Saturday 3 September 2011

Dear white South Africa...

From http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Letters/Dear-white-South-Africa-20110831

Dear white South Africa,

First let me make it clear that as a white South African I too become extremely frustrated at what I see, at the corruption, the crime, the greed, the list goes on.

What frustrates me as much, though, perhaps even more, is the way we are dealing with it. Since the end of apartheid, what have we actually done?

We have retreated behind ever-higher walls, and hidden behind the anonymity of the internet to vent some sometimes appallingly racist rhetoric.

At that is the main purpose of this letter.

It is directed at those members of white South Africa who come on to internet forums and say the most horrendous things about black people, that they are unintelligent and savage and un-evolved.

Now you may think that I am going to lecture you on moral grounds, but you are wrong. What frustrates me is the pure, blind stupidity of these actions.

Can you not see that you are playing directly into Malema’s hands? That you are doing exactly what he wants you to do?

Why is the ANC still in power? After such evident corruption, maladministration, and blatant lying (like Schabir Schaik being terminally ill, seriously!), why does black South Africa continue to vote for them with a sixty percent majority?
And the answer is: because of white South Africa.

That is the only tool that the ANC has. They need to keep the racial divide as wide as possible, because that keeps black people voting for them. Just as the Nats used swart gevaar as a propaganda tool, today’s ANC needs wit gevaar. It’s all they’ve got.

And the thing that frustrates me so much is that we are playing directly into their hands. Pretty much none of us have learned a black language. We shout so passionately for the Boks but we don’t even turn an eye to our soccer teams. Instead we come onto the internet and spew racial hatred anonymously.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t totally hate the ANC. They have some good people, but what I do hate is that the sixty percent majority, time and time again, vote blindly. That is not what a healthy democracy is all about, and that is what’s going to take us all down the sewer.

The way to bring that sixty percent down is not to sit behind our fences and shout insults. The way to bring that sixty percent down is to reach out to our fellow South Africans, and show them that we do not disrespect them.

The massive irony is that those right wing whites who insult black people are Malema’s puppets. They are his foot soldiers. They are his sales reps, because what he sells is hatred, and they’re out there doing it for him, free of charge.

The irony is incredible. (Amen !)

And the ANC is pretty smart about the way they do it. All they need to do is mention a white tax, or nationalisation of mines, or land distribution, and we go out and do their work for them. (Always been a key message of shutupwhitey.)

We dutifully log on to our PCs and push their agenda by reinforcing what they say about us.

These people who come on to forums such as this and tell black people that they are stupid are in fact acting more stupidly than anyone in this country. How stupid do you have to be to pick up a gun and shoot yourself in the foot with it? (Yup, they are stupid.)

So, dear white South Africa, maybe today extend just one small kindness toward a black South African. A smile, a greeting, hold a door open. It will be worth your while in the long run, I promise you. (Again very wise words.)

6 comments:

Katzenjammer said...

It's considered bad manners to open a door for an African, because you are supposed to let him walk behind you as a token of trust. Now maybe that is old tribal wisdom, or it comes from dealing with the realities of back-stabbing in corporate South Africa.

Anonymous said...

So glad to see this headline as well:

http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/da-race-tension-worsens-1.1130889

Love it!...God I can't stand white skin any longer, on the facade it presents a smile and tokens of appeasement whilst deep in the heart it always harbours racism... Pretty soon all the whites are going to be toeing the line...Damn better get on OUR side whitey, no time left now...

Katzenjammer said...

From that DA race tension article:

"... the party recently appointed a team of executives to run its day-to-day affairs at its head office that includes not one black person."

Incredibly stupid of the DA. Pity that Cope turned into a circus and there is still no viable opposition to the ANC. Maybe Moeletsi Mbeki can get it going. One of the few sane voices left in the country.

Anonymous said...

"It is directed at those members of white South Africa who come on to internet forums and say the most horrendous things about black people, that they are unintelligent and savage and un-evolved.

Now you may think that I am going to lecture you on moral grounds, but you are wrong. What frustrates me is the pure, blind stupidity of these actions.

Can you not see that you are playing directly into Malema’s hands? That you are doing exactly what he wants you to do?"
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Could Malema be the best thing to happen to South Africa since Nelson?


The assertion in the quote implies that the type of black South African that rallies around Malema are frequenters of said blogs and forums. I would be interested to know who your dusky contemporaries are Rooster - a rare beast I think. Certainly not the rank-file we see flashed across our TV screens.
Also, these same compeers of yours may be in danger of assuming the charge if the way they organise their lives is through immoderate extrapolations from Internet forum forays. I really don't see why an intelligent black person would care about what an unintelligent white has to say on the net, unless it's to point out his incursion into logic. It's the mainstream media that is to blame, if anyone is; They made him famous. Bigoted commentary is simple the inescapable result - concidering we are all a bunch of fucking racists in this country anyway.

I think too much credit has gone to Malema of late. The implication is that he is actually some sort of genius; clever enough to fool the public into thinking he is brain-dead. This bounder is nothing of the sort. My theory for this: an illusion born out of his consequence free lifestyle. We apply our logic that somebody who makes so many pratfalls and still comes out on top must have some talent that has escaped us - because we live in a world of consequence. No, Malema has risen to the top in the same way shit floating down a river does - carried by the tide and full of smelly gass. But the populist route in SA is one that heads for the falls and not the serene lagoon of sustainability. It's easy to do and anybody callous enough can do it.

What is half of 66%? By bolstering this nincompoop the media have driven a wedge through the ANC that may see gains for the more aped parties. Two things could happen: Until now SA has been the frog in warming water. The arrival of a Malema on the scene so soon after the great Nelson Mandela and his contemporary, Mbeki, would shock the political and social system into action and he would be crushed in the fallout, his then defunked party along with him. Or, this time a real division could occur in the ANC, opening the door for DA and others and a functioning democracy could emerge.

Or a third option - dystopia. But I like to thing we are still stronger than that; and it would seem, so too do the media.

Katzenjammer said...

Stephen Grootes on Mogoeng Mogoeng. From Daily Maverick.
_______________________________

... what kind of power will Mogoeng, as Chief Justice actually have?

Firstly, he is just another Constitutional Court judge. His ruling carries as much weight as the others. And there will have to be another nomination process to fill the spot left by Judge Sandile Ngcobo, so the balance of the court could actually tilt in a progressive direction through all of this. Where Mogoeng could have real power though is on the JSC itself. He will be its chair. He will be in charge of disciplinary proceedings against other judges. Were there ever to be another case as politically controversial as that of Judge John Hlophe’s, his role could be crucial to how it unfolds. And bear in mind, Hlophe’s issue hasn’t been settled yet.

He will also have power as the leader of the new office of the Chief Justice. It’s getting muscle as legislation has been changed to make the judiciary more independent. This means that Mogoeng will possibly have more power over the day-to-day running of things than Ngcobo and Pius Langa before him. That doesn’t mean he has more power over actual rulings, but sometimes controlling the mechanics of a process can be all you need.

Zuma’s announcement on Tuesday is officially a “nomination”, not an appointment. He still has to engage in “consultation” with opposition parties and the JSC. But constitutionally, this appointment is the President’s gift. The only way it could be challenged would be for someone to go to court and argue that Mogoeng is not “fit and proper” or not “suitably qualified”. So Mogoeng it will be. Until 2021. That’s when his current term on the Constitutional Court expires, and when he will have to stand down.

Overall then, is this deeply worrying? If you’re a progressive who believes in the strong separation of powers, then the answer has to be yes. Mogoeng appears conservative and executive-minded. In other words, it seems he’s likely to rule in government’s favour fairly often. But, there are nearly two presidential terms between now and 2021. Things change. Can you imagine if Zuma doesn’t survive Mangaung and is out of office in 2014? And if his replacement can’t stand Mogoeng, but is stuck with him for some time? Then those who believe in the separation of powers will be happy again. DM


http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2011-08-17-why-why-mogoeng-mogoeng

Anonymous said...

"Love it!...God I can't stand white skin any longer, on the facade it presents a smile and tokens of appeasement whilst deep in the heart it always harbours racism... Pretty soon all the whites are going to be toeing the line...Damn better get on OUR side whitey, no time left now..."

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What evidence can you provide for this assertion? Is there a biological link between white skin and racism that we don't know about or is this just typical out-group mentality again?

Whites (and blacks) should be "towing the line" anyway. We have a pretty good constitution that I would like to see upheld.