[imagesource: Schalk van Wyk / Reddit]

With the national lockdown removing many of our freedoms, being prevented from carrying out something that was once an everyday part of our lives is taking a toll.

For some, it’s being able to go for a walk in the evening, rather than rushing out in the dark for a pre-work stroll, and I’m sure you could rattle off more than a few things you’ve missed during the past six or so weeks.

Earlier this week, on beaches around South Africa (although the biggest turnout appeared to be in Cape Town), surfers protested about beaches still being closed under alert level 4, using the hashtag #backinthewater.

In Muizenberg, it led to some pretty comical scenes, with one protester fleeing the police on his bike, as they gave chase.

Under alert level 4, protest action is deemed illegal as it constitutes a “gathering”.

Other accounts of arrests in the area aren’t worthy of anything resembling a chuckle, and the case of Liam Bulgen, his fiancée, Tereza Cervinkova, and their baby, is particularly jarring. Read more on that here, towards the bottom of the post.

The surfer protest saw a massive amount of backlash on social media, with words like ‘white privilege’ and ‘entitlement’ used often.

Many raised the point that South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens are starving and desperate, as food parcel deliveries and SASSA grants continue to suffer through red tape and incompetence, so the desire to surf is a really trivial cause to protest.

As I pointed out yesterday, the surfing protesters would probably tell you that it’s possible to be concerned about both at the same time, but they were always going to be in the firing line for a good ribbing.

Up stepped Chris Roper, writing for the Daily Maverick, and his satirical piece, titled “An open WhatsApp message to President Ramaphosa: ‘Dude, it’s not fair'”.

First of all, thanks for not going the open letter route – we must draw a line in the beach sand.

Over to Chris, on behalf of the surfers. Remember to engage your sense of humour before reading further, because the ability to laugh at oneself in trying times is, like, lank important:

Dear Mr President, sir:  On Tuesday, I have never felt prouder to be a South African. All over our beloved country, except for the bits without beaches that don’t count anyway, surfers came out in their dozens to protest the unjust and oppressive laws you have forced upon us.

Mr President, bru, do I have to remind you of the poignant chapter in Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Paddle to Freedom, where he describes the pain and suffering imposed on him by the apartheid state? You will recall that they imprisoned him for 18 years on Robben Island, in a cell a few hundred metres from a fairly consistent left point break, but refused to allow him to surf?

…You don’t want to provoke surfers, Mr President. If we go full Locals Only, we can topple your government. I mean, assuming there’s no swell on Election Day…

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is just about selfish privilege, Mr President. It’s the poor people who are suffering that we really care about. We are showing solidarity with our brothers and sisters in less privileged areas, like Midrand and Bellville. They too are losing their civil liberties, such as they are. Let my people go! as Gareth said in the Bible. Or else there will be plagues and lamentations such as you have never seen before. You strike a surfer, you strike a reef…

If you would like to contribute to the Direct Intervention Campaign Krew [D.I.C.K], please purchase one of our lekker WWJD bracelets #WhatWouldJordyDo…

That line about striking a reef is a real gem.

We shall leave it there, but you can read the full post here.

Also getting a dig in was Coconut Kelz. Again, a piss-take, so take some deep breaths:

Kawabunga dudes! I was part of a big movement yesterday. Bigger than 27 April 1994. The REAL Freedom Day ✊🏻 Surf’s up! 🤙🏻 Also #GolfLivesMatter #ridingthecovidwave #flattenthecurvenotthesurf #freedomday #apartheid pic.twitter.com/8mu1iot7AZ

— Coconut Kelz (@CoconutKelz) May 6, 2020

These are trying, unprecedented times, according to every email I’ve received in the past two months.

If we can laugh at ourselves, making it through to the other side may be a little easier.

[source:dailymaverick]