Hold that whip, please!

Ubuntu A Zulu bantu philosophy of humanism I am because you are Because we are Self through othersDespite sadly not being South African Ubuntu is what I aspire to As a wildlife guide in South Africa I am familiar with the many faces of the Rainbow Nation but I have no right to claim anything other than a deep and abiding love for all its peoples and animals This is why I read Quinton De Kockrsquos recent statement and it reminded me that he is a man grappling with Ubuntu at a time when the world is looking to dissect his every motiveFair play to QDK finally we see a media statement that actually says something that speaks from the heart speaks a truth that unmasks the complexities of his mixedheritage connections in modernday South Africa You donrsquot need to agree with everything he says to not admire the vulnerable honesty of his confession It speaks to a young man who has grown up in a country where tribalism and heritage and generational guilt and reconciliation are all interwoven into a tapestry that clearly cannot be unravelled by simply taking a kneeI have no intention of making a political statement here As a regular guest in South Africa I have no right to offer opinions on things that I have no direct investment in But maybe I can put De Kockrsquos delicate situation into context and you can decide for yourself where you sit with his stance on racismEasy to get on withI am reliably informed that De Kock is ldquoan easy guy to get on with hated public speaking streetwise doesnrsquot tolerate foolsrdquo This from someone who has known him since he was an overweight albeit talented 13yearold who then became so focused on his cricket that he has since become one of the Proteasrsquo greats It is also clear from numerous sources that he is antiestablishment antiauthoritarianism In other words he is his own man and doesnrsquot like being dictated to As for any suggestions that he is racist all I heard from my sources was an emphatic ldquoNO WAYrdquo but they did concede that he is both naive and headstrong which can be a potent cocktail when mixing cricket and politics in South Africa todayHerersquos some context by all accounts Cricket South Africa CSA love a yes man and they value obedience over excellence If this is indeed even partly true then the QDK cocktail mix was only like to end in the Molotov version And so it has exploded Thus why is anyone surprisedIn fairness to both De Kock and CSA it appears that they have both attempted to meet each other at the gates of reconciliation Both parties have admitted that if they had their time again they might not have jumped on the front foot so hastily perhaps choosing instead to take more time and play the ball late rather than running down the pitch and being stumped so publicly For those of us who would love to see De Kock playing for his country again for pure cricketing reasons it is encouraging to see that fires are not being put out with kerosene yetThose more cynical than I might wonder if De Kock would have been just as disobedient if the directive had come from his IPL franchise instead of CSA If the directive to take a knee had come when he was on the Mumbai Indians bus would he have also stood by his guns Do rupees lots and lots of them buy more obedience than randDivided opinionThe cricket world continues to be divided by De Kockrsquos initial withdrawal and refusal to take a knee His subsequent statement will not mollify everyone least of all passionate South Africans at either end of the extremes from Pretoria to Limpopo and west to Robben Island I have read some excellent and passionate arguments from people on both sides of the fence each arguing eloquently in support of their position Perhaps the hotheaded Quinny might not have realised that he should have stayed in his crease before he charged out of the blocks and made a hasty decision on the team bus that fateful morning But the die has been cast He will now have to live with the ramifications of his decision He is no longer a child in the eyes of many he has betrayed his privilege and his status as a hero to people of all hues of the rainbow There are also those who believe passionately that symbolism and tokenism donrsquot change lives in townships like Soweto Alexandra Umlazi and Khayelitsha where the legacy of apartheid still scorches people 30 years on from Mandelarsquos emancipationWorse still there are those who might twist De Kockrsquos confusion and recalcitrance to bow to a CSA directive as a clarion call to showcase their racist underbellies They hide behind the curtain of deception that All Lives Matter conveniently forgetting that this has not always been the case with oppressed people the world over If all lives had mattered forever we wouldnrsquot need a special BLM movement today As Michael Holding so eloquently said last year ldquowe black people know white lives matter I donrsquot think you know that black lives matter So donrsquot shout back at us saying All Lives Matter Itrsquos obvious The evidence is clearly there that white lives matter We want black lives to matter now As simple as thatrdquoSouth Africa India Pakistan Students allegedly being bashed because of a cricket match Commentators invoking religious supremacy One people against another To take a knee to not take a knee I have no answers except a futile hope for a global Ubuntu A belief in a universal bond that connects all humanity Cricket has the power to be that Ubuntu It can elevate all of us up or bring us all to our kneesI am because you are Because we areThe writer is a Brisbanebased former firstclass cricketer