And as this is probably the only place I have where I can vent without fear of repercussions, forgive me while I indulge in a big fat bitch session. I have to do this, I don’t cope well with anger when I can’t express it outwardly. I’m a very bad actress and if I’m pissed off with you, trust me you’ll know, if you’ve done something to upset me, I’ll tell you, its just how I am, I’m very bad at keeping quiet for the sake at keeping the peace.
But this is one of those cases where I have to be, because the person invovled works with me and there has already been drama surrounding this specific individual, so I have to, for the sake of keeping the peace, shut my mouth and suck it up, something I’m so bad at that I can feel it eating at me inside! Its all I thought about last night, I couldn’t sleep and its all i thought about this morning while getting ready for work!
How do you react if somebody insults your husband? Do you also feel that you want to fly our of your chair and punch them on the nose till it bleeds? For those of you reading who are not from South Africa, let me give you some back ground, South Africa is supposedly the rainbow nation, we have people of every colour, creed and culture living here. We’re a total mish mash of everything and although it makes life interesting, it can also really bring out the ugliness in some people. We have 11 official languages, two of which are spoken by just about everybody in this country. One being English, obviously originating from England and one being Afrikaans which originates from the Dutch settlers here in the 17th Century. Its so odd, that although we live in rainbow nation, there are so many prejudices, including between the English and Afrikaans populations.
Let me explain, as an English woman married to an Afrikaans man, W and I have really gotten to see both sides of the coin here, neither one of us is properly English or Afrikaans anymore, and when I say that I don’t just refer to our languages, I also refer to our cultures. We’re a real mixture. But what always surprises me is that prejudices don’t only exist between various races, but also exist between various cultures, even when the race is the same.
The one thing that makes me see red and want to go absolutely wild is the notion that some, not all, but some English people have that Afrikaans men are all bullies who beat their wives, have no respect for women, are full of hatred for other races and are basically just pigs who go around only thinking of themselves and their own needs and having no respect for others. Yesterday, I yet again had to sit and listen while this ignoramus in my office, who knows I have an Afrikaans surname made a comment about “typical Afrikaaner men who treat their wives like crap”. I told said individual yesterday that he should really think before he makes statements like that. That I’ve been married twice in my life, first time to an Englishman who was a bully and an abuser and the second time to the gentles, most loving, most respectful Afrikaans man and that I found his statement insulting. Do you know what he had the audacity to turn around and say to me?
Not “I’m sorry Sharon, that was a really stupid statement to make and I know it was an unfair generalization”
He said: “You should count yourself as one of the few lucky ones married to an Afrikaans man!!!”
I swear I had to stop myself from jumping out of my seat and punching him with all my might straight in the face. To insult my beautiful husband in that way is totally unacceptable to me. In addition, many of my friends and obviously my extended family are Afrikaans and I can honestly say, they are the most loving and respectful people I have ever met. How dare he think he can make such a statement and then just walk away with out an apology.
Ok, this vent session hasn’t really helped, I still want to slap is stupid ignorant face every time I see him, I guess I’ll have to figure out another way to try and get over it.
P.S. for those of you who are regular readers, you may have noticed that my blog’s theme has changed again, what can I say, I bore easily!!!! ![]()
















