Cycling and Decency (D)

On 94.7 recently, a guy was talking to Kingsley Hollgate, and saying that he once stayed in an isolated cabin in Alaska. He was talking about the fact that whether in Africa or anywhere else, the greatest danger you can face is not from bad weather, or snakes, or bears, lions or any other wild animal. The greatest danger by far, that a person can face, is from other human beings. He said he was in a very isolated area in Alaska and became a aware that a man was approaching the cabin. He was 74 miles away from anywhere, and he was shitting himself because he had no idea what this person was doing there. It was in that moment that he realized once again, that a man in terms of another man can be an incredibly deadly and dangerous predator.

Invisible

It’s possible to get through a day in Western society without being polite, without showing manners, without any involvement with fellow human beings. You can be busy behind a computer. You might get away with not even saying a word to someone during the day at the office. There are few tricks that are new to people; few things that still surprise.

Information

It has been said that 7 volumes of the New York Times has more information than people living a few hundred years ago would learn in their entire lifetimes. And we naturally are a party to a great deal more information.

Cycling

But cycling is a sport where decency is a requirement. You can not hope to remain invisible, or to ignore information. You have to remain alert, and involved, and in the loop. Hand signals demonstrate where objects are, voice prompts too. It is a dangerous sport, even though on the face of it it may seem particularly monotonous, even boring. Traveling at high speeds means the more eyes scanning the road for hazards (holes, glass, rocks etc) the better the chances the whole group will finish the journey. It’s a co-operative allegiance that helps all. It’s sensible, logical and practical.

Read: The Best Drivers Are Also Cyclists

So being a cyclist, I found myself in a bizarre parallel universe whilst stuck in a traffic jam. I noticed a bubble in the rear left tyre of a gold BMW sparkling in the early morning sun. The vehicle was moving slowly forward, and I felt an imperative to communicate the danger to the driver. If I didn’t, and the vehicle picked up speed later that day, and the tyre burst, it would have been in my power to have prevented it.

But:
- how would he react to a person suddenly appearing at his window, having emerged from a vehicle behind him
- how would I communicate to him without obstructing traffic behind me.

Finally, noticing a traffic light ahead had turned read, and all vehicles had completed their accordion movements, I quickly approached the driver.
I lifted my fingertips to the pane of glass, and was relieved that it was sliding down.
“You know about your back tyre-“
“There’s a bubble in it. Shot-ah,” the guy said with a small smile. Before I knew it I was back in my car, feeling good. I got the feeling others had done the same thing, and he was moved by the collective consideration that had been elicited. I just hope he changed the damn tyre that day!

Be careful when approaching others even if your intention is to help. The rescuer often needs to be rescued, when acting impetuously. That said, if you are called to help another, we ought not to hesitate about doing so. It is the decent thing to do. If you are not called, not compelled, move on. Perhaps someone with more confidence will be called. Then again, maybe not.

What's Worse: Burping or Doing Nothing (SURVIVOR COOK ISLANDS UPDATE)

So on Survivor last night, Candice got booted off. I think her throwing a tantrum was a fatal flaw. Poor girl went to exile island like 4 times or something.

It was interesting seeing the animosity build up against Jonathan though. This guy is a bit insecure, and perhaps a little too direct (obvious is another word). He's not quite as bad as some of them made him out to be. If you selfishly want something and that conflicts with someone elses selfish desire for the same thing, does that make the person who succeeds in getting something (at the expense of another) wrong? No, it's the nature of the game, and often, life.

Maybe he was a bit cocky with his beer, hot dog and pizza (he burped in front of his starving companions), but he also got off his butt and went fishing, while the other 3 in the tribe played wait-and-see (or wait-and-whine, or wait-and-blame).

How can you blame Jonathan for not sharing his catch with people that were glaring at him, resorting to kindergarten name calling and all the rest.

Meanwhile, Yule turns out to be tremendously intelligent. He has made two immensely strong decisions strategically.

1) Turning Jonathan - a swing vote - during a crucial vote just after the merge. This led Yule's group to switch from inferior numbers at tribal council, to a majority. He was able to secure Jonathan's vote by showing that he had the hidden immunity necklace, another coup. Yule was able to find it on Exile Island, those who went before him - could not.

2) Not voting Jonathan off was also a clever vote, because 3 members within the tribe is still a fairly large unknown quantity (who might win immunity for themselves).

It goes to show though that in the game of survivor, the most indecent thing of all is - not burping - but freeloading.

Racism's Sad Legacy (D)

I find it incredibly distasteful that at a time when we COULD be celebrating as a nation, (how much else is to feel this good about?) we choose rather to attack the heroes of the rugby world cup, and divide ourselves. When will we ever learn to enjoy being South Africans?

Of course many people are and have been. It’s just sad to see the aftermath of the RWC deteriorate into blogger basement debates on racism. Is that always where every achievement will gravitate back towards?

Because it’s always a choice. Focus on what’s wrong or focus on what can bring us together…

There have been at least two columnists (bloggers?) who have gotten on the Racism Bandwagon thanks to the Boks winning in France. There has also been plenty of reaction. It reminds me of terrorism, quite frankly.

You find a target, one that has a lot of attention, and one that could conceivably garner a lot more if attacked in the sweet spot, and then you make sure you time your terrorism just perfectly.

Why do you you think Jake White has left? Is White ahem, the best man to coach an All Black Team? Probably not, if your intention is just that, to paint first a certain sort of officials and a certain sort of player into a side, rather than starting where you should start: figuring out how to win, doing the math, do the work.

Some people - and I'm guessing they don't even play sport - seem to think you get to the top by playing eeni meeni myni mo. You win because you did more WORK, more preparation than anyone else.

Using the same sense SARU appear to be using, why do we have a white Brazilian coaching the almost All Black Bafana Bafana? Because the plan is to win, or at least attempt to do well. But see, these are actually irrelevant questions. The questions really being asked is:
how can we score a free pass, a free ride, a free handout, using the race card?
That really is what it looks like. There's not a love for the sport, there's a greedy sense of opportunism. And I agree: it's very sad. How can we ever win, not just rugby, but anything, business contracts, respect, international relationships, if this is our skewed, weaseling and money grubbing focus.

I've heard the argument about how hard it is for disadvantaged people to make the SA Rugby team. Well it should be hard - for everyone. Sorry but I don't believe - for a second - that Jake White chose his team based on anything other than merit. And how ironic that the world's player of the year is a non-white South African.

Now, though, we're supposed to anticipate seeing the sort of Affirmative Action in rugby as we've seen in cricket. I don't watch cricket any more. Somehow, at World Cup level, we manage to come up with a dismal performance. It beggars belief, but we do.
So now we're seeing SA Rugby Transform. No harm in that you think? It's the equivalent of a 9/11 attack on this nation. It's the equivalent to decapitating one of the most positive skyscrapers rising right now in the nation. Why do I say this? Because effectively the spirit of the nation is being crushed, when we should be celebrating and enjoying our place in the world. The current agenda demonstrates that politics and power are overtly, ostensibly more important than crowds of people - all people - coming together on the streets to demonstrate support for one another.

Yes, now's the time to attack, and we so we see stories and columns like these doing the rounds:

M&G: Racism 101: What is racism?
My last posting suggested that the decision to scrap Soweto off the Springbok victory parade was racist.

The Times: Black fans deserve rugby’s respect, too

I watched the Rugby World Cup at a friend’s place in the southern suburbs of the great city of Johannesburg. It was an instructive experience — not just watching the game itself, but watching those who were watching the game.

There were about 14 of us, all black. The tension was palpable right from the word go. There we were, huddled around the screen, with our sweaty palms wrapped around cups and glasses of our favourite beverages.

We sang along as the players broke into our national anthem. There were excited comments: “Hhawu, these white boys are actually singing our anthem!” It was as if we were relieved that the white players had humbled themselves enough to learn the Nguni part of the anthem.

NVDL: I just imagine a win in ANY other country; New Zealand, Australia, France, England...the LAST things they would do is immediately fire their coach (or let him go), then launch debates on how to change a team and other analyse the sideshow issues to death. Only in South Africa can we find a way to spoil the celebrations a soon as possible by bickering about what's not right.

Francois Pienaar provided this cogent response to Mr Khumalo's stirs on racism and rugby:
As mentioned before in other posts, and in support of your post, rugby cannot be transformed from the top down, it needs to start at grass roots. Get the facilities up, get the coaches there and then get the kids interested. well, how do you get them interested? Well, by winning. Whether the team is pink, blue or black, if they win, people will be interested period. If they don’t people won’t.

On the M&G blog I answered the question: What is racism, as follows:
Racism is a conscious effort to hurt, malign or in other ways infringe on another human being using their race (against them) as a means for this attack.

And then there are arguments and counterarguments about the 'official' definition of what racism is. Jeepers guys, that's helpful. Notice how we go from celebrating something, to getting so losty and sidetracked in the negative offshoots that we lose all the momentum we once had.

So I would say that Jake White has been a victim of racism, and so has this country. Why? Because they can. Unfortunately, as seems to be a lot we cannot but avoid on the African continent, this strategy from the top will effectively transform us - unless some sanity previals - also into first a losing rugby nation, and then a nation of losers, both economic and otherwise.

Rethinking Good Luck Charms (HUMOR)

Deadly Sections of the N1 (FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT)

Driving from BFN to JHB is quicker than the total flying time (including going to the airports and back). The downside is it's quite a dangerous drive over weekends, especially at night. I have been making the trip from Johannesburg to Bloem and back a lot lately. I'll be going down again this weekend for the OFM. I feel it's important to warn motorists of the most deadly sections.

JHB to BFN

From the perspective of someone leaving Johannesburg after work on a Friday, it's an enormously stressful and long drive, since you might leave the office at 15:30, crawl through traffic snarls for 90 minutes, meaning you're on the road for 5 hours or more - doubling your travelling time effectively. Then the last section, just before you arrive in Bloem is very dangerous. You're tired, you want to get there, and here traffic slows down to an 80km/h crawl again. It's frustrating.

Unlike the 70km or so before you reach JHB, the 200km from Kroonstad to Bloem is mostly single lane highway, with several sections where the shoulder eats away. But by the time you're 40km from Bloem, you may find very long echelons, trains of cars stuck behind trucks, sometimes two or three trucks in a line, unable to overtake - or too hesitant - and this area has some subtle rises and dips that hide solitary vehicles. Beware.

For Drivers and Cyclists

For the cyclists doing the OFM, many of the road cateyes have been ripped apart in the 20km section of N1 on the JHB side around Glen. What remains is a verticle screw. This can give cyclists carrots, and may penetrate worn tyres of vehicles, or worse if one actually skids over this vertical piece of metal. I saw quite a few of these so avoid being close to the yellow line for this section.

BFN to JHB

I probably averaged 130km/h for last night's trip. Trucks make the first section very difficult especially where two trucks hover around each other, and then a hesitant driver hangs around, making for a very difficult pass. This section is under construction, with many areas where the shoulder converges suddenly, leaving nowhere for slower vehicles to give way*. The section from Winburg to Ventersburg used to be incredibly dangerous, this is now a great section, with plenty of double lanes.

After Ventersburg the road is dangerous at night, with some sharp curves, disappearing verges, and deep and sudden dips. The Kroonstad section is great, but last night a car was parked on the right hand verge, with two wheels on the highway, and what happened was I was following a vehicle that was passing a truck, and this vehicle just scraped through an unexpectedly narrow gap, and I just held on and followed him through. I watched in my rearview mirror expecting yellow petals of flame to emerge as someone collided behind me. Hopefully no one did.

Vehicles on the side of the road are a very dangerous hazard at night. Even if your hazard lights are on, many drivers do not expect this sort of thing. On Friday night a car was lying off the road, and 200 metres further on a big truck, in complete darkness, was hovering like a black ship. Perhaps it suffered an electrical failure. But no one can blame the driver for seeing the lump of metal at the last second, half in the road, and properly ripping the steering wheel in fright and rolling the car. A police car parked behind the lorry, it's bright blue lights warning drivers of the situation.

I'd also advise listening to OFM - 94-97FM (on the Kroonstad side of the N1 towards Bloem) or 94.7 Highveld Stereo (the Kroonstad to Joburg side of the N1) as both these stations have traffic reports. OFM's are better though, and always involve reports of N1 drama.

If you know the contact numbers for either of these stations, and you see hazards etc., do other drivers a favour and phone them in, especially if you're not driving alone. If you know the traffic report contact numbers, please post them here in the comment sections. I've looked on the sites and couldn't find them.

We're all on the road together, so flashing lights at people and irritating them more than is necessary only increases the chance of people behaving rashly. If someone approaches with their brights on, flash them once. Don't overdo it. Some people have set their lights too high, and they can't do anything about it. Those cases - where driving isn't perfect - let's learn to live with it and be communicative and helpful, rather than preoccupied with a race, with haste.

Final Word

I think good drivers are confident drivers, who do sometimes take risks. But it's a problem when it's about ego, and putting yourself in front of someone else (at their expense). When taking a risk, there is an unknown factor. What I realised again last night, is sometimes there are hazards you would never know to expect (like shadowy lorries virtually invisible on the side of the road, and vehicles parked in the right hand lane). This being the case, if you take a risk you;re so much more likely to find yourself in trouble if you're unlucky enough to encounter one of these hazards while you're in the middle of a risky manuoevre.

If you anticipate danger, or if approaching traffic is heading towards a dangerous scene, put on your hazards. One flash for brights. Blinding another driver - even if his brights are on (intentionally or not) isn't going to help your chances to get home safely.

PS. Notice Ron Weasely will be starring in a new comedy...
*In fact it is now illegal to drive within the yellow line area, so if someone does not give way, be patient.
**Contact details I have for OFM are:
Hannika Struwig, Communication Executive: OFM, Tel: 051 5050900, Fax: 051 5050905,
Cell: 082 873 2650, E-mail: hanna@ofm.co.za

Antony Altbeker on Decency (BOOK EXCERPT)

"[Our] social climate..aggravates rather than ameliorates the tendency to violence." P 156, IT'S ABOUT VALUES, STUPID!

"Banal as it sounds, the key question is one of values." P157

"Goverment has long recognised that some of the values held by South Africans are among the many causes of crime."

People are to be made good through education. - Aristotle

"Primary school teachers who need reminding that they ought to be teaching children to read, are not, I would submit, full equipped to teach morality." P158
NVDL: This quote after Altbeker discusses a letter sent from deputy director-general of the Department of Education, dated August 14, 2006, reminding primary school teachers to teach reading to their students.

"Nor is our business community - recently rated as the mosty likely to pay bribes in African countries - akways offering object lessons in good behaviour." P159
NVDL: PicknPay seems to me to be (one of the few) exception(s) in this context; a very community, and integrity based company.

"[Morality is] learnt through the experience of the behaviour of people and institutions around us. One reason the if-you-teach-them-they'll-be-good school of behaviour modification has come to dominate policy [is thanks to SA's Marxist tendency and subservience to giving moral prescripts]...This is not [a] helpful [premise...]" P160

"Institutions that act rationally, that treat people fairly, that do what they say they'll do, and engage the world honestly, generate different social effects than those whose actions are arbitrary, whose officials are manifestly self-interested or dishonest, and which consistently fail to do their duty." P161

"...public institutions [must] express and reflect sound values."

"Creating a society based on the dignity of every individual is not just about building more houses, cleaning the streets more often or maing the Springbok rugby team more representative. It is also about behaving in a way that takes seriously the behavioural niceties [see Revisiting Manners], the courtesies [like manners] and conventions, that are sometimes assumed the way the Constitution frames public administration but which are often trampled on in practice.
Tautological it may be, but if we want people to behave more decently, we need to become a more decent society." P162

All quotes from A COUNTRY AT WAR WITH ITSELF, South Africa's Crisis of Crime, Chapter 9, It's About Values, Stupid!, P156-161, Jonathan Ball Publisher's, available at Pick'nPay for R100.

Revisiting Manners (DECENCY)

True story. Last night after a short run [212 KCal] I headed towards the internet station at Virgin Active. This was just a few minutes before the whole place was supposed to close. And once again, before I headed into the change-rooms perhaps one terminal was being used. Once out, they were all full.

This time I waited on the balcony section overlooking the pool. I noticed a mother standing over her little boy -perhaps 6 or 7 years old - at one of the terminals, presumably telling him to wrap it up. I waited a little longer, then feeling a bit awkward, approached the little guy: "Mind if I have a few minutes on the computer?"
He was half sitting on his chair, and now he turned: "What?"
I repeated the question. He still didn't seem to understand, but slid off his chair and went away.

I started making my way to Facebook . I'd last checked my messages about 2 weeks ago because exactly the same schpiel as now had repeated itself each time: the stations suddenly, unexpectedly filling up just before the final bell. So as I'm getting down, the boy's mother leans over the stations guard rail, eyes blazing:
"DON'T PUSH CHILDREN AROUND OKAY!" she hisses.
It's stern enough to elicit a reponse from people on either side of me. All three of us point to the sign that says:
Adults have preference at Internet Stations...

She skulked away, while I commented to the young lady on my left: "Jeepers, it's banned at work, it's like impossible just to check your Facebook, because there's a rush to do it at gym too. And..er... thanks for backing me up..."
But I still felt aggravated. Why do we need signs to remind us of our manners? I felt aggravated, hurt, annoyed, insulted, burned - and all because this woman didn't know her manners.

If it's already not clear, let me explain. If you're visiting friends, and it's time to serve up the braai, adults generally get preference. They get preference in terms of where they sit, and in terms of the food they drink. They often get preference in terms of cutlery and crockery (plastic plates and cups) too. You don't serve small children wine, or the choice cuts of meat, and they don't sit at the head of a table. Not because children are unimportant, and not because we don't love them. The reason is in part practical home-based functionality, but also, importantly, to show our respect for adults.

In the same way if you're visiting your pals, or colleagues, and the kids want to watch Cow and Chicken, Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the adults will ask the kids to go and watch in another living room, or ask their children to go and play somewhere else; anyway, it boils down to the fact that adults don't get to play all day, and when they get together to watch something like say, the Rugby World Cup match, or Survivor, it's a special occasion. And special occasions require a bit of personal sacrifice. You might dress up, you might try to behave, and you might want to think about your manners (at least until the beer

In a public space like a gymnasium, where adults will try to get some exercise at the end of a long day before they go to sleep, yes they should be allowed to use the equipment and facilities that they pay membership fees to. This particularly includes access at 9:30pm (when small children ought to be in bed), or at any other time.

What concerns me is that some people need signs to remind them of their manners. I know we forget about our manners because advertising encourages an I WANT, ME-ME-ME mindset. As it happens, there is also a sign in the station area that goes something like this: Sis Man, we don't want you guys watching Porn on these computers. Once again, cursory reminders like these remind me that as a society, we have lost our way, and need signboards to remind us to think about other people.

Reminder: Stop Thinking of Yourself

As it happens, the gym also asks people to guard their belongings, because some people, when they do think of others, it's to take what they don't have for themselves. And then there are also reminders not to urinate in the pool. All these are done slightly tongue in cheek, because it's a top end gym, and naturally, somewhat embarassing that one has to stoop to these common sensical measures. But I don't doubt they are necessary. I'm just pointing out that it points to how disgusting, rather than how decent, society is becoming. Even at the 'top end'.

That's not really a debate, it's obvious. In South Africa, divorce rates, domestic violence, crime and corruption and all the rest are the order of the day. We top quite a few disgusting lists, and we're at the bottom of other lists rating things like quality of life and transparency.

You might think a mother arguing with a man who has just bumped her kid off an internet station is juvenile and petty. Actually, it's not. Because the subtle message she conveys to the child who will be a man some day (one hopes), without knowing it, is that some people can be respected and others not. Strangers are unimportant, and some adults are only to be respected in special cases. Since the three of us set the kid's mom straight, the child is already experiencing a conflict, a confusion about what good manners really are.

In short, manners are about respecting people. Whether we know these people or not. And whether these people particularly deserve our respect or not, it's good and proper to be respectful. It's what we'd like from others, and it's up to the individual to integrate how deeply important these ordinary virtues become. In the end, our capacity to respect others begins with how much we decide to respect ourselves.