Dear Father,
I am aware that you are something of an old duffer. Not that you need reminding - you have referred to yourself as such on occasion. Though I suppose, BECAUSE you are an old duffer, you DO need reminding, now don't you? I do hope, however, that you can cast your mind back to several weeks ago, when your two favourite social groups (Zionist Jews and Anti-Zionist Jews/Palestinians/Muslims (whatever you want to call 'em) ) started getting all worked up over the increasingly dull matter of Israel's policies towards Palestinian people.
You may also remember my agreeing with you over the central point on Israel Apartheid Week specifically: that what anyone did on UCT campus during that week made bugger all difference to the Middle East; indeed, it made very little difference to non-Semitic students at university. Most people in my classes aren't Jewish or Muslim, and they had no clue what the giant tents were all about (so much for raising international awareness, eh Lily?). Even most Jewish kids (like myself) and a surprisingly large contingent of Muslims couldn't give two hoots.
This brings me to my conclusion about student activism in general: it only works if the activism initiatives are in the country in which the problem lies. Student activism against SA's Apartheid? Pretty effective, if Mrs Gruzd, my history teacher, taught me anything. Why? Cause they were SA students, obviously. It's hard to ignore mass protest in your own backyard. STUDENT protest elsewhere? Meh. There was international pressure, yes, as there is on Israel. Was it/is it because of university kids? Ha! It makes me embarrassed to be part of such a delusional, arrogant generation. Though I suspect all teenagers/twenty somethings have always been of such a mindset (I am too, in certain ways. Just not monumentally stupid ways).
With this conclusion in mind, it stands to reason that university activism has little point unless the issue is isolated locally - even then, it takes several years, if not decades. So why then, does UCT move from the contentious (and pretentious) self-righteous political bullshit like the Israel-Palestine boxing match to, as of Monday, GREEN WEEK?! Seriously, enviro-nuts? I'm trying not to take stereotypes at face value, but if I'm going to do that you can't have skinny white girls with dreads and African-tribal necklaces accost me (and everyone in their visual range) with both vegan muffins (I'll give you a moment to swallow down the bile you just hacked up) and advice on how to NOT maximize my transportation methods in the interests of 'going green'. Also, why are they ALL white, upper-middle class and female? Did I miss a memo?
Remember that South Park episode where the four boys go to a Costa Rican rain forest? And they have that teacher who says "Don't worry, the snake is as scared of us as we are of them"? That's what these people are like. Then the snake devoured the tour guide like it didn't give a f**k, and Cartman said: "Yep, that snake is really scared of us all right". That's me.