Any gamer knows the term NPC. Game worlds are populated by
their own characters some who work, some who provide a service and even some
who’s only purpose it is to fill space. They are incapable of doing anything
that they are not designed to do. They are there so that you as the player can
save their lives or steal their belongings to serve your own purpose. In the
end they are no more than meat that fills the world.
You got up today. Had breakfast. Jumped into your car. Drove
to work. You are earning a salary. Tonight you will get home. Love your family.
Have dinner. Watch some tv. Play games. Go to bed. This cycle will repeat until
you get to the weekend. You’ll go to friends. Braai. Drink. Complain about the
E-toll and our government. Crime in South Africa. Be a little bit racist but
not really. Drink a little too much. Go home. Rinse repeat.
We complain about the world and its evils. We judge those
who earn more than us for not being fair and those who earn less than us for
being lazy. I complain that I cannot afford a home in my suburb and that I
cannot move to a cheaper suburb because it is too dangerous. Go out. Get drunk.
Rinse repeat.
I am resigning from being an NPC. I refuse. I am going to be
a player in this world. Our middle class has failed South Africa because we
accept that which is wrong. We complain without offering any solutions.
Here is
my proposition: I am going to join the Lyttleton Police Station as a reservist.
I will work with other like-minded individuals. I will serve for no less than
16hours a month. When I am satisfied that I have a powerful network of law
enforcement that can defend my neighbourhood then I will buy my house in that
area once considered too dangerous to live and I will raise my family there and
our community of all races and creeds will prosper there.
If this seems impossible and you think I am unlikely to
succeed or there is nothing you can do to help then I implore you to either
consider that you are an NPC or to get out of my way.
