Government Is To Blame Not Me

News headlines can be baffling. It seems we are not responsible for our actions. It’s an open secret that I don’t like banks and the government because they keep my money in their computers against my will. To add insult to injury, they charge me interest for the unlawful possession.

Back to the headlines. Some people were protesting that the government is not doing anything about partner abuse. We won’t go into what a partner is, because things are not as clear cut as before. A dog can be a cat now, and doctors can replace barking with meeeow.  

What is well-documented are women that stay in violent marriages because of the kids, religion, culture, the fancy cars and the big house. The government has domestic violence programs in place, but it cannot enter homes and tell two people who choose to stay together, how to treat each other. Outsiders only come in if women decide to report the abuse.

The government is responsible for inflation, exploitation of workers, pollution and everything else, but I am responsible for what I see in the mirror or what lands me in the hospital. I can live alone or with other people. The government is not responsible if I choose to give them extra house keys, car keys or give them passwords to my bank accounts. If anything goes wrong, I cannot carry a placard on the street and blame the government.

I can also change who I am, and decide I’m no longer a woman or a man. I can become an experiment. I can have sex with other experiments, but I cannot blame the government if they treat me ‘like a woman’ and abuse me daily. I made my choice. I cannot demand privacy from the government, then turn around and blame it for the consequences.

Partner abuse, the new term for domestic violence, is bad news for women who live with abuse. Their situation is now clouded by ‘partners’ who voluntarily decided on a particular sexual lifestyle. Most women don’t have a choice because of religion, culture and other circumstances.

Domestic violence is a reality for them. That’s why they tell kids, ‘Dad is working on his laptop. Don’t disturb him.’ Their situation is now overshadowed by men who are ‘wives’ beaten and sexually abused by ‘husbands.’ Yes, they have the right to that lifestyle, but why blame the government for its consequences?

Strange world. We are never to blame for our actions. The government is.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.