We let Malema dominate the news

Julius Malema must be quite the conundrum for our journos and editors. Every week he has a print run boosting opinion or reaction to something or another. The man is walking circulation gold. He is also in danger of swamping the national consciousness with his often ill-delivered, though often on the mark, commentary on issues.

A situation where the national discourse is dictated by a media-savvy 28-year-old cannot be an ideal one for SA. The country and its issues are much bigger than that. Yet I challenge you to a debate on any leading issue in this country without the name Malema creeping into the discussion at a very early stage. To an outside observer he would appear to BE South African politics.

Some have suggested that he be muzzled or blacked out by the media. Some of his supporters would argue that since he has suffered more censure from the ANC than any ANC Youth League leader before him he has been censured enough. Many people would argue that a blackout of Malema has been practised by the media for a long time now, the only thing is that it only extends as far as twisting his words and quoting him selectively and out of context.

A classic example of the conundrum Malema crates for our media is the widely publicised press conference last week where Malema had a BBC journo evicted from the room for being rude and disrespectful. Well that and being a “bastard” and an “agent”. Some have suggested the journos present should all have walked out in solidarity. This view has a lot of ethical merit of course, but so is the view that their first duty should have been to stay, record and report on the event. And there is the reality that no editor wants to be the one whose publication has no angle on a Malema story.

Through our complicity he has become almost as big as the news itself. And I say our complicity because I firmly believe we let him dominate the news. There is no reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to express his views. But when we sit back, point and get indignant because his views speak to our fears or frustrations, we are ceding that space to him. We could just as easily debate the issues he raises, the merits of his take on them. We could as easily make it such that his is but one voice amongst 45 million South Africans who by and large share the same concerns: crime, corruption, job creation, Bafana Bafana’s woes etc. But it is a lot easier to point and rage.

By taking that easier option we surely cede the right to complain about him? The likes of Eugene Terre’Blanche didn’t restrict their media time to complaining about Malema. They set an alternative agenda, provided their own solutions to the problems they felt their constituency faced and rallied people around them. That for me is taking the democracy bull by the horns and being pro-active. And if a bunch on of no-hoper Neanderthals who still judge people on such accidents of fate as their skin colour can do that, it says a lot for the rest of us who choose not to.

Al Pacino summed up the likes of Malema best on Scarface when he said: “What you lookin’ at? You all a bunch of fuckin’ assholes. You know why? You don’t have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin’ fingers and say, ‘That’s the bad guy’. So … what that make you? Good? You’re not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don’t have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There’s a bad guy comin’ through! Better get outta his way!”