By Prince t.
© God’s Business Mag, 2008
All rights Reserved. To use this article contact: Prince on 0721290602/ 011 211 3651
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Ennerdale: Last week Thursday, I attended a meeting, dubbed the “Faith based Forum” a City of Jo’burg’s sterling initiative aimed at involving and providing a forum for deliberating on tangible deliverables that would see to it that all people, citizens and immigrants to this city enjoy the peace and tranquillity commensurate with every human beings right for free movement.
In what seemed like a democratic agenda, xenophobia, or should I say the aftermath thereof was on top of the agenda. The presentation was made, and what caught my often very critical yet objective mind as a journalist were two very important points. I want to make reference to these two points in passing.
1. The re-integration issue: that is to say; ways or efforts made by the government of South Africa to re-integrate the displaced victims of xenophobia back into the blazing heat of the fire of hate, anger and brutal barbarism as perpetuated against immigrants to South Africa, including asylum seekers for that matter, by South Africa citizens.
2. Secondly I want to touch on the “alleged misrepresentation of facts by the media concerning this aforementioned issue”. The claim made by one religious delegate or participant at this meeting was that “the media blew out of proportion what was actually happening on the ground.”
I was appalled to say the least and I find these types of remarks an indication of gross misinformation on the part of those people who call themselves leaders of their respective communities. For your own information the convening forum (above) is meant to hold accountable and vet the ‘business’ of the government from an impartial stand point. However, the above claims which are obviously meant to please blazes a trails which, as far as I am concerned, leaves a lot to be desired.
It is in this vain, that I have therefore deduced that a “political psychosis” of sorts exists in Africa, if not around the world today. This said ‘Psychosis’ can thus best be captured in one word: DENIAL. Why I called this ‘condition’ (medically) denial will be clear a little later, but first the definition and a brief historic background to orient you to the position I am coming from.
Definition
Denial is the refusal to acknowledge the existence or severity of unpleasant external realities or internal thoughts and feelings. (www.minddisorders.com).
Theory of denial
In psychology, denial is a concept originating with the psychodynamic theories of Sigmund Freud. According to Freud, three mental dynamics, or motivating forces, influence human behaviour: the id, ego, and superego. The id consists of basic survival instincts and what Freud believed to be the two dominant human drives: sex and aggression. If the id were the only influence on behaviour, humans would exclusively seek to increase pleasure, decrease pain, and achieve immediate gratification of desires. (More like the current Mugabe, Vavi and Malema’s preponderance, to brutality as have been making headlines in our print and electronic media)
The ego consists of logical and rational thinking. It enables humans to analyze the realistic risks and benefits of a situation, to tolerate some pain for future profit, and to consider alternatives to the impulse-driven behaviour of the id. (Much more like the MDC Tsvangirai and ANC’s Jacob Zuma, whatever their legitimate motivations may be).
The superego on the other hand consists of moralistic standards and forms the basis of the conscience. Although the superego is essential to a sense of right and wrong, it can also include extreme, unrealistic ideas about what one should and should not do. (More like the religious personalities).
Suffice it to say that these three categories or personalities or forces all have different goals (id, pleasure; ego, reality; superego, morality) and continually strive for dominance, resulting in internal conflict depending on the amount and magnitude of pressure they are able to exert onto the often unbridled demands of the other.
Such resultant conflicts (as emanating from the said (above) pressures produces anxiety on a much more gradable scale at least. For example, the ego, which is a mediator between the two extremes of the id and the superego, attempts to reduce this anxiety by using defence mechanisms.
Definition
Defence mechanisms are indirect ways of dealing or coping with anxiety, such as explaining problems away or blaming others for problems which we are not prepared to bear responsibility of, especially if they are face-threatening to us.
Thus, Denial is indeed one of these many defence mechanisms. Its primary tenet entails ignoring or refusing to believe an unpleasant reality. This is exactly what the ANC government is currently doing with regard the xenophobic attacks that happened in the country recently.
My claims are not at all unfounded. I just read this morning with much consternation, indeed a new episode of violent eruptions levelled against foreigners whose re-integration into the communities to which they once belonged were, according to government officials (including the one from the meeting referenced above) “were a success.” I reckon this statement refers to another imaginary, place indeed probable, in which the profundity of ‘success’ as a lexicon is indeed gradable on a scale of mediocrity and utter disdain, in as far as the value accorded human life (even immigrants) in South Africa and Africa (Zimbabwe) is indeed concerned.
Human crisis were turned into political stunts and an extra mileage to de-humanise, manipulate and abuse people and tie their lives to a ballot paper elsewhere in Africa. Crisis of humanity was reduced to talks-about-‘nonsense’-talks, all in the name of saving a dictatorial face. Such is the power of defence, and in the wrong hands its power can be utterly obliterate and at worst pretty dogmatic to say the least.
Defence mechanisms are necessary and very crucial to human living. They protect one's psychological wellbeing in traumatic situations, or in any situation that produces anxiety or conflict. However, they do not resolve the anxiety-producing situation and, if overused, can lead to psychological disorders.
Here is a political psychosis in full-throttle, as captured by Yazeed Kamaldien of The Times. Kamaldien writes: “RENEWED violence greeted foreigners who returned to Cape Town townships this weekend, BUT, government officials have claimed reintegration is a “success.” A terrible psycho-drama in action, indeed. But then political careers are at stake… therefore a career is mightier than a human life in this instance, I guess.
Although Freud's model of the id, ego, and superego is not emphasized by most psychologists today, defence mechanisms are still regarded as potentially maladaptive behavioural patterns that may lead to psychological disorders. And it is true that we are facing another neo-episode of psychosis or mental disorders which I would like to call, “politico-mental-psychosis”
The Freudian research postulates that certain personality disorders tend to be characterized by denial more than others. For example, those with narcissistic personality disorder deny information that suggests they are not perfect. This is a very likely stance of political governance in Africa especially. Not being perfect in Africa is not only a threat but an insult, however, history shows that heroes elsewhere were never perfect people, no wonder they surrounded themselves with a myriad of advisers to counter their imperfections, hence appearing perfect to those to whom know knowledge and insight has been given.
Antisocial behaviour is characterized by denial of the harm done to others (such as with sexual offenders or substance abusers). Therefore, denying the harm done to the foreigners in our neighbourhoods and areas of jurisdiction, for fear of jeopardizing our political careers is very much commensurate of a political, full-blown psychotic malignant. Denial will only allow this malignant to fester and spread to other areas of the same body. This can be avoided. Shout for help and “you shall find it, knock and the doors will be opened, ask it shall be given you”, I quote and paraphrase the Biblical words of wisdom.
Furthermore it should be noted that Denial can also be exhibited on a large scale— among groups, cultures, or even nations. Lucy Bregman gives an example of national denial of imminent mortality in the 1950s: school children participated in drills in which they hid under desks in preparation for atomic attacks. Another example of large-scale denial is the recent assertion by some that the World War II Holocaust never occurred. (www.minddisorders.com).
Treatment of denial
The most crucial treatment is accepting ones condition before any other means of intervention will be effective. Denial is treated differently in different types of therapy. Reintegration of foreigners is too early and secondly, the attacks were never only xenophobic. Therefore research should be undertaken to ascertain the real cause and roots of the problem, then address those problems first before any effort is wasted in the so called re-integration process. These are just fancy words that simple means irresponsible and lack of pathos with regards the present situation. Talk to South Africans and remind them of bombings that happened in Botswana due to the people who sought refuge in Botswana in order to dethrone the apartheid monster, remind these forgetful citizens how their plight affected and cost their neighbouring countries whom they now see as “aliens” to be brutally detested at all cost.
Borrow a page from psychoanalytic therapy and put these unthankful brutes on therapy. In psychoanalytic therapy, denial is regarded as an obstacle to progress that must eventually be confronted and interpreted. Timing is important, however. Psychoanalytic therapists wait until clients appear emotionally ready or have some degree of insight into their problems before confronting them. In the humanistic and existential therapies, denial is considered the framework by which clients understand their world. Not directly confronting denial, therapists assist clients in exploring their world view and considering alternative ways of being. In cognitive-behavioural therapies, denial is not regarded as an important phenomenon. Rather, denial would suggest that an individual has not learned the appropriate behaviours to cope with a stressful situation. Therapists assist individuals in examining their current thoughts and behaviours and devising strategic ways to make changes.
Power abuse is just similar to substance abuse, so study Traditional treatment programs for substance abuse and other addictions. These programs view denial as a central theme for hampered progress in life. Such programs teach that in order to overcome addiction, one must admit to being an alcoholic or addict. Those who are unable to accept such labels are informed they are in denial.
South Africa should know by now that they are sitting on a crisis time bomb and should do all in their power to militate against such. Otherwise, what goes around comes around, not in a bad sense but what if tomorrow the sun doesn’t sun on our ground, but shines next door? How will we speak to our neighbours? How will we approach them? I wonder!
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