Ever seen The Purge? This is an American thriller franchise, consisting of four films and a television series.
The films are based on a future dystopian America, revolving around an annual 12-hour period when all forms of crime are legal. The idea is that for the rest of the year no one then commits serious crimes such as murder.
Thus for a specific time span you are allowed to purge yourself from your desire to harm, and to get rid of anyone you want to be removed from the cycle of life.
The word “purge” means getting rid someone or something of an unwanted quality, condition or feeling. It also implies removing a group of people considered undesirable from an organisation or place in an abrupt or violent way.
The premise of the movies is disturbing, because law enforcement is not allowed to get involved.
Thus, if you are not a killer or have no interest in committing a crime, you are forced to defend yourself and thus hope the sun will rise for another year of survival.
The other day while watching one of these purging movies, a comment was made that South Africa is in a similar way subjected to purging. And thus our reality is weirder than fantasy.
Only difference is that SA’s purging is 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and not just over a 12-hour time span. There is no hooter to announce the end of the nightmare.
Consider also, those who continue with the violence, it seems, are not being purged of anything. They just continue to promote terror.
In the meantime, so many people are suffering as they are being removed violently from society, resulting in the mass exodus overseas. And so the brain drain continues, all to the detriment of the health of our economy.
Yes, our law enforcement is allowed to react unlike in the movie, but really, most of the time the homeowner or the farmer is left to defend himself.
Sadly, a lot of these home invasions end in tragedy and long-lasting ramifications of emotional and psychological scarring.
Boksburg is rife with homeowners being subjected to such a reign of terror. Forget the police, for they are a mere afterthought after the carnage.
Burglaries are rife, and still criminals think they have a right to plunder and murder on a whim.
In the meantime, the government turns a blind eye to the seriousness of farm killings and that more sinister motives are behind all the bloody violence. So the purging continues, along with the lingering fear that nothing is safe or sacred.
As we near elections, all the political promises will not address the purging, or the non-existent service delivery. Where is the real and tangible intervention from government?
The government is more interested in spending millions on upgrading the homes of ministers while the frail wait more than 20 years for promised housing. Back at the ranch, the folks at Scribante are still waiting for new lifts to be installed.
Recently, Police Minister Bheki Cele said South Africa would be better off if only its armed forces, and not private citizens, had access to firearms. Such ideals will remain but whimsical, because criminals start to roam the street ready to purge.
Such purgers fear neither punishment nor the wrath of any homeowner. They live in their own demented world of violence, for let us be honest, some are even enjoying purging the land.
So welcome to our own Purge, where a lot of citizens would probably love to purge Eskom and parliament of all unsavoury and incompetent elements.
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