Kader Asmal has now basically forbidden schools to preach about one religion as THE religion. The schools who signed petitions to carry on with reading Bibles and prayer, may do so though.
There are also stories doing the rounds that they want to take away uniforms, and being able to tell a kid what he must look like as well. This is most likely because it’s a reminder of rules set by those who were also pro-Apartheid.
So on the one hand the government is all for our human rights.
Although recently, they’ve been taking on the matter of children smoking. This same government. Smoking is bad for you, of course. Although I also do not think a child should be smoking as I myself don’t. Making it harder for a person to smoke is not going to stop them though! All the authorities need to realise that.
You cannot say to a child “I’m teaching you responsibility” when you tell a boy how long his hair is allowed to be. Or when a girl dyes her hair a desired colour, that she must either dye it back or cut it off by the end of the week. This is not teaching responsibility. Your parents teach you responsibility by asking you to feed the dogs, or make up your own bed, or to have safe sex. They can’t stop their child from doing something, but they can teach them the consequences. Once one has realised that, and lives according to it, only then s/he has responsibility.

Here’s a little scenario, that had happened to two boys at my school:
(I wanted to use actual names, but that would be contradicting the whole point of this article – it would be irresponsible of me…)
It was exams and no-one really seemed to be bothered about if a girl for instance wore two earrings in one ear, or something stupid like that, that normally wouldn’t have been acceptable when it’s not exams. One day of while it was exams, two boys didn’t wear proper school shoes. Our teacher wasn’t at school for a few days and another teacher stood in for her. Everyone thought she isn’t coming back for the rest of the week, which was also the rest of the term.
On that day though, she was there, and the two guys wore the “wrong” shoes. Immediately, she sent them off to the principal.
The one boy said his shoes are honestly missing and I don’t know what the other one had told them. Both wore some type of skate shoes – and any boy with the slightest hint of the “skater” image is dubbed a problem child by those who are not there to judge, merely to teach, like this teacher, although she, like others, do not really seem to comprehend that.

Our whole grade was writing Biology that day – what everyone actually came to school for to do! Yet, the principal kept the two boys until half an hour after everyone started writing the exam.
In this “really important 30 minutes” of expressing his authority to them, he also phoned both the boys’ parents to tell them that at the end of the year their child will receive their report card, and a letter to transfer them to another school.
He wasn’t serious! He couldn’t be! Of course our spineless principal never go ahead with his threats, but even saying to a kid that they will get expelled for not wearing the right shoes is absurd! Come on, making someone who came to school that day to write an exam, (to pass that exam – that’s of course why you are there – to pass school) miss half an hour of it, because of his looks is ridiculous! The principal initially wanted the two boys to go write in another classroom other than the one our class was writing in as well, because they’re not “worthy” to write with the rest of our class looking like that.
Tell me, is this teaching a kid responsibility? Hell no! This act of fascism is solely going to antagonise any child who is treated like that. This only installs anger within a person - not responsibility. It will only make you want to go throw a brick at the principal’s car!
In a similar, perhaps a bit worse situation, a youth might want to commit a random act of anger, violence, because the situation was treated with pure ignorance and mob mentality.
Now, if if these two guys’ parents had taught them responsibility, they will know better than go setting something on fire out of pure disgust with the teacher/whoever!

Another matter that has occurred to me recently, is the fact that they MIGHT make the “no u/18 drinking” policy a “no u/21 drinking” policy” in South Africa.
Sure, they finally realise alcohol is actually very bad. I would consider it a worse drug than marijuana, but we who disagree are not at liberty to make any rules, unfortunately.
They can’t really tell a 19 year old person who’s been allowed to drink for almost two years that all of a sudden s/he must be 21 to do so.
Making an age limit on drinking is understandable. Unfortunately it is a fact of life that some people accept responsibility later than others. Telling a person he is not allowed for example, to go see live bands, because s/he is not 21 yet and “might” drink at the club, or that if you smoke you’re going to drown in your own slime, is like saying to any person things like, not to drive to the shop, you might make an accident and die. Don’t eat that meatball you might choke on it. Don’t fly to a work meeting, the plane might crash into a huge building. This would be ridiculous, of course, but it is within the context. A line has to be drawn somewhere!
Rules and regulations should primarily be there to ensure order (not gained from taking away your freedom) and to ensure the safety of each and every human being.
Even an Anarcho-Punk would admit certain rules are needed.
BUT! Absurd rules and regulations cannot help you accept responsibility. No, only YOU can accept it.

Don’t let the neo-fascists drag you down.

In the words of Anti-Flag, “watch your right, watch your left, watch the Right, watch the center, and watch your back!”