The Green Danger
During the old apartheid government decisions were much easier. What was not against the law was compulsory.
That was until Seymour White, the Conservative candidate in a by-election, woke up one morning to find that he had turned green overnight.
Those were dangerous days. Danger lurked around every corner. There was the black danger, the brown danger, the red danger, the yellow danger and any other conceivable danger you can think of; all threatening to overrun law and order. Having to face another green danger too was unthinkable.
In accordance with the law Seymour Green’s marriage was declared illegal and because the law stated that a male servant could not be accommodated in the servant’s quarters, he pitched his tent on the front lawn. In sympathy with this people all over the country started squatting on vacant properties.
In a special parliamentary session the minister for color affairs, Blackie Brown, ruled that light green people shall be treated as white and dark green people will be classified black. If it was too difficult to decide the trusted and tried pencil-in-the-hair test was to be fallen back to. If the pencil drops, he is white. Such a simple scientific method.
The opposition spokesman for human rights forwarded a motion that laughing at green people should be outlawed. The motion was seconded by the ultra left member from Green Valley but he added that the law was not doing enough; people should not be allowed to laugh.
But in the end the green danger was defused. Seymour White was united with his family again but the squatters stayed. The old government passed it on to the new government with one big relieve but the squatters stayed.
This blog was inspired by a movie I saw in 1984
Comments (30)
Then I seriously wonder why I had not turned green yet.
I absolute love hot curry. All the curry joints here already know to spike mine when I get there.
On the side, how is the weather in your beautiful place?
SR
It was an Afrikaans movie and the name was 'Die Groen Faktor' which translates to 'The Green Factor'. It was hilarious; mocking with the apartheid laws.
There is an article about it on Wikipedia but it is in Afrikaans.
The past is over, lessons learnt and life goes forward.Maybe not as good as we wish but today is far better than the yesterdays.
I do love curry also and was GREEN with envy when I heard you had a partner. You lucky man
It is supposed to be funny; not political. But then I guess you had to be here at the time to know about all the silly laws that went with it.
Like for an example:
My father was not allowed to give our servant a lift in the car if my mother was not in the car as well. This was later relaxed on the condition the servant must sit at the back.
That pencil test also caused a lot of controversy. We have a lot of mixed blood here and once an official once stuck a pencil in a child's hair; when the mother of the child promptly stuck the pencil into the official's hair... and it stayed there! He left and they never heard of it again.
I would have been very surprised if you were familiar with it for it is in a language that very few people outside South Africa can understand. And it would seem that very few people really understand all the funny laws that the white people were subjected to at the time.
This is not dwelling in the past. It is a funny look at the laws of the time. But I guess the outsiders did not know our laws at at the time. Some where laughable.
Remember not all whites supported apartheid. At its peak the apartheid government had only about 60% of the vote.
Another 17 working days to go but yes very little to do with plenty of time to spare.
I'm glad. It seems that our humor is not always understood overseas.
Things that are important to us are not always appreciated abroad and some major issues out there do not get much attention here. We are still very far apart in that respect. That much I have learned here on CS.
My grandfather was dark in complexion and used to ride upstairs because it was cheaper to travel as a coloured.
Could it be to prevent me sending negative reports abroad.?
Being about mid-winter up there I suspect there is much more to come.
And then there as light.
Lekker bly!
I think we all are. It will still take some time for everything to be smoothed out but we are well on course.
Not too long ago it was illegal to walk in the streets of Cape Town with a horsewhip unless if it was rolled up. I wonder if it still stands?
Sorry to cut this short but I have been called to higher duties.
After a bit of a flurry we are back here.
Very interesting laws we have. And every one was made to prevent something.