I was
watching a news reader on TV the other day and it struck me that what he was
describing and what I was watching were two TOTALLY DIFFERENT things.
He was
talking about a strike but I was seeing property being damaged, shops being
looted and traffic jams in the background whilst the police officers present
were just standing and looking on.
So I
decided to draw up a list of English words and expressions being used in the
media over the recent past whose meanings have been subtly changed apparently
to portray an incorrect but "politically correct" view of events.
This
has been so subtly and successfully done that we see many current situations as
acceptable today that we would not have done in the past!
In my
opinion the words whose meanings have been changed to manipulate our thinking
are:
· ability (determined
by membership of the ruling political party and relationship to a senior
political figure. The more senior the political figure the greater the relevant
individual's ability is presumed to be)
· Afrophobia
(xenophobia/racism, including the killing of foreigners)
· BEE (legalized racial
discrimination)
· BEE score sheets
(enforced lowering of standards in exchange for a supposed reward)
· cadre employment (a reward
for political loyalty in the form of being appointed to a position at an
obscene salary in an area about which he/she knows nothing resulting in further
levels of deteriorating services and increased levels of employee joblessness)
· cadre redeployment
(moving a problem elsewhere)
· civil servant (a
lazy, arrogant, incompetent employee who lacks basic social skills)
· commission of enquiry
(a method of postponing a matter for a long time so as to enable the accused
party to obtain tax-funded assistance, abuse all available laws and reduce the
chances of being found at fault)
· employee suspension
(an early fully paid retirement period usually followed by cadre redeployment)
· human rights (an
endlessly expanding list of products and services wanted free of charge
resulting in political party dependency)
· imprisonment (an
enforced holiday with full medical, meals, housing and free training in law
breaking methods. Early release is ensured for politically connected persons
due to "poor health")
· adjusted matric pass
rate (lowered educational standards)
· justice (the result
of a lengthy, financially crippling legal process the results of which are
rarely seen to compensate for the injustice inflicted)
· legal strikes (the
approved infringement of other's rights and freedoms including damage to
property, looting and civil disruption i.e. condoned breaking of the law)
· load shedding (power
failures)
· media reports
(short-term oriented sensationalism composed to promote certain interests
whilst avoiding law suits)
· new (the reintroduction
of a previously existing service with a
new title and twice the number of previously employed government employees)
· news (propaganda)
· number of jobs
created (extremely short-term positions paid for out of taxes)
· patriotic reporting
(censorship)
· promotion on merit
(promotion based on membership of the ruling political party and relationship
to a political figure)
· SABC1-3
(Propaganda1-3)
· SAPS (an ineffective
group of uncivil servants who are being replaced by private security companies)
· service delivery
protests (condoned rioting, maiming, looting and arson)
· statistics (suitably
adapted and vague figures to promote a specific point of view)
· tender system (jobs
for pals in exchange for sub-standard products/services)
· the accusation of
racism (a tool for the lazy to try and get more for nothing. Also used to try
and argue with someone from an emotional, and not a factual, point of view)
· the law (a steadily
increasing set of ineffective rules to be ignored for as long as possible and
then to be distorted to fit a point of view over a lengthy period, not aimed at
ensuring justice)
· the media
(organizations whose propaganda is rewarded by government's advertising spend)
· turnaround strategy
(total confusion)
· ubuntu (misusing
relationships for personal gain)
· unions (officially
recognised uncontrollable groups whose members apparently want a 365 day annual
fully paid holiday with all benefits and who only represent approximately 6% of
the total population or 25% of the total working population)
· The success of this
manipulation is evident in that most citizens today moan and whine about the
deteriorating situation but very few take any decisive action to improve
matters!!!
