While we have seen a lot of change during the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africans clearly like things to stay the same, writes Howard Feldman.
First they came for the Tempo, and I did not speak out – because I wasn’t crazy about Tempo.
Then they came for the Lays salt and vinegar chips, and I did not speak out – because I was always more of a “Lightly Salted” man.
Then they came for the alcohol, and I did not speak out – because I had stockpiled an impressive amount of single malts, along with toilet paper and sanitary wipes.
Then they came for Chocolate Log — and I was too drunk to speak.
These slightly adapted, but immortal words, were penned 1946 by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller (1892–1984).
He chose, of course, to write about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergy during the horrors of the Second World War.
And whereas, to be fair, Niemoller might have used the word “Socialist” where I referred to Tempo, his point is still well made. He might have used “Trade Unionist” and “Jew” where I employed the words “Alcohol” and “Lays Salt and Vinegar”, which indicates more than anything that he was clearly ahead of his time.
What will be next?
2020 is not 1946, and indeed the discontinuation of Chocolate Log is by no means comparable to the holocaust, but it remains true to say that if we don’t speak out, then who can guess what will be next.
A conversation with psychologist David Abrahamsohn on my morning show reframed my perspective about 2020.
Although the slot is not meant to be used for personal therapy, I often, completely inappropriately, use the time to deal with some of my “stuff”.
In one such discussion, I complained openly about my 15-year-old daughter who is not finding lockdown particularly easy. I did the whole “why can’t she see how blessed she is” thing, which is when the psychologist introduced me to the concept of loss around the expectation of what the year was meant to bring.
He explained that, as a result of the pandemic, our children have suffered significant loss.
Each school year brings excitement of something unique to that particular year. Seven months into the year, it is now clear that there will be no matric dances, no sports tours and no social interaction of any sort. Instead, they have been asked to stay home and gain knowledge, without the outlet they have been used to.
And when some have returned to school, they have entered an environment that looks nothing like that place they once knew. To negate or ignore that loss is to be deaf to a significant sacrifice of their youth. They will never be able to experience what they had anticipated for the year that is fast diminishing. And that is pretty sad.
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in loss on many levels.
The loss of life, health, finance and experience have been significant. There is also little doubt that our emotional stability is more at risk than ever before, and one needs to spend limited amount of time on social media to see how fragile we are.
Outcry over Clover
Take for example the massive negative outcry against Clover for changing the colour of their milk containers to blue. South Africans are fuming and, considering a statement from Clover that it is “too early to see the impact on sales”, this was clearly not predicted by the company.
In response to the outcry, they also tweeted, “Is it too late to say April’s Fools?” and “We blame 2020.” Clearly, they were more than a little surprised by the response.
In reality, though, it should not have been much of a shock, given the amount of change that has already occurred over the past few months.
South Africans clearly need their milk to be as it always was. They need it to be stable and reliably white. Not blue. Not green. Not anything other than that which it always was. It is not a metaphor for anything to do with colour. It is about being able to count on something, when so little has remained the same.
Which is why we react so strongly when Nestle announces the death of Chocolate Log, even if we haven’t eaten one since 1998.
It is why we mourn the discontinuation of salt and vinegar Lays chips and it’s why blue milk cartons make us angry.
It’s certainly not 1946, but surely we have suffered enough.
– Howard Feldman is a keynote speaker and analyst. He is the author of three books and is the morning talk show host on ChaiFM.
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