Author of Native NostalgiaJacob Dlamini names no names in this article about South Africa’s latest high-profile and controversial appointment to its diplomatic corps (our guess: he’s writing about a certain homophobe due for a sojourn in Uganda), but he does question what exactly the prerequisites are for representing South Africa abroad. Racism and bigotry, he muses, don’t seem to be considered to be reasons for disqualification. But what about insanity?
A COLLEAGUE once showed me a string of text messages he had received from a man who is now being considered for a job as SA’s high commissioner in central Africa somewhere. The texts were manic, crude and downright offensive. They reflected poorly on the writer and suggested a mind that was both troubled and unhinged.
Written in a mixture of English and Sesotho, the texts were nothing but a string of insults. Creative insults too. The author seemed determined to drown his target in a cesspit of vulgarity. Fortunately, the intended victim had a formidable sense of humour and was able to laugh off the insults. In fact, the recipient of the texts felt pity for the sender, who was a good writer and maybe, at one time, a good man.
I do not recall if the intended victim responded to the texts but I do remember that we both concluded that the man who had written and sent the texts was certifiably mad. He had to be. We decided that no self- respecting and sane person would have written and sent out such nasty messages.
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