A rendition from the heart:
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up one day and see everyone living at peace with each other?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful that no one harboured feelings of resentment and injustice with the other instead we stand side by side as brothers? I yearn and hunger for a South Africa of equality in life and in living standards. I long for a land where the needs of the majority are taken care of, a land where the people do share in its wealth.
Wouldn’t it be awesome to live in a country whereby the people speak in the same voice and do things together? Where prejudices and preconceived ideas that have distorted and bruised any self-pride of the other.
Oh what a sight to behold, a land where equality reigns forever. This is 2015, a new year, a symbol of fresh beginnings, a chance to carve out a path never beaten before. Is it so hard to get out of your comfort zones to learn and to understand other races, other people and their ways? This is an opportunity to make new strides in achieving equity and a better life for all. This is a chance for all that inhabit this beautiful and precious land of South Africa, in fact the whole continent of Mother Africa to break away from the yokes and institutions left behind by their colonial masters.
This is the year whereby the rest of the world stood and watched how this beautiful land of ours stood and did what is indigenous to it. Where we do things our own way, the best way we know how. A precious moment to conform to our own standards, to things that are true to the African cause and our way of life, where we endorse systems that will emancipate, elevate and alleviate any poverty within our communities.
I yearn for a South Africa that alienates and nips out any form of racism and prejudice. Can we vow and decree to part take in this journey to a better South Africa for all not living under this farce that we are in a democracy? I yearn for a country where the value of women is recognised, the impact and the role they play in our society. A country that protects and rears their children with love, warmth and comfort, good morals and values and most importantly their culture.
It would be beautiful and pleasant to live in a country without any barriers and boundaries left behind by the institution of apartheid. How long do we continue to live in despairing and inhumane conditions? How long must we witness our own people suffer and be demoralised as we currently have?
As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “South Africa is a country alive with many possibilities”, I truly believe it is, however, if only do what is right and for the benefit of the people. If we face our demons, if we are only brave enough to stand against the very things that bring pain to us, things that will make us vulnerable only to leave us in a better place. Hey South Africa, wouldn’t it be great where we live by our own systems, systems that will benefit the majority of the country. Where corruption has no place in our society, where crime is rooted out. A country where the value of a man is placed higher than maximising profit.
I dream of the day where the fall of the barriers of skin shall reign supreme and our beautiful country is a country for all. Let’s start 2015 in a positive way, let’s start the year gunning for change.
[To see what Rebecca Benn would say to South Africa, click here]
[…] [To see what Avuyile dreams for South Africa, click here] […]
Thanks Brett for the opportunity to share my views, hopes and dreams. Thank you for such platforms.
Absolutely, my friend. Thank you for sharing your words with my people.
You such a gift mfowe2!!!
Enkosi Mr Gola.
Has there existed white privilege? Yes, actually. Does white privilege exist now? Not in any real way. White privilege is a myth in its modern form because it is simply a falsehood. I am, because of my White racial background, no more privileged than anyone else. ‘Then how can anyone legitimately make such an accusation’? The simple answer is that they are idealists.
Impractical person: a perfectionist who rejects practical considerations
There exist largely two camps of thought in modern Western society. One says that there does not exist any race except the human race; we must, to be moral, avoid viewing others as anyway different from us simply because of their skin color. These people do not particularly jump for joy over a future of one single color, they generally do not care so long as all people are treated and viewed as equals.
The other camp is more radical and far more dangerous. They say that race is a social construct, developed by people, particularly men, of European descent to grant themselves a special privilege to rape, pillage, plunder, and conquer all of the earth and subject all other races to their domination. Race was created by them for this purpose alone: suppression of the others. Greed, malice, immorality, injustice, and inequality stem from the maintenance of this social construct. The only way to destroy these social injustices is to destroy the social construct.
While the first group may read this and say “I am not a radical like that”. Actually, you are. Not because you directly participate in the expansion or espousing of such ideals but rather because you also object to reality. You are just as much of an idealist as the more radical group. It at least makes sense though for a person who believes in equality to view color as irrelevant. They desire all people to rise upon their own merit and are less likely to encourage hostilities between races. But when all chips are on the table, they flee to the side of their radical brethren in seeing that there is a great privilege for the White race.
When dealing with idealists it is necessary to understand one thing: they are completely immune to logic and reason. Quote as many statistics for your defense, hell quote the divinity itself, and they will say you are wrong. The White privilege myth is not something we can simply ignore because it has inevitably fatal consequences for an entire race on this earth.
The basic argument is that America is an institutionally racist country geared towards the higher achievement and protection of the socially constructed White race at the expense of all others – specifically the Blacks. Because of this Blacks are targeted more by the police because the police are racists. They believe all Black youth are criminals. Forget that profiling is an important part of common sense law enforcement. Blacks represent 12% of the US population but commit 52% of muggings and 60% of murders. Is it any wonder why one group is more likely to be questioned by police than another?
“But poverty is rampant among minorities which causes crime, all of which stems from White privilege and institutional racism.” Okay, take for example the District of Columbia. It enjoys the highest salaries in the nation and is second only to Alaska in personal income per capita but leads the nation is nearly every category of crime including murder, robbery, assault, and motor vehicle theft. It also has the nation’s strictest gun control laws and highest police costs per capita, highest ration of police and correction officers per citizen, and highest rate of incarceration. Its population however is 65.2% composed of minorities.
Nearby West Virginia has the lowest crime rate yet suffers from chronic poverty, high unemployment, and has the fewest police per capita but it is 93.2% White. It is also important to note that the states with the highest crime rates are located primarily across the South from California to Maryland. These states are heavily composed of minorities and poverty. Of the states that are exceptions, such as Kentucky and West Virginia, the crime rates are significantly lower. States in the North generally enjoy the lowest crime and less poverty, but this is not entirely the case. Among the poorest northern states such as Maine and North Dakota, crime rates are the lowest in the nation but Whites compose around 90% of the population.
While there are screams of Whites committing violent crime against Blacks, or the horror of Blacks committing crimes against each other, the fact is Blacks are 39 times more likely to commit a crime against Whites than the reverse. They are about 130 times more likely to rob a White than reverse. Every year there are roughly 35,000 Black on White rapes but fewer than 9 White on Black rapes. More than 3,000 gang rapes by Blacks against Whites each year but White on Black gang rapes are so rare they do not even show up in FBI and US Justice Department statistics.
Factor in that the average IQ gap between Whites and Blacks is statistically 15-18 points, which means roughly 11-16% of Blacks have an IQ of or above that of the average White. “This is due to a failing education system and racist testing practices, both stemming from White privilege and institutional racism.” The IQ differences between the races were most notably tackled in ‘The Bell Curve’ which was released in the 1990s. It was controversial, not because it gave racist opinion but rather because it gave only facts. How facts can possibly be controversial is beyond me.
Even going beyond the White privilege myth, why is this even a problem? It is due to the concept of equality. We are taught that the highest moral achievement is the equality of all people. Everyone from Libertarians/Conservatives to Socialists/Anarchists believes in it in some form. But it is entirely wrong and has no place in a free or just or even sane society for that matter. Equality has never nor will it ever be achievable. The only time it will even be remotely close is when we are all equally miserable and oppressed.
This has already begun and it is a complete onslaught against the White race. Political correctness is alive and thriving, even growing. Through it we are being taught the ideals of radicals as the only ethical view to hold. We are Whites must collectively apologize for a past we had no part in making or surrender all that we have today. That slavery existed where White men owned Blacks must be corrected through penance in the name of the Unholy Faith of Egalitarianism.
As a society we commemorate this faith’s God’s such as Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and especially Martin Luther King, Jr. To speak disparagingly of the latter is not only taboo but is worthy of condemnation today; forgetting the fact that he was a Communist subversive, plagiarist, and adulterer. We are to hold him in high esteem while speaking ill of those who just so happened to hold views that man from the beginning of thought held.
In the name of equality we have witnessed the French Revolution and its divine punishment, The Reign of Terror. We have witnessed the Russian Revolution which brought starvation to Ukrainians and death by Gulags to millions of others. The Chinese Revolution which overturned one of the world’s oldest civilizations and butchered its people by the millions. Not to mention the others such as Fidel Castro and Pol Pot. In all instances it has been the same. Equality brings misery and state oppression.
In the West however we found a new way to oppress the people. It was developed by the Frankfurt School who originated in 1920s Frankfurt, Germany before departing for the US with the rise of Hitler. A group of Jews organized developed a new concept from the works of Hungarian George Lukacs who taught school children in Socialist Hungary about sexual degeneracy. They formed the culture of critique and a few were brought in by the Roosevelt administration to test their theories on post-war Germany to brainwash the people with alleged Nazi sympathetic views. From here they developed into a powerful force that spread throughout college campuses in the sociology departments in the 1950s.
By the 1960s the works of Herbert Marcuse became very popular among the youth, particularly ‘Eros and Civilization’ which claimed capitalism through mass media and the bourgeois were suppressing man’s freedom which came through sexual freedom. This was considered to be ‘erotic Marxism’ but it was a very powerful force in shaping the ‘60s counterculture movement. This is where the radical views on race originated, in the 1960s among college students radicalized by their Frankfurt School leaning professors and the works of Marcuse who is considered to be the ‘Father of the New Left’.
Perhaps most interesting when discussing the White privilege myth is a work of Herbert Marcuse titled “One-Dimensional Man” where he claims the new Marxist proletariat cannot be the working class Whites as originally envisioned. Instead it will have to be an alliance of the non-integrated forces of society such as the racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities, homosexuals, rebellious youth, and the radical intelligentsia.
To the Frankfurt School Western society had feelings in the 1930s overwhelmingly aligned with Nazism. It was a damaging combination of discrimination against women, Jews, Blacks, and homosexuals all built upon the Authoritarian Personality which prevented the working class from realizing their potential according to Marxian thought and overthrow the bourgeois. The proletariats, White working class/poor men, were not willing to abolish national borders and believe in universal equality.
In response the Cultural Marxists decided to embark upon the ‘long march through the institutions’ as Antonio Gramsci suggested. Moa Zedong ironically called his revolution the ‘long march’. Through this radicalization of the perceived oppressed they could finally instigate Marx’s revolution in the West. Race is but one factor which was necessary to bring under their control and they did this through the use of Critical Theory which is the foundation of all race and gender studies but has spread throughout our educational institutions teaching Whites about the atrocities of their racial past. Simultaneously telling them race does not exist, in the name of equality, then planting seeds of self-hatred and hostility towards their ‘ignorant’ ancestors.
The White privilege myth comes out of this devastating Cultural Revolution in the Western world. Which has resulted in the widespread use of accusing opponents on the right of being Nazis, Fascists, xenophobes, bigots, racists, or nativist for believing what had always been believed by all people in all of history and is still believed by all except White Westerners today. This is why we are to have affirmative action, anti-discrimination laws, social restriction upon speech (Negro/Black is now African American, Indian is now Native American, retard is now mentally disabled, etc…)
Because of this we must also invite in hordes of third world immigrants into our nations which are suffering a reduction in population, which Socialists say is a good thing, due to policies regarding contraception, family life, feminism, rising crime, and decline in national unity. To supplement this we import millions of poor third world peoples with low IQs, possible diseases, inclination to violent crime, and high birth rates leading to an inevitable demographic crisis. In the meantime we cannot assimilate them, for that is violating their freedom, nor can we turn them away because that is racist. It is White nations and only White nations which must hand over their lands to invaders with a smile on their face or be condemned and in some European nations; fined or imprisoned.
The conclusion is simple. White privilege is a myth created by left-wing lunatics hoping to foment a Marxist Revolution or at least dramatically alter our culture because of a mass indoctrination which tells all White people their ancestors were evil, they must repent for their thought crimes, limit their speech or face social ostracism, happily hand over their lands, and recite the mantra: “There is no so thing as race. Race is a social construct. This social construct was created for the maintenance of privilege for White people. For this all Whites must make sacrifices.”
By this point if you actually read all of the above I am just a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews. Fortunately I am neither a Nazi nor a person who wants to kill any people. I believe in the right of all races and ethnicities to self-determination in their own ancestral homelands. Free from external intervention or internal subversion. There exists a natural difference between the races which does not necessarily mean one is overall superior or inferior to another. White privilege is a myth created by Cultural Marxists and spread by their useful idiots. I am a proud White male who does not believe in equality but rather freedom. We are not born equal but we are born free according to the customs of our ancestors. No single ideology can ever be applied universally nor should it ever be attempted as the Cultural Marxist-Neoliberal system known as Modernity is.
Anti-racist is codeword for Anti-White.
I apologize for the grammatical errors in the post, I typed it fast and did not review it.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day.
Justin, in a nutshell, if a black person born into Americaland or South Africa had exactly the same opportunities and possibilities and received the same prejudicial bias as a white person, then absolutely, but the truth, having lived in both countries for long periods over the last five years, but it just is not true. White youth walking wearing hoodie is viewed differently than black youth wearing the same. You can quote as many stories as you want, but unless you take some time to listen to some people of colour and hear their stories and experiences, you have no idea. The playing fields are not level.
White youth in the UK wearing hoodies are viewed EXACTLY the same! They are known as “yobs”. The playing fields are not level, but can you say when in history they ever were? Maybe 10 000 years ago? Technology has changed things and caused the divide. Tell me where in history, a conquering army surrenders to the conquered? It sounds brutal, but it is and always will be survival of the fittest. Humans will always want more and they will want more than the next guy. If a black guy or white guy cam up to you and said he wanted your clothes would you give it? Would you give him your car? Same applies with land and businesses and other things. Your line is drawn in the sand albeit at a different position to other people. Who decides what is right or wrong. Would you give of your time to listen to the ramblings of a bergie, homeless man, vagrant, miner, accountant, christian, muslim, TB infected, Blonde underwear model, athlete? I think some you would not listen long to certain people. Its all relative.
I’m not quite sure what point you are trying to make but i am in no doubt that white privilege exists in both USA and SA. Can’t speak for UK although i am pretty sure a great deal of racism exists there specifically to Immigrants from places like Pakistan and India. We all have work to do.
And it doesn’t happen to white people in Middle East, or Pakistan?
I’m not sure. The point is that it is not okay wherever it is happening. “We can do bad things here because other people do bad things there” is one of the mist ridiculous reasonings i have ever heard.
It is not that ridiculous. What if Europe welcomes millions of Muslims and treat them well. Eventually Muslims will be in the majority and soon we’ll see Muslim laws put in place. White women may be forced to cover up and people will not be allowed to drink alcohol.
If Muslims are so upset in Europe then why don’t they go back to the Middle East where they can live their Muslim ways?
The same for blacks. If they can’t cut it in the USA, why don’t they return to Africa? There will be no whites in Congo or Liberia and they will not have to blame whites.
If blacks can’t cut it in the modern SA, then why not return to the hills of Lesotho and take up chicken farming or growing food? Why are they trying to aspire to white people’s ideals and falling short and then blaming whites for it. Wouldn’t it be easier to go to Swaziland or one of the many many black areas and farm, following a traditional way of life?
You see there is no white privilege. It is a myth. What is true is that blacks create white privilege because they aspire to be like whites and then fall short. The white way of life is tied in to an urban culture based on thousands of years of city type living. White people aspire to a faster way of life, probably more materialistic. Black people prefer nomadic, country type living, ubuntu and value free time and other good things. The culture is quite different.
It would be similar to a white person saying, “I’m quitting it all and going to live up in the foothills of Lethoto.” Once that white person is living there, they will find it very difficult, more-so than a black person would. The hot sun of the day would not suit their skin type. The diet and similar things would not match. A white person could then be at a disadvantage and say, “I don’t know the land, and am a poor cattle raiser and am thus suffering from black privilege”. An area where blacks are at the advantage.
You see, there are two sides. Have a look at athletics. When last have you seen a 100m race run and won by a white? This could be called black athletic privilege. Whites excel at certain things. Blacks excel at others. It all depends on what you are aspiring to. There will always be privilege. Business is definitely more geared towards white people. Computer science is definitely for white people. Mining is better for black people as they can handle heat better. Black people are also better at running. There are inherent advantages/privileges that come with certain races. What do you reckon?
I reckon your ‘facts’ on the differences are taken very subjectively from a certain picture of how you observe the world. I am not sure how true those things will be once you equal out the starting lines. You’re not comparing like things.
I am comparing like things.
100 meter sprinting:
Blacks have dominated this athletics event for the last 30 years. Are you saying we should move the starting lines and let blacks start 20 meters back?
There are differences among the races, values, intelligence, physical, work ethics and so on. People should be realistic – there will never be full equality. The same as a white guy will never win the 100m again.
Yeah, i think those are two very different things. Running vs Lifestyle. I am not saying they are the same but i am definitely suggesting the idea that white is better is worth challenging. Equally important and valuable is different from saying the same. I imagine there probably are some distinct differences both good and bad both ways. Lots to learn from each other and value in each other.
You strike me as someone of above average intelligence. Give me some of your reasoning. Try to keep emotions out of it. Try to keep it factual. Try to keep it looking at both sides of the story. Try to see that “white privilege” could also be a myth.
Privilege only depends on your aspirations. If my desire is to win the 100m then I would say that blacks are privileged in that they can run faster. If I want to play basketball, I could say that blacks are generally better at that and are privileged. It is the same for women who are beautiful – they are privileged and win million dollar contracts. Whites/blacks, men/women, short/tall, attractive/not-attractive – these are all things that cause privilege or advantage.
A model may come to me and we can go for dinner (hopefully), but chances are we might have a good time, but unlikely she’ll date me. It is unlikely she’ll give me money, and unlikely she’ll do anything about the situation where she earns ten times more than me for doing ten times less work.
So I don’t really know what the point is of meeting other people – nobody will do anything about the situation.
You are talking about sport and looks, i am talking about valuing people as people. Yours feels largely external whereas i think i am talking bigger picture than that. I, as a white person, am arguing that white privilege is a thing. I have only to lose from that opinion. There us nithing for me to gain. You can be very sure i have given it a whole lot of thought. The way i view white privilege is that simply by being white, before i have earned or proved anything, there are certain things that are true of me and not black people, certain ways i will be viewed by my neighbours and by the police, by other white and black people. Most of those things benefit me. It is not the same for your average bkack person.
You wrote below: “You are talking about sport and looks, i am talking about valuing people as people. Yours feels largely external whereas i think i am talking bigger picture than that. I, as a white person, am arguing that white privilege is a thing. I have only to lose from that opinion. There us nithing for me to gain. You can be very sure i have given it a whole lot of thought. The way i view white privilege is that simply by being white, before i have earned or proved anything, there are certain things that are true of me and not black people, certain ways i will be viewed by my neighbours and by the police, by other white and black people. Most of those things benefit me. It is not the same for your average bkack person.”
I do value people as people. White privilege is a thing, so is black privilege. I admit that it is, but it depends on your aspirations, or field.
IT DEPENDS ON WHAT PLAYING FIELD YOU WANT TO BE IN.
By your rationale, black athletes should start 50m behind white athletes and run with heavy shoes. Think logically here please!
Why level one playing field and not another?
Blacks have the right to take pride in their race. Whites don’t.
Blacks can never be racist. Whites are always racist, even if they don’t try to be.
Blacks get to play the race card. Whites don’t.
Blacks never have to feel guilty about being black. Whites are trained to feel guilty about being white.
Blacks have the right to make blacks only organizations like the Black Student Union and the Congressional Black Caucus. Whites don’t.
Blacks have the right to never take responsibility for their own actions. Anything bad which happens to a black person can be blamed on racism or white people. Whites have to take responsibility and apologize for their actions.
Rich black people have a right to be rich. Rich white people don’t.
Black people have the right to demonize white people. White people don’t have the right to demonize black people.
Black people are excused when they are prejudiced against white people. White people are never excused for prejudice against black people.
Black people are a “protected class.” White people are not.
Violent crimes by whites on blacks are “hate crimes.” Violent crimes by blacks on whites are just “random” crimes.
Blacks have the right to affirmative action and minority set-asides. Whites have to earn their positions.
Blacks are “cool.” Whites are “squares” and “rednecks.”
Blacks have the right to say words like “nigger,” which whites are never allowed to use. They have the right to incessantly repeat the word “nigger” in front of white people, to intimidate them and keep them in their place.
Blacks can make the most racially insensitive comments and, more often than not, no one blinks twice. They are allowed to insult others without repercussion.[1]
Blacks can spend their rent money on designer handbags and then complain about how they don’t have the same economic opportunities as everyone else. And they get away with it.[2]
Black men are sexual supermen. White men are sexually inadequate. Black men have huge penises. White men have small, inadequate penises.
Blacks have “civil rights”. Whites don’t.
Blacks are in prison because of racism. Whites are in prison because they’re criminals.
Black jury members have the right to acquit criminals, if they’re black.
Blacks have the right to put a halt to any policy, statement, symbol, statistic, outcome, word or expression they find offensive. Whites have no such rights.
Blacks are morally superior to whites.
Blacks enjoy cultural cache around the world as victors over oppression and the hard reality of what that looks like at this point in world history. The music that they enjoy, the clothes that they wear, their very mannerisms carry a certain amount of gravitas.”[3]
Blacks can assign collective racial guilt to “you white folks.” White people cannot do the reverse because that would be racist.
White people everywhere, and at all times, bear guilt for the crimes of a minority of white people in the past (e.g., slave owners, Adolf Hitler). Making blacks bear guilt, as a race, for the despicable crimes of their criminal minority is stereotyping, racist, and an insult to reason; after all, no one should ever be blamed for the acts of some unrelated person.
Blacks have “black culture.” Whites are not allowed to have white culture.
African-American studies is a celebration of blackness and black culture. Whiteness studies is a demonization of white people and white culture.
White people need to undergo diversity/sensitivity training. Black people don’t.
“… any generalization–favorable or unfavorable–about any minority that someone does not like is by definition “racist” and deserves to be suppressed–as long as it is said by a white person. Black diversity consultants, in contrast, can parade, without a shred of empirical evidence, the grossest racial and ethnic stereotypes with virtual impunity.”[4]
It’s racist to point out racism by blacks. It’s never racist to point out racism by whites.
Whites have to walk on eggshells around blacks. Blacks don’t give a shit what whites think.
Blacks have the right to riot and commit violent acts in response to perceived grievances. White people have to obey the law at all times.
Blacks have the right to never be portrayed as criminals or lowlifes in films or on TV. Bad guys on the screen must always be White.
Blacks have the right to never be ridiculed, mocked, belittled or laughed at. Whites have no such right.
Black criminals have the right to have their race censored in media reports.
Facts which cause blacks embarrassment or cast them in a bad light must be suppressed. Facts which cause whites embarrassment or cast them in a bad light are reported as is.
Blacks can silence and intimidate whites by calling them racist. Whites can’t silence and intimidate blacks because that would be racist.
Forcing whitey to apologize shows black power and clout. Whites can never force blacks to apologize because that would constitute a lynching.
Whites are held to a system of ‘sensitivity’ requirements that do not apply to blacks.
“Whites are monitored, pestered, and punished for preposterous reasons–for a look, for an innocent word, for wearing a T-shirt, for expressing a plausible argument–but blacks can say almost anything with perfect impunity.”[5]
“In discussions of race between black people and white people the conscious black person is always right; is always the ultimate authority on questions having to do with race and racism; must always be regarded as the ‘injured party,’ or the oppressed. . . . [Whites] cannot possibly be expected to be objective about questions of race.”[6]
Blacks may work for explicitly racial goals but whites may not.
Blacks are permitted to notice race. Whites are not.
“It is quite acceptable for either party to explicitly go after the black, Hispanic, or even the Jewish vote. In fact both parties gain an indispensable moral authority by doing so. But it is absolutely verboten for either party, or any white candidate, to appeal to whites as a racial identity group. Racial identity is simply forbidden to whites in America and across the entire Western world. Black children today are hammered with the idea of racial identity and pride, yet racial pride in whites constitutes a grave evil. Say ‘I’m white and I’m proud’ and you are a National Socialist.”[7]
A black who punches a White person is a hero standing up to oppression. A White person who punches a black is a racist.
It can be publicly admitted that blacks are superior to Whites in certain pursuits (i.e. basketball). It can never be publicly admitted that Whites are superior to blacks in other pursuits (i.e. winning Nobel prizes in science).
When blacks are overrepresented in a desirable field, it is due to their abilities. When Whites are overrepresented in a desirable field, it is due to racism. When blacks are overrepresented in an undesirable field, it is due to racism. When Whites are overrepresented in an undesirable field, it is their own fault.
Most African countries are made up almost entirely of blacks, and have some of the world’s highest birth rates. Most European countries consist of White people having to live alongside blacks and other non-whites, and have some of the world’s lowest birth rates.
BLACK PRIVILEGE.
Can you argue that one? 😉
What country do you live in cos i have an opinion on USA and SA where i have lived, more than other places.
I have lived in USA, Germany, SA and the UK. Lesotho, Botswana and Kenya.
Are you saying you can only have a valid opinion based on where you’ve lived?
Not at all. I am saying i gave stronger opinions for the contexts i have observed. Do you haveany good friends of colour that you have really lived life with?
All that i hear here is talk of “us” and “them” and that is what needs to change. You would do well to find dome quality black folks to become friends with and just eat together and get to know them. That would change the whole heart of this conversation.
Who would pay? Haha. Isn’t mentioning white or black privilege also talking about us vs them?
No. No it’s not. Talking about everyone as people with value and worth is what i am talking about. You can still have conversations about privilege when you are doing that.
Which one is it? We can all be equal morally and ethically, but some are of more value ie contributing more to society.
i would argue that people hold inherent value simply by being people – different contributions exist for sure, but your value as a person should not be decided by what you contribute – and the value of your contribution also needs to be determined with the context of what you were able to contribute in the first place [education, resources, opportunity] and so is a lot more complicated…
What if you born lazy or with very low iq and can’t contribute much? What if you a bum who refuses to educate themselves or work. Then should they earn the same as one who does work hard and contribute? Is that not equality, but rather slavery to the working person?
I am not suggesting a system that carries freeloaders. What is absolutely true though I’d that we don’t all start with the same advantages. At the moment in South Africa if you are born white you are likely to have a much better starting position than if you are born black. A lot of this is due to the lingering effects of a system that intentionally disadvantaged black people in terms of money, opportunity, education, living space and more. What is needed is to address the different starting positions of young people in South Africa so that everyone has a more balanced chance of making it. Lazy people who choose not to work will still suffer in this picture. But less people will be paralyzed or hampered before they even get going.
Brilliant and so true.
When they abolish Bee and AA?
At the ANC’s gala dinner in Cape Town last Friday President Zuma said that Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival in the Cape was the beginning of all South Africa’s problems.
“A man with the name of Jan van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape on April 6 1652… What followed were numerous struggles and wars and deaths and the seizure of land and the deprivation of the indigenous people’s political and economic power.”
The arrival of Van Riebeeck “disrupted South Africa’s social cohesion, repressed people and caused wars”.
The charges have since been repeated by a sangoma – who exorcised the ANC conference venue of the “spirit of Jan van Riebeeck” – and Marius Fransman, the ANC’s Cape leader – who would not exist if the Dutch had not colonised the Cape in 1652.
What the ANC’s campaign against Van Riebeeck is actually saying is that the arrival of whites in southern Africa was a disaster for the indigenous population of the region. After all, Van Riebeeck had strict instructions not to colonise the Cape and stayed for only 10 years before moving on to his next post in the Dutch East India Company.
There is, nevertheless, some truth in the charges: the expansion of European influence in southern Africa did lead to the subjugation of the once independent peoples of the region. By 1879, after nine bitter wars, the territories of Xhosa peoples of the Eastern Cape were annexed by Britain. The same year – after an unprovoked war of aggression – the once mighty Zulu Kingdom was swallowed up by the British Empire.
There is more than enough reason for bitterness: the shameful murder of Hintsa; the humiliation of Maqoma by Harry Smith; the tragedy of the cattle killing; Cetshwayo’s imprisonment on Robben Island; the exclusion of black political rights in the Union of South Africa; the Land Act of 1913 and the subsequent decades of segregation and apartheid.
But history is never quite so simple as it sometimes appears:
Might the San – who once occupied the whole of South Africa – not also be able to complain that the arrival of blacks in South Africa was a disaster for them?
It is not true that whites introduced warfare and social disintegration into the sub-continent. By far the worst conflict that afflicted South Africa was the Mfecane – the wars that were unleashed by the president’s own people under their great King Shaka.
The wars led to the devastation and depopulation of vast tracts of the country and to migrations to places as far away as Zimbabwe and Malawi. As many as a million people may have died.
Neither were blacks the only peoples who were subjugated by European imperialists. The Afrikaners fought by far the greatest anti-colonial war in the history of Africa.
However, had it not been for the British, there would have been no Union of South Africa in 1910 – and the ANC would probably not have been founded two years later. It is very unlikely that, 105 years later, a Zulu president would have been hosting a gala dinner for the ANC in Cape Town. Come to think of it, without Van Riebeeck and white settlers, would there have been a Cape Town – or any of our other great cities?
Possibly, but without the intervention of Western technology and capital, they would have been unrecognisably different. Ethiopia and Liberia, the only African states that were not colonised, are also among the most backward on the continent – occupying respectively 173rd and 175th positions out of 187 countries in the UNDP’s Human Development Index.
The fact is that, 21 years ago, the ANC took over the governance of by far the most developed country in Africa. There were far more kilometres of railways and highways than in any country in Africa; we (then) generated more electricity than the rest of the continent combined; we had developed sophisticated industries and world-class businesses.
Despite apartheid, the black population of South Africa was in many respects more advanced than any other people in Africa. How much of this would have existed without the contribution that white South Africans made to the development of the country?
The anti-Van Riebeeck campaign is another example of the disturbing and increasingly overt anti-white posture of the president and the ANC. Indeed, the ANC’s core programme, its “National Democratic Revolution”, is the continuation and completion of its “liberation” struggle against whites whom it views as “antagonists”.
Three years ago at the ANC’s January 8 celebrations in Bloemfontein, President Zuma sang the “Shoot the Boer” song to a stadium full of ANC supporters. The words are as follows:
“We are going to shoot them; they are going to run; we are going to shoot them, with the machine gun; they are going to run. You are a white man – we are going to hit them and you are going to run! Shoot the Boer! We are going to hit them – they are going to run! The cabinet will shoot them with the machine gun! The cabinet will shoot them with the machine gun! Shoot the Boer!”
Can one imagine the leader of any respectable country in the world expressing such deplorable views about a national minority?
History is what it is: the past – with all its conflict, injustice and complexity – can’t be changed. As Omar Khayyam puts it: “Nor all thy piety nor wit can lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it”.
Our unique contribution to the story of mankind is that 25 years ago we showed we were able to overcome our history of bitterness and division and build a new society based on human dignity.
We respectfully call on President Zuma to remember that he is the president of all South Africans and to pay a little more attention to healing – rather than deepening – divisions of the past.
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