It is with jubilation that we welcome you to the pages of this publication. We decided that this publication was needed after getting more and more depressed reading the bad news we see in the mainstream press. We are aware that the country we live in has it’s dilemmas. We are aware that it can be dangerous to stroll through downtown Johannesburg but we don’t live in Johannesburg or the Cape flats.
Here in Mbombela, I know a few folks that refuse to live in fear. We refuse to be caged by the few. It is my opinion that if you are aware of your surroundings and don’t do anything immensely stupid like leave your cell phone in your trolley, your life can be reasonably crime free.
Facts are that no guarantees exist no matter where you are. Your life is at risk when crossing the road, heck it’s probably more risky to walk in the parking lot at the mall because of the way people drive than sitting on your front stoep looking at the view, yet many hide themselves behind gates and alarms waiting for the worst. Something I have learnt is that “thoughts are things”, If you can imagine it, it can happen. So all of you imagining the worst and trying to hide from life are not going to be enjoying the wonders this part of the world has to offer.
This paper being available is one of the miracles of life. In the weeks prior to publication we spoke to many people. Some who did not have enough faith to advertise in an unknown publication. Some who were even skeptical about how many copies we were printing. I feel that those people who have so little faith in their fellow man are living in fear. They are so afraid of trusting their fellow man that I get to wondering what deep and dark thoughts are hidden behind their brows.
For instance I stopped at a BP garage in Sabie recently, as we all know you can now pay for fuel with your debit card at most fuel stations. The owner of this station had been paid by someone with a stolen or fraudulently obtained debit card and was not going to accept mine as payment. Fortunately sanity prevailed as I was going to leave without paying because they refused legal tender and a method of payment instituted by BP head office. The thing is one person stole from him now he assumes that everyone is a criminal.
I had the same argument with Pick and Pay. I was shopping and carrying a bag with me. A security official stopped me while I was shopping, demanding to see the content of my bag. Facts are that while inside the store you can carry goods anywhere. It is only if you leave the store not paying for the goods that your are guilty of any crime. It is my opinion that when the security guard approached me, he made the assumption that I was a thief, or else why would he do so.
Further to this it means that the management of the store assumes that their clients are hell bent on stealing from them. Fortunately we resolved the situation amicably. I believe the security staff have been advised to stop harassing clients in-store.
All of the above leads in to my main point and concern. We are treating our peers like criminals, we are in fear of our neighbours, yet at a conscious level we know that criminals are in their minority. We, the majority are allowing a minority of fiends to imprison us in our own homes. It is my contention that these lawless individuals are also making normally law abiding folks add to the problem of lawlessness in our country.
I am talking to you, the driver that overtakes me on a barrier line on a blind rise, or on a barrier line in the suburbs. I have watched you rushing to the next intersection and arriving there before me. Seconds only. Yet you get there first.
In my youth I watched a short educational film at the flicks. The tale was of two motorists driving from the center of Joburg to the the airport, a few name changes ago.
The amount of time saved by the speedster was something ridiculous like 7 minutes. I was thinking that the maximum distance from any point in Nelspruit to another is approximately 15 km’s. Based on a speed of 60km/h it would take 15 minutes to travel that distance without any obstructions, stopping at robots or stop streets. So travelling at 90 km/h you would save 3.5 minutes.
This however would not actually work in an urban area as most of the travel is start stop. Your average speed would never achieve 120 unless you drove at 180 at times. The average speed I achieved on a bike would be less than 70. My question is, why would you race and risk your life to save 2 or 3 minutes? Is 2 minutes going to make that much of a difference?
The other thing that I have noticed is people not stopping when the lights turn red. The average light stays red for two minutes. Why would you want to obstruct the other blokes journey and cause a snarl up in the traffic? Is it because you are an arrogant moron who thinks your time is more valuable, or is it that you are late because you can’t read your watch?
Remember lawlessness starts with you and me. If we set the example and drive within the rules, maybe driving will be more pleasurable. Speeding is a crime. Overtaking on barrier lines is a crime. The speed limit on Percy Fitzpatrick Street and Enos Mobuza Drive is not 120.
Enough of the whining, let’s talk about the exciting stuff. Enough of you had the faith in us to get this paper out. You made this good-news paper happen. You and our team.
The team have been fortunate to meet some really interesting people and hear some very inspiring tales. There’s Brighton Mapanga, the awesomely talented artist, South Africa has Talent exposed Darren Rajbal, the awesomely talented deaf dancer but Mpumalanga has talent too. There’s the deaf dance troupe from the Kamagugu Special School. There is David Lillo, the Down Syndrome afflicted artist from White River. Inus Prinsloo, the White River boy with the voice of a rock star. The lads from BUCK DC, who’s member Bradley Fereira is opening for Kurt Darren.
Yes Mpumalanga has talent. Read all about it right here.
Guy McLaren
Nelspruit,
Mpumalanga Explorer,
Editorial,
