Our bodies are not political tools

If you went to high school that took its sporting seriously, you’ll remember the days when you had to go cheer on the first team and the prefects’ seemingly sole job was making sure you were singing on those stands. Some enjoyed it but there were certainly some kids who would have rather been skateboarding in their civvies.

Fortunately, as adults, with the benefit of the freedoms the struggle fought for, we wouldn’t be subject to such ridiculous tyranny to show our support. At least so it should be.

How then, decades into this freedom, are we still subject to the tradition of bussing people into stadiums and enticing them with a plate, T-shirt and bottle of water? Say what you want but we all know, no matter which party is throwing the party, many, if not most, of those “supporters” wouldn’t be there otherwise.

In the run up to next year’s election, you’ll be seeing so much of it. Even Julius Malema was going off at his regional leadership, compelling them to bring numbers to the 10-year rally. Why? Is it such a big deal that political parties fill stadiums? Does it show political force? If it does, what kind of political force is it that can be bought with a food and transport budget? How does such a political force help South Africa?

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We laughed at the EFF when they couldn’t mount a national shutdown earlier in the year, so how is being unable to fill a stadium any different? Right now, it isn’t because the political narrative has been one of a show of force; a show of numbers. It’s a dumb narrative. It’s especially idiotic because there isn’t a single party who can fill a stadium without some form of enticement.

I dare any party to try get just 10 000 people together without offering any sort of benefit. This isn’t ancient Rome and we shouldn’t be filling the arena to get handouts of bread so that the emperor can feel powerful and stroke his ego. That’s all that filling a stadium is. And it means absolutely nothing at the end of the day. Even the Freedom Front Plus could fill South Africa’s biggest stadium four times over with it’s 2019 electoral showing. The UDM too could fill it and still have some change. So what? Every major party has done it. Did it impact electorally? Not even in the slightest.

But so much time, energy and effort go in to making these rallies look like something to behold as if they tell some sort of story linked to the support of the party. Maybe it does on the surface level but there’s a reason nobody polls the people as they leave to ask them about what they think of their party’s economic growth plan.

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And this is what it’s become; our political agency reduced to sitting in a stadium all day to feign support in exchange for food and having the benefit of being bussed there – because it’s not like anybody can afford the petrol or a car. Steve Biko did not die for the people of South Africa to be herded in the way of the Ankole to make some dudes feel powerful by the group’s size.

You can talk to me about dignity until those cows come home but when you start treating me like my value is just another body in your stadium to send some sort of passive aggressive “look how big mine is” message, I’m going to have to tell you that I have more worth than that.

Nobody is here to make yours look bigger. Find a better and more accurate way to show your political support. Better yet, get over yourselves and don’t take advantage of those so poor, they’d amandla their way to a stadium just for a plate of food.

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