Dancing

Valentine's Day

I went to a Nia class today.  I’ve never been to one before, so I couldn’t say precisely what it is about but it was danced based and we bounced a lot and waved our arms about.  We were also supposed to be connecting with the world and we did some martial arts moves too.    The only quibble I had with it was that one woman led the class and did whatever moves she liked and we all tried to copy her so we were always a beat or two behind like the organ player on “Like a Rolling Stone.

Marjorie has been going to Nia classes for a while and really enjoys them.  This particular class was being held to raise money for One Billion Voices rising day, protesting the unpunished rape and abuse of countless African women.  It’s a very necessary cause, with projects being set up to help African girls feel more empowered and better able to resist.  There is also pressure being put on the judiciary system to raise rape convictions.    

Many of the men, though, who are authors of the violence, are either unemployed or being employed on pathetically low wages.  The fruit pickers were on strike last month to try and gain an increase on their monthly wage of something under £100.  While it’s no excuse for violence, it does provide a reason – the abused becoming the abuser. And whilst it may not be possible to stop some men using women as emotional toilets in which to vent their feelings of frustration and rage, we could all work towards a world which provides less cause for those feelings.

The principal news story today is that Oscar Pistorius, great paralympian and African hero, has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.  Whether its possible to draw any parallels between the ego problems of a poor man and a rich man who has lost his limbs, I don’t know.