Malema will have the last laugh
2010-03-02 08:00
The dichotomy of Julius Malema - he is both the loved and not so beloved. Everyone has an opinion about the man. Few have no thought of him. Those who do not care much about him have an opinion too. He is like the weather; everyone has something to say about him. What this tells us about him is that he is not going to go away as much as many have been hoping. He is here to stay. Deal with it. Sorry.
Julius Malema is not going to disappear (mainly because it's hard to disappear and go unnoticed when you are his weight. I must confess, I too am catching up, I hope the look will garner me tenders as well).
He is difficult to ignore. Every other day it's Malema this, Malema that. And those who say let's not talk about him are actually talking about him. The man is under siege at the moment. He probably hates the media for digging into every single detail of his dealings. Funny enough, I think he would have serious withdrawal symptoms if the media ignored him. Perhaps Oscar Wilde's words were on point when he said, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
The media too would miss him if he went underground and said nothing. The media, the public and Malema all feed off each other. It reminds me of a Woody Allen joke: Two elderly women are at a mountain resort. And one of them says, Wow, the food in this place is really terrible. The other one says, Yeah I know, and they serve such small portions! This is like our nations obsession with Malema. We say enough about him already yet we can't help but want more stories about him.
In the evenings it seems people watch Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful and Generations then later in the evening news it's like sand through the hour glass, so are the days of Julius Malema. I get the feeling that the news should end like this, "the day of Julius Malema to be continued in the morning by newspapers".
When I first heard that he earned R20 000 a month as ANC Youth League president and was still able to afford houses and cars worth millions of rands I thought I'd like to be his friend because the guy seems to know how to stretch a budget. He might be shocking when it comes to woodwork but he must be an Einstein when it comes to accounting or finances if you wish. Had he been minister of finance I believed that the world cup stadiums wouldn't have been over budget at all. Indeed, he was under siege from me too as a member of the general public.
He reminds me a little of an Apple advert, but not in the positive sense that the advert leaves one with. I will quote it towards the end: "they are not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them". Well, we certainly can't ignore him. We even laugh about him.
Everyone has a Malema joke.
The funny thing though about the Malema jokes is that we all know deep down that he will have the last laugh. He is still going to be a major power in the future whether we like it or not. The sooner people accept that fact, the better. But that doesn't mean we should give him a free pass. He needs this interrogation; hopefully this is preparing him for proper more dignified leadership in the future. Will he ever be such a leader? It is up to you dear reader to decide.
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