RICH MAN, POOR WOMAN, BOGYMAN, THIEF IBD

Sinopse

The title has a familiar poetic ring to it. It is the second half of a rhyme that goes back to 1475, when William Caxton wrote a book about gamesáThe Game and Playe of the Cheese.áIt was a divination game, about who you were going to marry. Then AA Milne recycled it in 1927, ináNow We Are Six. It is a playful turn of phrase, but serious too. So it is both traditional and relevant, like the book, which has recycled 'beggar man' as 'bogyman', to fit the narrative. And for gender balance, 'poor man' has changed to 'poor woman'&hellip, in keeping with the times.Book 1áis the baseline narrative &ndash, a true story about someone who wasnâÇÖt true. One reviewer of this bookáBlack Queen White King Check Mateáwrote: 'It is a cautionary tale, and it would be maudlin and tacky if it were not so interesting and well written.' It exposes core themes of ancient versus modern, human rights versus the rights of the collective, and civil versus criminal.Book 2ácontinues the narrative and then gets deep into issues related to customary marriage. This is very relevant in Africa, where most marriages by far adhere to these ancient customs. Which were shared by patriarchs like Isaac and Rebecca, Ruth and Boaz, right up to the late great rapper HHP and his 'ex'. All the way to the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2020 - disputing whether their customary marriage was valid or not. His family says that all the rites were not completed. Whereas she claims that because they lived together for three years, she has a right to his estate. Do gender rights trump aboriginal rights?White King is Dead, Long Live Black Queenáalso revisits three historic inter-racial marriages, from Krotoa of the Sandlopers to Trever NoahâÇÖs parents. Quoting the book reviewer again: 'This is a fascinating look at South Africa through the eyes of a foreigner who has really made an effort to learn more than the average South Africa (black or white) knows about things.Book 3áget positively controversial (pun intended).áFriendly Fire in the Catherdraláuses the issue of 'HIV endangerment' as a litmus test, to discern whether the bride was ever sincere. If she wasnâÇÖt, she was similar to the two South AfricanâÇÖs who tested positive early in the coronavirus crisis, who then 'jumped quarantine' in KwaZulu-Natal. They were tracked down by contact-tracing, arrested, and charged with attempted murder. This books re-visits pestilences past, from the Black Plague right up to Covid-19, and applies lessons learned to the baseline narrative.The author concludes that HIV endangerment may be over-criminalized in some settings, such as the HIV and AIDS pandemic in North America. In that context, it was viewed mainly as a sexually transmitted disease, mainly in the Gay community, and thus acquired double-jeopardy in terms of stigmatization. Whereas in Africa is was much like Covid-19, knowing no boundaries of male, female, rich, poor, black, white, national or foreigner. In this context, HIV endangerment is a crime. But it is one that has been rarely prosecuted, because gender rights seem to trump victim rights. Even when it may have been weaponized to snafu the groomâÇÖs estate.The trilogy is autobiographical, written under aánome de plumeáto keep it as generic and informative as possible.