Sunday, May 9, 2010
Going around in circles
It’s like a circle that can’t be broken. Every time you try breaking out of the circle, the edge stretches out a bit, but then the elasticity gives in and shoots you back into the middle, further in than you were to start off with. There are good parts of the circle, bad parts, and then the worse parts. When you’re travelling along the good part, it feels good (obviously) but you know that it’s not going to last long and that very soon you’ll be going through the bad part. The frustration and negativity and guilt you feel whilst in the bad part, make it even worse and before you know it you are hurtling through the worst part. And the worst part is always the longest part. It’s the part that feels like it’s never going to end. It seems like the elastic in this part of the circle is old and has become slack and stretched longer as a result: an endless meandering, a lostness, a confusion. If you’re lucky and hold on for long enough you might make it back to the good part. If you’re lucky.
Spiked
I woke up at about 5.30am on Saturday (1 May) morning (very unusually early for me), with an uneasiness sitting in my chest that I couldn’t shake off. By 6.30 I was just drifting back to sleep when my phone rang, twice. What was a Mountain Club person that I hardly know phoning me this early in the morning for? I didn’t answer. Luckily he smsed me after I didn’t answer: “Jason* is near Mullins, he says he’s been spiked. Have called CPU.” I don’t think I have ever jumped out of bed or pulled a hoodie and jeans on that fast in my life before. Jason is one of the people at Rhodes (and in the world) that I’m closest too. I jumped into my friends old, unreliable skadonk of a car and raced to Mullins and sure enough, there he was, lying in the grass and mud, a few worried Mountain club members surrounding him, not quite sure of what to do. Jason recognized me when I kneeled down next to him. He was upset and looked terrible, and he clung onto me like he’d never let go, thanking me for coming. I managed to get him into the car and wanted to take him to the hospital, but he refused to let me take him there. So I brought him to my place, got him into my bed and sat with him, trying to find out more about what happened. The tunnels sounded like fun: They had ridiculous conversations sitting around the fire, ran around fooling around with friends, and danced in the tunnel.
At some stage in the early hours of the morning Jason started feeling really strange, got scared and started walking towards town. His aim was to find someone, anyone who he could ask to get hold of me, so that I could help him. When he got near Mullins the Mountain Club guys were there getting equipment out the storeroom for a weekend climb and he managed to ask them for help and gave them my address. By some miracle, the guy who picked me up at my digs for the previous weekend’s hike, recognized the address as being mine and immediately tried to get hold of me.
Jason spent the day in my bed. In the morning I lay with him as he rolled around restlessly, my arm on his chest the whole time so that I could feel his heart, petrified that it would stop beating. As he fell asleep he was speaking, hardly making sense, it sounded like he was reciting his history essay, using words such as ‘therefore’ ‘subsequently’ and ‘thus.’ He encouraged me to avoid the alphabet and that I must use writing to warn people that the alphabet is bad. I couldn’t help giggling at the weirdness of it, even though I was still scared shitless. I kept checking on him throughout the day, the whole time wondering if I was doing the right thing by not taking him to the hospital or doctor to get professional help.
At some stage in the late morning Jason couldn’t move any of his muscles. He couldn’t lift his arms, he couldn’t roll over – I had to push him over, his lips felt strange and he couldn’t focus properly. He was scared and I was scared. I kept making him drink water, totally unsure of whether I was doing the right thing or not. By the afternoon, he was able to walk around for short periods of time on really shaky legs. By the evening, he was doing much better. He looked better and said that he felt better.
He suspected that while they were dancing in the tunnel, one of the bottles of water that was being passed around (he was drinking from anyone and everyone’s bottles of water) must have been spiked. Possibly with a muscle relaxant, judging by his reaction. The amount of alcohol he’d had to drink couldn’t have been a good combination either.
Jason’s fine now, thank goodness, but I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if something had happened to him because I didn’t take him to the hospital.
*Name changed to protect identity
At some stage in the early hours of the morning Jason started feeling really strange, got scared and started walking towards town. His aim was to find someone, anyone who he could ask to get hold of me, so that I could help him. When he got near Mullins the Mountain Club guys were there getting equipment out the storeroom for a weekend climb and he managed to ask them for help and gave them my address. By some miracle, the guy who picked me up at my digs for the previous weekend’s hike, recognized the address as being mine and immediately tried to get hold of me.
Jason spent the day in my bed. In the morning I lay with him as he rolled around restlessly, my arm on his chest the whole time so that I could feel his heart, petrified that it would stop beating. As he fell asleep he was speaking, hardly making sense, it sounded like he was reciting his history essay, using words such as ‘therefore’ ‘subsequently’ and ‘thus.’ He encouraged me to avoid the alphabet and that I must use writing to warn people that the alphabet is bad. I couldn’t help giggling at the weirdness of it, even though I was still scared shitless. I kept checking on him throughout the day, the whole time wondering if I was doing the right thing by not taking him to the hospital or doctor to get professional help.
At some stage in the late morning Jason couldn’t move any of his muscles. He couldn’t lift his arms, he couldn’t roll over – I had to push him over, his lips felt strange and he couldn’t focus properly. He was scared and I was scared. I kept making him drink water, totally unsure of whether I was doing the right thing or not. By the afternoon, he was able to walk around for short periods of time on really shaky legs. By the evening, he was doing much better. He looked better and said that he felt better.
He suspected that while they were dancing in the tunnel, one of the bottles of water that was being passed around (he was drinking from anyone and everyone’s bottles of water) must have been spiked. Possibly with a muscle relaxant, judging by his reaction. The amount of alcohol he’d had to drink couldn’t have been a good combination either.
Jason’s fine now, thank goodness, but I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if something had happened to him because I didn’t take him to the hospital.
*Name changed to protect identity
Placing demands on journalism schools
The blog post “Eight things that journalism students should demand from their journalism schools” by Robert Niles, on The Online Journalism Review (OJR) is an article about 8 things that journalism students should insist their journalism schools give them. I want to discuss some of the topics in the light of how Rhodes journalism department is handling them and also how I am (or am not) doing these things in my own personal capacity.
Niles states the journ students should demand “employment contacts” from their schools. I feel that in the Rhodes journ department, we are encouraged to forge our own employment contacts by being ‘forced’ to do vac work each year as part of our degrees. Not only does this allow us to gain some practical experience in various media organisations, but the sensible student, would foster the contacts that they meet during these vac work periods. I have worked at 702 radio station for the past two years and when I went back last year for my second stint, the reporters recognized me and gave me more responsibility and spent more time teaching me things than in the previous year.
I agree with Niles that students should gain “work experience” in a field other than journalism as well as gain a “deep knowledge of a field other than journalism.” Being a specialist in a certain field will make finding a job in journalism in that field easier. However, if one only has knowledge of that field, it could also be a limiting factor. Journalism students should have a wide general knowledge and knowledge of various fields in order to make them more employable. Being a specialist in a certain field could also be helpful, because in the rapidly changing world of journalism, where internet access allows people access to all kinds of information, expert knowledge would allow you to be a step ahead of all the other rubbish information that is available on the web. Rhodes University automatically ensures that journalism students are specialists in another field, because we have to major in two subjects – namely journalism and at least one other subject.
Niles suggests that journalism schools should make students start their own online publications to make them more employable. The Rhodes Journalism department is already doing this by encouraging first year journalism students to start blogs. The third year writing and TV students are also encouraged to keep blogs.
However, with most of the points that Niles makes, I don’t agree that student should be demanding these things from the journalism schools. Yes, the journalism schools should be suggesting these things to students to make them aware of opportunities and of ways to make starting their careers easier, but many of these things are things that students should be doing of their own accord and should not need to be spoon-fed by their school or university.
Niles states the journ students should demand “employment contacts” from their schools. I feel that in the Rhodes journ department, we are encouraged to forge our own employment contacts by being ‘forced’ to do vac work each year as part of our degrees. Not only does this allow us to gain some practical experience in various media organisations, but the sensible student, would foster the contacts that they meet during these vac work periods. I have worked at 702 radio station for the past two years and when I went back last year for my second stint, the reporters recognized me and gave me more responsibility and spent more time teaching me things than in the previous year.
I agree with Niles that students should gain “work experience” in a field other than journalism as well as gain a “deep knowledge of a field other than journalism.” Being a specialist in a certain field will make finding a job in journalism in that field easier. However, if one only has knowledge of that field, it could also be a limiting factor. Journalism students should have a wide general knowledge and knowledge of various fields in order to make them more employable. Being a specialist in a certain field could also be helpful, because in the rapidly changing world of journalism, where internet access allows people access to all kinds of information, expert knowledge would allow you to be a step ahead of all the other rubbish information that is available on the web. Rhodes University automatically ensures that journalism students are specialists in another field, because we have to major in two subjects – namely journalism and at least one other subject.
Niles suggests that journalism schools should make students start their own online publications to make them more employable. The Rhodes Journalism department is already doing this by encouraging first year journalism students to start blogs. The third year writing and TV students are also encouraged to keep blogs.
However, with most of the points that Niles makes, I don’t agree that student should be demanding these things from the journalism schools. Yes, the journalism schools should be suggesting these things to students to make them aware of opportunities and of ways to make starting their careers easier, but many of these things are things that students should be doing of their own accord and should not need to be spoon-fed by their school or university.
Grocott's reporting on Anti sex crimes week - a crime in itself?
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Last week was anti sex crimes week and in today’s Grocott’s Mail (27 April 2010) they had a centre spread about the week’s events. I was disturbed by the reporting in some of the stories, namely the articles entitled “Skirting the Issue” and “Every Single rape is personal.” The “Skirting the Issue” article seemed to report in a manner that defied the entire point of the week. The symbolism of the short skirt protest was to show that women are not objects and no matter what they wear, it should not be an invitation for rape or any other form of unwanted attention. The writer of this story seems to have missed this point and spends almost the entire article talking about how “some exposed thigh can be quite nice.” She goes on to make jokes about people who notice other people’s bodies as being “bodyist” and “disgusting.” The writer also makes it seem like the short skirt protest was about protesting against people looking at other people’s bodies. She also claims that “the body should be irrelevant.” I’m sure that this is definitely not a point that the protesters were aiming to make. In fact, the opposite is true. The body, our bodies, are enormously relevant and that is what the anti sex crimes week was about: Fighting to protect our very relevant bodies, and protesting the violation of them. Of course, you can’t look at a person and not see their body. That would be impossible. But how you act towards their body is what is important. Everyone’s bodies should be treated with respect. They should be respected by the owner of the body as well as by others, not just in the way it is treated, but also in the way it is spoken about. I find it hard to understand how someone who took part in this protest could report in this manner, missing the point totally and painting a picture for the public which is an image that the anti sex crimes week is trying to break down. She definitely seems to be skirting the actual issue.
The column, “Every single rape is personal” is a confused and mixed account of rape in light of race, the media’s reporting of rape, a rape scene, a recent rape in Grahamstown and some weird metaphorical images of a being in bubble wrap. Firstly, the writer fails to make the intention of her column clear. It is a jumbled garble of the topics mentioned above. She starts the column with a shocking account of the way in which rape is related to race. I find it shocking and hard to believe that 16 years after the abolishment of apartheid, a highly educated young woman can still be perpetuating such grossly misleading stereotypes and although she attempts to say that rape isn’t about race (which indeed it isn’t), she has made it about race. She then goes on to talk about how the media dehumanises rape victims and makes the public immune to the issue. The writer seems to have a specific instance in mind, and in order to make her column clearer, maybe she should have made reference to an actual media article or incident where rape was reported as a racial incident. Otherwise, she should not have brought race up at all.
Rape can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. No matter what their race or relationship to one another is. This is what should have been made clear, not the fact that in her mind, it is uneducated black men who rape their family members. I’m quite certain that there are many highly educated white men who also rape. The fact is not that they are black or white, educated or uneducated. The fact is that they raped someone and that is the issue.
Yes, she is right in saying that we mustn’t let the media make us immune to these issues, but I think that rape definitely should stay in the headlines. It is something that people need to continuously be made aware of. Rather I think that the media needs to report on rape differently. We get taught that we need to report objectively and unemotionally. But how can you report objectively and unemotionally about something that is so subjective and emotional? If reporters wrote their stories in this way, readers/ audiences wouldn’t be as immune to the same boring, monotonous reporting of really serious issues. If audiences could be given a story written in a human way, in a way that makes them think “that could have been me” then maybe they would be more sympathetic towards this issue.
The writer then gives a rape scenario, focussing more on creating her imaginative, metaphorical little scene than anything else. After the scenario, towards the end of her article, she randomly squeezes in a two liner about the matric girl who was gang-raped in Grahamstown last week. The way she writes it confuses the reader as to whether the scenario relates to this girl’s rape or not. Shouldn’t this rape rather have been the main focus of her story? Focussing on a real young woman, who got raped on our doorsteps? She has successfully contributed to the dehumanising process of the media, that she complains about in her column.
Last week was anti sex crimes week and in today’s Grocott’s Mail (27 April 2010) they had a centre spread about the week’s events. I was disturbed by the reporting in some of the stories, namely the articles entitled “Skirting the Issue” and “Every Single rape is personal.” The “Skirting the Issue” article seemed to report in a manner that defied the entire point of the week. The symbolism of the short skirt protest was to show that women are not objects and no matter what they wear, it should not be an invitation for rape or any other form of unwanted attention. The writer of this story seems to have missed this point and spends almost the entire article talking about how “some exposed thigh can be quite nice.” She goes on to make jokes about people who notice other people’s bodies as being “bodyist” and “disgusting.” The writer also makes it seem like the short skirt protest was about protesting against people looking at other people’s bodies. She also claims that “the body should be irrelevant.” I’m sure that this is definitely not a point that the protesters were aiming to make. In fact, the opposite is true. The body, our bodies, are enormously relevant and that is what the anti sex crimes week was about: Fighting to protect our very relevant bodies, and protesting the violation of them. Of course, you can’t look at a person and not see their body. That would be impossible. But how you act towards their body is what is important. Everyone’s bodies should be treated with respect. They should be respected by the owner of the body as well as by others, not just in the way it is treated, but also in the way it is spoken about. I find it hard to understand how someone who took part in this protest could report in this manner, missing the point totally and painting a picture for the public which is an image that the anti sex crimes week is trying to break down. She definitely seems to be skirting the actual issue.
The column, “Every single rape is personal” is a confused and mixed account of rape in light of race, the media’s reporting of rape, a rape scene, a recent rape in Grahamstown and some weird metaphorical images of a being in bubble wrap. Firstly, the writer fails to make the intention of her column clear. It is a jumbled garble of the topics mentioned above. She starts the column with a shocking account of the way in which rape is related to race. I find it shocking and hard to believe that 16 years after the abolishment of apartheid, a highly educated young woman can still be perpetuating such grossly misleading stereotypes and although she attempts to say that rape isn’t about race (which indeed it isn’t), she has made it about race. She then goes on to talk about how the media dehumanises rape victims and makes the public immune to the issue. The writer seems to have a specific instance in mind, and in order to make her column clearer, maybe she should have made reference to an actual media article or incident where rape was reported as a racial incident. Otherwise, she should not have brought race up at all.
Rape can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. No matter what their race or relationship to one another is. This is what should have been made clear, not the fact that in her mind, it is uneducated black men who rape their family members. I’m quite certain that there are many highly educated white men who also rape. The fact is not that they are black or white, educated or uneducated. The fact is that they raped someone and that is the issue.
Yes, she is right in saying that we mustn’t let the media make us immune to these issues, but I think that rape definitely should stay in the headlines. It is something that people need to continuously be made aware of. Rather I think that the media needs to report on rape differently. We get taught that we need to report objectively and unemotionally. But how can you report objectively and unemotionally about something that is so subjective and emotional? If reporters wrote their stories in this way, readers/ audiences wouldn’t be as immune to the same boring, monotonous reporting of really serious issues. If audiences could be given a story written in a human way, in a way that makes them think “that could have been me” then maybe they would be more sympathetic towards this issue.
The writer then gives a rape scenario, focussing more on creating her imaginative, metaphorical little scene than anything else. After the scenario, towards the end of her article, she randomly squeezes in a two liner about the matric girl who was gang-raped in Grahamstown last week. The way she writes it confuses the reader as to whether the scenario relates to this girl’s rape or not. Shouldn’t this rape rather have been the main focus of her story? Focussing on a real young woman, who got raped on our doorsteps? She has successfully contributed to the dehumanising process of the media, that she complains about in her column.
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