The Ebuhlanti incident, in which a security officer was attacked for simply doing his job, points to a prevalent yet unspoken trend that exists in our society.
The French term nouveau riché accurately captures it for me: it refers to a person who has suddenly become wealthy and feels entitled to special treatment and adopts an exaggerated sense of self-importance over others.
You see it in the way they walk in public spaces, where others must make a way for them, the smart [cars] but reckless driving, their impatience at the queue tills, disrespect towards petrol attendants, till operators and many others.
In many cases, these are migrant workers, who get better-paying jobs outside the province, only to return with less focus on holidaying or spending time with the family but more to show off this imaginary wealth.
It’s a dangerous mentality that undermines and degrades those whom they consider to be inferior because of the titles of their jobs.
I am reminded of an interview I had with the head of a mortuary in Cape Town who told me mortuaries were overflowing with the bodies of young men.
The most common causes of their deaths were assaults, stabbing or gunshot wounds and car accidents.
She told me the deaths normally occurred where liquor is consumed, and testosterone drives confidence levels so high that someone decides to drive fast or shoot their gun at the slightest provocation.
Recently, a worker at a supermarket joked with me that one of her customers who identified himself as a mineworker from Rustenburg had instructed her to dish up more meat for him because [Amcu president Joseph] “Mathunjwa” had fought for them to be paid higher salaries.
In conclusion, employers, unions, medical aid schemes and all those who deal with SA’s workforce should initiate campaigns to encourage migrant workers to show compassion, respect and a positive attitude and share a tiny bit of their newfound “wealth” with the less fortunate.
To share it with the neighbour who cannot afford to buy groceries, school shoes, painkillers for their rheumatism, or take their neighbour to hospital in their Mercedes-Benz.
Customarily, such small acts of philanthropy attract more good fortune and blessings so it should be easy to do. This would make this province and our country a better place for all of us to live in. — Loyiso Mpalantshane, via email