Obama, the Izikhothane president?

What is Izikhothane you ask? Fair question, I'd never heard of it until I read this story.

They burn money [literally], destroy expensive clothes [on purpose] and pour bottles of alcohol on the ground. The 'Izikhothane' live well beyond their means, spending more money than they and their parents can afford in order to be cool. This South African craze is as intriguing as it is shocking...

Simply put, the practitioners of Izikhothane seem to be an extreme form of anti-Kaboom kids. Thrift, or even mild restraint is not valued in this "culture". Ostentatious display of the destruction of wealth is. The more you have and can destroy, the greater your prestige.

This would be relatively harmless were it the trust fund babies of the super-wealthy doing it, perhaps even beneficial as a inefficient form of bottom up "economic stimulus" in that saner more pragmatic people are selling them the stuff they're trashing and making a living off it. But...its not the children of the super-wealthy who've embraced this lifestyle. The super-rich aren't even doing it.

...
The 'Izikhothane', known for their eccentric and wildly-coloured clothing, are typically aged between 12 and 25 and mainly come from the black middle class...

...“Young people tell me they’re prepared to do anything, including hitting their parents, to get money.”...

posted by Purp at 09:20 AM

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