DEAR Editor,-
Bevis Fairbrother’s ‘Butthead’s Beat’ column entitled ‘Who the heck is Ray?’ in last week’s Herald was a simultaneous backlash and rat-bite humour against name-changing.
The backlash is evident in the unsubstantiated claim that “many are still scratching their heads about why we have changed from Hibiscus Coast to Ray Nkonyeni Municipality”.
Who represents this many? Does this faceless ‘many’ nullify the extensive public participation process undertaken and 2 949 submissions on the municipal name-change?
Humour, in a society with a history of division and domination, can, if unguided, function to normalise past wrongs and ridicule transformation.
Presumably, Mr Fairbrother had no derisive intention.
Mr Fairbrother’s rat-bite humour (which is an ability to humour and offend at once) is revealed in the assertion that ‘Hibiscus Coast had a much more a sexy ring about it than Ray Nkonyeni’.
The quality and capacity of being ‘sexy’ is human, therefore it is offensive to think a ‘hibiscus’ is sexier than a person. Equally, who is the unbiased judge of sexy and unsexy names and things?
Moreover, a suggestion is made that Ray Nkonyeni as a ‘brand’ may not be readily marketable. As our country undergoes unavoidable transformation, we must know that society created the market and economy to serve the people; therefore the market must serve social transformation. To worry that ‘brand Ray Nkonyeni’ may not sell is a false alarm and unfunny humour.
Jokes and jibes aside, leaders and officials in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality have to answer and do: What would Ray Nkonyeni do to empower the people and ensure effective and rule-bound municipal administration?
NDABA MZELEMU
Ward 23, Bhobhoyi
Butthead’s reply:
Dear Mr Mzelemu, I do apologise if my satire offended you. However, in my ‘rat-bite’ opinion, I still think the Hibiscus is a rather beautiful flower and, yes, even ‘sexy’. My wife agreed when I presented her with a posy recently (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). I’m sure Peggy Nkonyeni found her late husband, Ray, most sexy too, but please forgive me if I confess I don’t have the same feelings for him. I concede that the 2 949 submissions you refer to is most impressive. Contrasting opinions of ‘many’ other Ray Nkonyeni residents probably ‘pale’ in comparison when one takes our horrible past into consideration.
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