Sheesh, hey – we really have become a petty society.

Many South Africans have grown gatvol with the extended lockdown, imploring our government to end it immediately.

Fair enough, although it’s worth pointing out that our government is currently in the process of implementing a drop to alert level 3, at least in the parts of the country where it is safe to do so.

When a video emerged on Sunday morning, showing President Cyril Ramaphosa snapping a selfie with two women during his morning walk in Rosebank, Johannesburg, our national pettiness really shone through.

Let’s see said video, which features the president joking “Come … before we get arrested,” and “I’d rather be arrested with you,” during a jovial chat with the women:

While busy reading about #Trump’s psychotic rule this morning, I hear someone shouting outside my window..”Good morning Mr President, we love you!” @CyrilRamaphosa pic.twitter.com/UXAuPodAcC

— Nwabisa Makunga (@nwabisa_mak) May 17, 2020

Back in 2018, when social distancing had no meaning other than turning down invites to things over the weekend in lieu of being alone on the couch, Ramaphosa was a big hit on the Sea Point promenade.

My, how times have changed, with the Citizen reporting that “some have praised the president for remaining approachable, though others have said he wasn’t observing correct social distancing”.

I once saw Jacob Zuma in public, surrounded by bodyguards, and completely unapproachable – is that what we want? Should he turn down photos with citizens?

Yes, keeping some distance between himself and the women may have been the better move, especially given how law enforcement in South Africa has come under fire for their heavy-handed approach to basic ‘offences’, but this all seems petty.

Even the BBC weighed in, with the headline ‘Ramaphosa jokes about arrest for breaking coronavirus rules’:

A video shows Mr Ramaphosa joking about breaking social distancing rules after two women asked him for the photo…

Although they do not shake hands, but bump elbows, the two women then posed for a photo standing right next to the president, disregarding official advice to keep at least two metres away from people from different households.

I’m no body language expert, but I think this guy has a point:

Should we address the other elephant in the room? I know we called it a ‘selfie’, but a third woman takes the photo. Words evolve over time, though, and it appears it is now OK to call a photo a ‘selfie’, even if that’s not strictly the case.

Exhibits A, B, and C, for your perusal.

Hey, if we’re going to be petty, we’re going to do it right. Glad we cleared that up.

Here’s something I think the president should actually sort out. Today marks a week since Ramaphosa’s last address, and he mentioned the relaxing of restrictions on exercising hours.

Since then, nothing has been mentioned on this front – not from any minister, or Ramaphosa himself.

Yes, there are countless more pressing issues, like ensuring South Africans don’t go to bed hungry, but then the carrot shouldn’t be dangled.

As we know with the reversal of tobacco sales at alert level 4, these simple issues play a huge role in determining the public’s buy-in for adhering to lockdown rules and regulations.

Can we have some clarity on this front, anybody?

[sources:citizen&bbc]