Obama, US, South Africa, Racists - Come have your say.

[Brotherman]

Racism is wrong and the whiteman must be stopped from abusing our people any more than before.

[Emgee]

Originally Posted by Brotherman

Racism is wrong and the whiteman must be stopped from abusing our people any more than before.

This is a random statement to come up with out of the blue.
Of course racism is wrong.
But the reality of day-to-day life in South Africa is that it works both ways. I suggest you go back and read your posts from a couple of years back where you had confidence that Zuma was going to be the saviour of the nation, and now he has proven that he only has his own interests at heart and can't control himself when it comes to his much publicised sex life. Just because he presents everything with a smile and a dance, doesn't make the words coming out of his mouth trustworthy. There comes a time when you are going to have to stop blaming the apartheid regime for everything. People living in "informal settlements" are getting tired of empty promises continually being made by the democratically elected governement.

[nubian_warrior]

"Racism is wrong and the whiteman must be stopped from abusing our people any more than before. "

As a British black man who has not had enough exposure to SA politics and culture, this is a pretty over obvious statement to make and does not do anything to advance this discussion. It looks like you just woke up one day and in a half dazed state and blurted the first thing that came into your mind, now lets move on already!!

[Brotherman]

Originally Posted by nubian_warrior

"Racism is wrong and the whiteman must be stopped from abusing our people any more than before. "

As a British black man who has not had enough exposure to SA politics and culture, this is a pretty over obvious statement to make and does not do anything to advance this discussion. It looks like you just woke up one day and in a half dazed state and blurted the first thing that came into your mind, now lets move on already!!

There can be no peace without justice for Africans for crimes committed by the white people.

[ches]

Originally Posted by Brotherman

There can be no peace without justice for Africans for crimes committed by the white people.

Actually, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was all about peace without "justice" in as much as "justice" being interpreted by "punishment." The TRC recognised that the truth is more important than punishment when reconciliation and unity is the goal. It was highly successful and has been replicated in several other places.

I also reject your use of terms like "the white people." There were many crimes perpetrated by people of all colours during apartheid. The TRC transcripts are horrific, but a valuable reading exercise to gain insight into how hard people fought for the freedom we have, the immense sacrifices that were made by entire communities, not just individual victims, and why our country is still so heinously scarred and why such senseless violence prevails even today.

I recognise that the younger generation has had the privilege of an education uninterrupted by riots, has not had to watch their fathers and mothers hide like dogs from people beating them for no reason and has not been taken from their families and thrust in solitary confinement without a word leaving infants and toddlers without a caregiver. However, I will thank you not to insult to the memory of the struggle as a whole and those who endured so much to secure our future by making such petty and inflammatory statements.

[Brotherman]

Originally Posted by ches

Actually, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was all about peace without "justice" in as much as "justice" being interpreted by "punishment." The TRC recognised that the truth is more important than punishment when reconciliation and unity is the goal. It was highly successful and has been replicated in several other places.

I also reject your use of terms like "the white people." There were many crimes perpetrated by people of all colours during apartheid. The TRC transcripts are horrific, but a valuable reading exercise to gain insight into how hard people fought for the freedom we have, the immense sacrifices that were made by entire communities, not just individual victims, and why our country is still so heinously scarred and why such senseless violence prevails even today.

I recognise that the younger generation has had the privilege of an education uninterrupted by riots, has not had to watch their fathers and mothers hide like dogs from people beating them for no reason and has not been taken from their families and thrust in solitary confinement without a word leaving infants and toddlers without a caregiver. However, I will thank you not to insult to the memory of the struggle as a whole and those who endured so much to secure our future by making such petty and inflammatory statements.

There is nothing wrong with using white people just like there is nothing wrong with using African people. The crimes committed by the whites are one million times worse especially when you consider the fact that they started the conflict with their racist ways in the first place. Africans must rise up and unite against these forces - enough of the delusion. The TRC was nothing but a way to make Africans think some sort of justice had been achieved but those on the ground know this and are not deceived in the slightest - that is why Africans are still angry until reparations are made.

[ches]

Some of the most depraved acts of apartheid were perpetrated by black askaris. It is demeaning and naive to trivialise apartheid into all white people are bad and must pay and all black people are good and must be rewarded. If things are still awful 15 years after its demise, it's time to look to the majority government and make them answer questions. BEE and AA are only benefitting a minority; that is unacceptable. The GDP has more than doubled since the end of apartheid; why are most people no more comfortably off than before?

The TRC was about embracing humanity; it was about letting those who suffered have their questions answered to achieve closure, which for most of them included forgiveness. The TRC was documented and the transcripts are available so that we can forgive and never forget. It serves our country better and all of her people to move on.