NO WORDS

So here we sit on a day which isn't quite sweltering, but largely unpleasant. Some people are merely uncomfortably warm. Some people no doubt have hangovers ranging from mild to "please rip out my liver and replace my eyes with Creme Soda". And others are recovering in hospital after a scaffold structure collapsed on them. A family has been thrust into mourning over the untimely and sickeningly unfortunate death of their daughter, who was merely an innocent on her way to a concert.

I wasn't going to write about this incident. I feel that enough has been said and am always awkward and unsure of what to say in situations such as these. Firstly, I would obviously wish to offer my sincerest condolences to the bereft family. And I will be eagerly watching to see if anyone is found accountable for this travesty. I only write now because of an eyewitness account that has left me not only ill, but morally outraged. I'm not going to get into it, but it clearly illustrates the lack of compassion, sophistication and general empathy a portion of our fellow "human beings" - people barely deserving of the title - have.

What I WOULD like to highlight, though, is the following:
Hundreds, if not thousands die every day in this country - many, many of them violently and as victims of crime. The value we as a collective society place on life is dwindling faster than the Zim Dollar and it is shameful that it takes a tragedy like the one last night to make us sit up and take note.

Where is the highly emotive public outcry against the hundreds of victims of rape, grievous bodily harm and murder? In this country the only time you hear anything like that is when a politician on the losing side wants to garner support at the expense of the one on the winning side. It's all become a game of statistics and is as disgraceful as it is morally repugnant.

What I WOULD like to see is not the buck-passing and responsibility dodging that I fully expect. Somewhere on some level someone was responsible. If protocol was followed or not, perhaps some initiative could have prevented this disaster. It is an unfortunate truth that we live in a world where this has not only been all but wiped out by an overly bureaucratic tint to everything, but we are forced to push political agendas into the work place, where some people are forced to be responsible - for structures and ultimately, lives. This applies to a broad field and I'm not guessing that the person signing off on this particular structure may have been less qualified than perhaps he should have been, let's just call it a caustic comment on the woeful state of affairs.

Let me not get stuck into too much of a rant. I do not want to belittle the plight of this particular family. I merely want to highlight that people are, by and large, media sheep that need to catch a wake up. Don't wait for a high profile event turned sour. Acknowledge also those who suffer in silence. And if, in any way, you can veer more towards part of the solution than part of the problem, then do so. Even if it's in small measure. Apathy condones.

Neal will not be featured today - it's a black arm-band, flag at half mast day.

Spread The Love. To Each And Every One.