the question.

However, when I look at the conditions in South Africa and the general frequency of violence, particularly against women and children in black society. The answer lies in Fanon's “Question Of Violence”.

Black South Africa is still a society under oppression by white hegemony. The truth is apartheid only ended symbolically and politically but economically the crime against humanity is unrelenting.

As the aspirations of the greater black society grow, the pressures on the family structure and the traditional hierarchy of the family both black and white escalates.

The women demand more provision and responsibility from their men. Which puts these men under immense pressure to play their patriarchal role.

As a result of the mounting pressure, the gluttonous nature of white control increases in diametric opposition to black aspiration. Resulting in exclusion, segregation and discrimination that adds more pressure on the black family.

This push back by whiteness, unlike the spontaneous push for equality by blacks, is more sinister and designed to emasculate the competition [the black male] and topple black family cohesion to attenuate the rising threat against white standards of living.

With this push back, the raising demand of black ambition, rising pressure and the general fear of blacks to face the reality of white greed results in frustration.

As Fanon put it, the black man and woman will have no other outlet to release their rage but upon each other in bouts of domestic violence.

She will demean and insult him for what she subconsciously sees as his lack of courage and boldness to stand up to an obdurate threat depriving her and his off-spring.

In turn he will beat her in shame as he feels emasculated to confront the real enemy who keeps him infantized.

The cycle soon degenerates into black women visiting the same violence upon other women, while the men victimize each other in an orgy of bloodletting to diffuse the frustration.

Whole communities will habitually embark on acts of violence rituals such as mob justice on criminals, witch-hunts, attacks on foreigners and finally the inevitable attack on the softest of targets of society, the children.

Such violence is just a manifestation of a symptom of a bigger and more menacing problem that South African black society is collectively trying to pretend doesn't exist.

But as the strain and pressure of economics tears through the fibre of black society. As the daily economic attrition begins to bite even the thinkers of the group. Sooner or later the group intelligencia will begin to introspect and genuinely analyze their oppression and subjugation.

And slowly but surely as white greed continues with impunity and begins to squeeze these blacks who have the most to lose. Leaders will rise, fear will dissipate and the previously aloof, cowardly black middle class will begin to plan and strategize what needs to be done to confront the real enemy of their stomach.

The day is coming when blacks will eventually go head on against white avarice. But if it doesn’t come, black women, worse days are still to come until you channel your men to face the real enemy.

By Rutendo Bereza Matinyarare