Fuzile Jwara
Pretoria - While scrolling through various social media platforms, one thing jumped out at me. During June, international Pride Month, there were various anti-LGBTQIA posts and comments shared and reacted to positively. What struck me the most was the many anti-pride comments being shared and amplified by South African social media users.
When looking at this at a surface level, it does not mean much. However, on a broader scope, there is a realisation that “Culture War” talking points from the US have seeped into the South African discourse on human rights.
This means that it is not only anti-LGBTQIAP arguments but also points to immigration, women’s rights and the proverbial “wokeness” debate. To put it into perspective, the #PutSouthAfricansFirst stance appears to be straight out of the “Make America Great Again” playbook.
A prominent veteran of an opposition openly tweets about “wokeism” ruining South African politics. Another opposition party seeks to apply Christian biblical principles in improving South African lives.
These are just a few pointers that can be compared to the political climate in the US, where US conservative arguments are part of the South African civil discourse on rights, governance and representation. Thus, this opinion applies a structural analysis to the adoption of US culture wars in South Africa.
The overall sentiment is not dissimilar to the immigration debacle, where many point at fellow Africans as the cause of many of South Africa’s social ills. What vexes me most about this idea of African immigrants is that structural and policy failures are blamed on vulnerable populations who are also exploited as cheap labour due to their desperate situations.
Even the ruling party appears to be buying into this view, as the Department of Home Affairs aims to abolish the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit system. Some have cheered about this, but how do we rationalise the obvious scapegoating of African communities for clear structural failures?
It is also ironic that South Africa and the US share a parallel history of white supremacy rule, segregation and economies that have been built on the migrant labour system. Importantly, this illustrates how US conservative arguments have taken shape in South African discussions. One could even argue that those who push the views may not even understand the implications of such concrete positions. Therefore, there is no real stance on policy, but there is the politics of demonisation and othering.
It is critical to note that much of these above-mentioned scenarios depict deteriorating socio-economic conditions for South Africa. This is why this culture war exists in South Africa.
It is easier to spread a US invention such as “wokeism” than address structural inequality and the declining state. I question how a political party seeks to apply biblical principles in governance when South Africa is regarded a secular state. Targeting minority and vulnerable groups is a tried-and-tested formula that identifies those populations as the reason for shortcomings. A point straight out of the fascist playbook.
In this sense, the adoption of US conservative diatribe further exemplifies the intellectual bankruptcy of South African political, social and economic discourse.
At this point, one could argue that if not for the Constitution, perhaps South Africa might have descended into a chaotic cesspool of fascist agitators who publicly act violently against those deemed unworthy of basic humanity.
It is rather disturbing how many of these adopted “culture war” talking points are harmful to black bodies.
This is a post-apartheid South African dystopia; the dream that never was.
* Jwara is an MA sociology candidate at the University of Johannesburg.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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