Malema, Mbeki, smoke and mirrors

Julius Malema has come out against the Young Communist League and vowed to do his utmost to defend former president Mbeki against any legal action over his HIV-Aids utterances. And in other news, a herd of pigs were seen executing formations in the air above the Union Buildings while over in the Middle East Ahmadinejad has invited the Israeli PM for beer and pork chops at a popular Tehran strip joint.

One of the above is true. Quite shocking I know. After all, media-informed logic would have us believe that being pro-Zuma means virulent anti-Mbeki. Right? That’s how it works. All black and white, no grey areas. If Vavi says something counter to perceived alliance doctrine, then the alliance is falling apart at the seams. If you vote DA then you are a Bullard-reading privileged white racist (always leaves me conflicted that one, I love that uppity Pom). And it is all the ANC’s fault.

Why do we think that? I blame it on the Zuma gevaar tactics of the pre-Polokwane days. The mainstream media seemed so intent on doing their bit (rightly or wrongly) to stop a Zuma presidency and the catastrophe that would ensue should the supposed “corrupt racist” take over the reins. A few years later, we are stuck with a public discourse that ferments the very polarisation it thrives on reporting.

Now I’m not saying that Julius’s defence of Mzizi is some kind of sign that they are somehow reconciled best buddies. It’s well possible that there exist reasons for this which we are not aware of. And we can never be as long as the story remains at “Malema defends Mbeki” and creating hype and a buzz about that remains the only goal of our mainstream media.

Here’s a headline I’d love to see: “Why Malema defends Mbeki”, “Alliance engaged in healthy debate”.