OPINION - WHO can blame society for construing that the current lockdown laws are incomprehensible? The banning of public gatherings is putting a crimp on our creative flow. As humans we rejoice at our births, celebrate weddings and pay homage to the dead.
While wedding and funeral plans suffer the most, group worship, too, has been banned. All of Easter, Passover and Ramadaan were sadly spent indoors.
But it is the weddings and funerals that have generated a peculiar intensity of personal agonies. The black and Indian communities in particular follow tradition. Both these functions have costs and planning to factor in pre- and post-ritual. Logistics include transport, venues and catering for the huge amounts of people at these gatherings.
Pre-partying is common at weddings, and car boot parties are also common, with booze flowing freely, even at funerals.
The ban on alcohol sales had sounded the death knell for these traditions and took the fizz out of weddings, which are occasions to meet up with “old connections” and generally show off.
Funerals, on the other hand, are a very delicate and sensitive issue. How do you tell a person that they cannot mourn the death of a loved one? While the majority understand the reason for these measures, how does one relate to the illiterate, of which there are many? Many have been caught trying to beat the system.
The police commissioner announced that 230 000 arrests were made for not following the law, yet the funeral service of late controversial businessman Jay Singh was held at three different sites for mourners to view the body. And the icing on the cake was alleged Shallcross drug lord Teddy Mafia being released on bail and escorted home by a police motorcade!
What would our government do if a cabinet minister had to pass away during the lockdown? What would happen to the ANC’s funeral stagecraft of brass bands, speeches, busloads of mourners and white doves?