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Knysna Cannot Be Helped Unless It Helps Itself
The sobering reality is that all the beautiful things i can post at Love Knysna and other websites will not stop the troubles that are threatening our town.
Crime is up. Bad politicians, bad municipal managers and bad cops are in. The newspapers will not investigate (why would they when they’re getting ad money from those they should be investigating i.e. Knysna Municipality, Knysna Tourism). People react and divide according to the colour of their skin or where they can grab money from instead of according to what’s right or wrong. The Recession’s not going anywhere. More businesses will close, more friends will vanish. Sadness and depression are obvious reactions but what is frighteningly missing is the public being prepared to do something about it. Instead, useless opinions (they have to be backed by action to have meaning) are voiced…even those have diminished as more and more people hide. All the cognitive dissonance in the world will not help us – apathy does not grow, it kills.
I’m debating whether to put my free services i offer to Knysna on hold…or even to terminate them. That would include Love Knysna. The dismaying, sickening feeling in my stomach is the reminder that you cannot help people who will not help themselves. Personally, i’m tired of helping people that will not help others.
The majority need to kick to their consciousness, an awakening that realizes and accepts that Knysna, our pretty town, is worth fighting for; that your neighbour and your family are worth fighting for; that YOU are worth fighting for. Something only has real value if you are prepared to stand up for it. Love is proportional to input…and every year there’s less love.
I know that my words will mostly inherit scorn, useless whispers of agreement and the butt-end of jokes. I have faced much of that as i’ve tried my best to do what’s right. I haven’t been surprised for a very long time but i hold out one last candle of hope that you will step forward and stand-up for Knysna.
Knysna cannot be helped unless it helps itself!
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If you ask a different question: ‘Would the self-serving, the grabbing corrupt, and the so called ‘pillars’ of Knysna’s society celebrate an end to The Keep and its associated sites?’ – then I guess in the answer you find a good argument for keeping the sites running. That said, your frustration is understandable given people’s unwillingness to protest (except about the unimportant – for example, the idiots who think Knysna’s greatest pests are those ‘thieving, aggressive car guards’). The nearest we got to seeing any expression of displeasure in this town, was the recent march (by a handful of individuals) on the Municipal offices, where justified demands were made for the suspension of the lunatic traffic officer whose antics included attempted murder of a pedestrian in an underground car park. But ask yourself, is apathy unique to Knysna? No. It is a general malaise which exists everywhere except probably the mega-cities and repositories of intellect and progressiveness like London, Paris and New York. The question you have posed is not all that dissimilar to one I ask myself about writing. Should I continue when there is so little reward, when people sneak past your book stall and hope you haven’t seen them, when even some friends do not rally in support? It’s depressing. It can make you boil. But you continue on because you can.
Thanks for that full response. Sure, they’d like to not find me as the most relevant result to internet searches on their own names but that’s minor consolation if they aren’t being fired or arrested. It’s especially irrelevant, as cause and effect, if, as said, if people don’t help themselves. I can’t fight the world’s apathy if i can’t surmount Knysna’s.
Hi There.
Although i was only visiting you, and I only saw a small part of things, It didn’t take long to see how many empty shops there were in Knysna. That is a reality. I know the crises has affected the world, but in a town like knysna, where everybody knows everybody there is no sitting back to let someone else take responsibility. I agree you can’t help people who can’t help their community, but it would be a real loss to see you throw in the towel. Who knows, maybe people won’t be so afraid of making a change when they have nothing left to lose.
They hide or they revolt when the point of no return is reached.
It’s scary how bad it’s become for many who used to be middle class but that’s a fraction of the overall problem when looking at what’s happening to the majority of poor on the hills looking down on us.
Hej Mike,
i am not one who feels comfortable ‘out in the open’ via blogs, sites, chats etc. But i would like to encourage you to carry on (if you can). The good things we do we have to do for ourselves and for the knowledge that it is the right thing to do. One must not expect praise for doing things well and especially not if one is critical of institutions that appear to be no performing well. I have been in the ‘other shoe’ of public administration and was astounded who ‘little’ i got done in 6 years. My intentions just as strong as they are today. One must not become discouraged because as individuals we can often only affect our immediate environment, and it appears a such a ‘small’ contribution in the ‘large’ picture.
Carry on if you can and try to find (and write) one good thing for every thing that needs improvement. Its not as hopeless as it seems at all. One thing is for sure. It is all EXACTLY as it should be. To incite positive change is done in minute steps each action, each minute, each hour and every day. No small feat but it fills me with enough energy and love to carry on and doing more of it and ‘dragging’ as many as i can along with me in this beautiful life.
Thanks for your full thought. I have admiration for your business ethic so it’s a policy that obviously works for you.
My “but” is that i consider Knysna to be at a tipping point. This is not about a “pat on the back”. I don’t see lots of little good deeds as enough…not for a mostly indifferent populace or the enormous size of the problems we face. The consequence of Knysna’s standing aside is to give momentum to those that are doing wrong. We need action. We need Knysna to have belief and stand up for it.
Hi everyone
I have been reading posts (Great work by the way ) and -
I live in Gauteng Johannesburg. And you can multiply the problems that Knysna faces by ten here. The City is lost. There is no sense of community here and every one hides behind there high walls and electric fences. Crime is exceedingly high, traffic is horrific and the cost of living is on the increase, especially if E-Tolls come into effect.
I am looking to move to Knysna if the opportunity presents itself, and all I can say is that residents of Knysna cannot let a magical town like Knysna become like Johannesburg. We cannot rely on government alone or any other political party to fix or change our situation.
It’s about establishing a community and helping our fellow man. Just like you are doing here.
Regards Shawn
The benefit that JHN has is to fall back on several industries. We, for the most part, rely only on tourists which is why it’s so important to not only address concerns but promote our town. For the good side, the reason why i live here (and fight for it), check out http://www.loveknysna.com. If you get here, be sure to trade a coffee and conversation for some pointers on where to find the best attributes of our town – i’m happy to oblige!