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r & d
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Vuvuzela Redemption
After the first World Cup match we went to, banning vuvuzelas seemed to be appropriate. After the second match, I detect glimmers of hope.
We are taking a young guy who could otherwise not afford it to see a bunch of World Cup games. As part of the package we gave him a Bafana Bafana shirt and vuvuzela. He blew it with gusto and we are happy for his happiness. Yet when an irritating seven year old stands right behind us & blasts his vuvuzela centimetres away from my ear, I can commit an act of violence, if not on the child, at least on the instrument.
What's sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander. Immanuel Kant wrote a dozen philosophical treatises on morality, at the end of which he defined the moral code in two statements:
- Whatever you do to others, be happy they do the same to you
- Whatever you do, be happy it is accepted as a general rule.
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So according to this our vuvuzela gift was immoral. But if we had left the vuvuzela on the shelf, our guest would have missed out, while it would not have made a lot of difference to what has been variously called the incessant drone of a bee-horde or the wails of 20 000 goats being castrated.
The tragedy of the commons
Villages all over the globe were once marked by common land. Here you and your neighbours could put your cow or horse to graze. This worked well until one villager put two horses on the commons, then three, then his neighbours piled in until the commons was overgrazed. And so laws were passed that said no animal could graze on the commons for free. It is known as the tragedy of the commons - when enough is never enough, when driven by personal gain, we all lose out.
I would like to believe that an older African tradition - ubuntu - can convert the tragedy of the commons into a pursuit of common good, but there needs to be mutual accountability to make the difference. In all the polls I have seen, the majority of fans prefer matches to be vuvuzela-free. Yet none of us are likely to take the first steps.
Ubuntu works in small, tight communities where individual actions are scrutinised by peers, not in a packed football stadium, still less in a country.
As people won't make the difference one by one, my thoughts after that first match turned to collective action, either voluntary or legislated.
Shades of Shuster
The vuvuzelas are silent for the national anthems - could we ask for them only to be blown before the match, at half time and when a goal is scored? We could ask - and when 10 000 fans say stuff you by blowing louder than ever do we re-employ the fired security guards to denude the stadium of spectators?
Or FIFA could say: if you don't keep to the new rules, all vuvuzelas will be banned from the stadium. Then to be fair, do we ban drums? And when is a vuvuzela not a vuvuzela? Perhaps trumpets less than 15cm in length are ok and we will replay the part in the current Leon Shuster movie where he is an inspector cutting down vuvus to the prescribed size.
The dilemma extends far beyond the World Cup. Tens of thousands are being sold in the UK and Germany. While officials at Wimbledon have already imposed a ban during the upcoming tennis tournament, will they spread across the global soccer community? Will we hear them at the Tri-Nations and Olympics, or celebrating sixes at 20/20 matches?
As Mondli Makhanya pointed out in his column a few weeks back, it is the variety, passion & humour of the fan-songs that are muted by the wall of sound. This modern craze can erase the true heritage of fans - our lusty songs of support. Or will it simply be a craze like hula-hoops and pet rocks?
Vuvuzela redemption
Our second match was Portugal vs. North Korea & our young guest did not bring his vuvuzela, his lips were too sore after the first time. Shades of hula-hoops and slipped discs I wondered - after their brief winter of notoriety, will they clog up refuse tips for the next million years, or will Nike, convert them into football shirts following the success of kit they produce for eight national teams (including Brazil & Portugal) made from recycled plastic bottles?
Then, as the Portuguese drums led the chant of Port-u-GAL, Port-u-GAL, the vuvuzelas joined in, thousands at a time, creating an almost hypnotic beat that propelled the team forwards to an historic victory. Suddenly, the future of the vuvuzela seems far brighter. Rather than drowning fan songs, it can increase their intensity.
Holistic educator & multi-instrumentalist, Bruce Copley, has demonstrated that the ordinary vuvuzela, which is a valveless trumpet, will hold a tune & through simple techniques can resemble the panpipes or amplify your singing voice.
If these techniques are learnt and spread, we will begin to hear the songs again, with voice and instruments in harmony. You will want to support your team, rather than make a meaningless noise. Or you risk the wrath of fans around you. So you start the songs, support the singers, or shut up. It will not be ubuntu or heavy-handed legislation that redeems the vuvuzela. It will be about winning and the natural instinct to make music.
Right now the vuvuzela is still a noisy child - but during this World Cup, I have heard signs of a new maturity. It is starting to grow up and one legacy from 2010 that South Africa can give the world is a new way to play.
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Freedthinkers collaborative Turbine Process, in a unique inner-city setting, is used by clients that include ABSA, BBC, Discovery, MTN, Nestle, Sunday Times, Virgin & the South African Government.
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until next time, go well
Mike Freedman
ps many thanks to Striata for distribution
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