Why historically unANChored young black professionals are Coping very well

A struggle veteran was telling me that he has observed Cope has become a popular attraction for the young black professional class.

Well, I don’t know anything about that as I have not attended any of their gatherings in plush homes, hotels conference rooms or hip cocktail parties and dinners. But he insisted that the face of Cope, largely, reveals young black professionals who crave something meaningful to do with their lives.

“You find them wearing bright, colourful shirts, expensive looking shiny suits and sharp pointed shoes that are the new symbol of success and achievement,” he said. He explained to me that this reflected that these young men and women have realised that they are “somebodies”.

“The ANC tends to turn off people who do not have struggle credentials and have not been with the movement for at least 25 years. There is a relative lack of recognition for people who are not former exile, Robben Island prisoners or UDF veterans and other unionists from Cosatu. This is a big turn off because these buppies have no sense of belonging and ownership of the ANC,” he explained.

I listened attentively to his take, especially the desire to “own” the ANC. After all, this man is a die-hard struggle veteran and former exile with extra-ordinary abilities to read and interpret trends. He now lives in Cape Town and had especially taken the trouble to attend the launch of Cope in Sandton. Over the last few weeks leading to the official launch, he has been keeping a close watch and attending some of the meetings. I guess we could say he has put his finger on the pulse of what makes Cope tick.

Of course, there are a lot of black yuppies that have “made it” and want to be acknowledged and recognised as “somebodies”, whatever that means. There is one distinctive feature about black yuppies: they relish attention and recognition and love being glorified! They are largely absent in ANC structures because to belong to this old movement you must possess genuine self-effacing humility.

Now, black yuppies are always upset when they are not treated like VVIPs. When one sees and meets them at malls, pubs, restaurants, weddings, funerals and other high places, they project an image that insists on recognition that feeds their egos. One even gets the impression that people and structures that do not pay particular attention to their exaggerated self-importance frustrate them. It would seem that with Cope they are bound to get what they want.

Significantly, there will be two tiers of leadership to make sure that their expertise, skills and knowledge are put to use to make them feel important. In stark contrast, what I have observed about the ANC structures is that you must be humble to the extent of killing your ego, you must not think that you are above the movement and you don’t invest too much in self-aggrandisement (for you will fall like Humpty Dumpty.)

Of course, this humility of being equal to gardeners, tea-girls, messengers, drivers and other menial workers is very frustrating to young professionals. In fact, it gets them mad that they must engage, deliberate and discuss issues with people who have not set foot in a university or don’t earn six figure salaries. These professionals love public performance and personal worshiping where they are made to feel indispensable.

Perhaps a liberation movement like the ANC will never appeal to egotistical yuppies.
The ANC is about humility and recognition of the humanity of the lowly. To make it in its structures, methinks, you must have that common touch and humble disposition that promotes respect and upholds the dignity of ordinary people.

Now, if you are someone who drives a big black BMW, wears R800 shirts and tender-snake shoes worth R5 000, you have no patience for the lowly. Maybe Cope’s biggest achievement has been to create a home for those who seek public acclaim, exaggerated self-importance and being indispensable.

But to remain in the ANC the prerequisite is to be humble, sure of putting the interests of the people before your own, understand the mission of the organisation and foregoing an exaggerated sense of self. In fact, if you are a true ANC person you truly understand that, without the people, you are nothing.

The attraction of Cope for some black professionals could be that they get what they want: appreciation and recognition for people who are heavily into conspicuous consumption. In this context, the observation of the Cape Town struggle veteran and former exile could be right: young black professionals are Coping very well.