Gentlemen! Yis’kathi Sok'dakwa Manjeyyy!

Substance abuse is a collective symptom of a system that numbs us to our own alienation. Get God on the phone, abeg! We need to be released from this spirit of capitalistic bondage.

I remember a while back, my friends and I were talking about how work essentially robs us of any time to do anything for ourselves. Like, there’s barely anything left for us. We spoke of how the 2 days of the weekend we are ‘given’ just aren’t enough to nurture ourselves or build lives beyond our jobs. I do not know how married people with kids do it, it is not enough to even jola properly. It’s like work has completely taken over our lives; we live to think, speak, dream of work. Our conversations were already struggling to pass the Bechdel test (my friends are straight, BORING) and now capitalism’s got us discussing work during our downtime too? Ugh. Hate that for us.

It’s no secret that capitalism’s greatest theft is our time. Climate change—global warming—is time stolen from future generations. If you have children, capitalism’s grip tightens even more. As Antonio Malanio puts it: “governments, ruling classes, and corporations want you to have as many children as possible. They’re after those sweet, sweet disillusioned and coerced future workers—and they’ll use your children to keep you obedient.” So yes, reproducing is also work, it is not just an outcome of umdavazo. This is me pushing the child-free by choice agenda again. We’re trapped in a never-ending rat race against time.

It gets you at home, during your hobbies, in your coping mechanisms, on your cellular device and of course—at work, at work, at work. Always at work. Yoh! GET GOD ON THE PHONE!!!

Singer-songwriter Msaki once sang, “We live for the weekend, working up the courage. We pray away, pray away, pray away the pain of not being in alignment with our dreams.” I don’t need to tell you this song was a certified bop in South Africa and this line still has everyone in their feelings. What I should also tell you is that South Africa has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the world. And yes, I’m also there, unfortunately, also raising the stats alongside the youth.

Raw-dogging life is exhausting—trying to navigate it sober-minded is such a difficult task. Like most people, my weekends are filled with glass after glass of wine, the unofficial ritual to "unwind" after a long week. Some folks don’t even wait for Friday—they sigh, “It’s been a long week” on a Tuesday and just start drinking midweek. In fact, Sunday drinking is for “preparing” for the new week, Monday’s hair of the dog is for recovering from the weekend’s babhie (short for babalaas), and Tuesday… well, Tuesday just because.

Before I transitioned into an industry that demands sobriety during the week (shoutout to that strict breathalyzer policy), I was caught up in that same cycle. There is no way that even our hobbies require a drink in hand—capitalism has us in such a chokehold that we don’t know how have fun or enjoy leisure without alcohol. Drinking so much is not a flex, it’s a cry for help.

The first piece I ever wrote on this platform explored how capitalism has robbed us of true community. Isn’t it wild how the communities we do manage to build—and actively nurture—are often rooted in some kind of substance use? If you take away the alcohol, the edibles, the ‘groove’ culture… do you still see those people as your friends? Your tribe? Your Community?

This isn’t to say there’s no joy in being inebriated and having fun with your people—sometimes that is a whole lot of fun. But we need to start being honest about our patterns of dependency and addiction. While substance use can feel like a fun addition, it can lead to substance abuse which often isolates us from genuine connection and can actually rob us of true community.

Capitalism’s most violent extraction from us isn’t just labour—it is time and selfhood. It fragments us, distracts us, hollows out what could’ve been meaningful connection, presence, and purpose. In its wake, coping mechanisms like substance abuse often emerge… not just as personal struggles, but as collective symptoms of a system that numbs us to our own alienation. Get God on the phone, abeg. We need to be released from this spirit of capitalistic bondage.

Those who know me in real life know that I’m actually also calling myself out here. I’m currently in the beginning stage of a three-month challenge where I have to try not summon my father’s (who does not drink at all) side of the family’s albeit enthusiastic but toxic relationship with alcohol every time boredom strikes. Wish me luck.

Before I go… I leave you with these questions:
What would you be doing with your time if you weren’t stuck in this continuous cycle of the rat race? This cycle hasn’t just taken our time—it has taken over our ENTIRE lives. It shapes our routines, our identities, even our dreams and aspirations. Who you would you be outside ukuphandela ibeer?