Racism is racism is racism ...

[desA]

When South Africans of alternative shades of green begin to see the situation for what it really is, & let go of their 'guilt complexes', then perhaps, just perhaps, they will begin pushing back against the racism that is destroying the country.

Come on people, open your eyes. You have to do something concrete, if you are to remain in SA. The water temperature around you is slowly rising. When will you die?

Green-tinged frogs...

[adrianh]

Who cares, forget about the rats, let them roam the streets devouring everything in their path, you ain't the Pied Piper!

The light green tinged frog will only boil if it lets itself boil - we live with our eyes wide shut. Looking, not believing what we see, yet hoping for a better day - so are the Palistinians, see where it gets them!

Bausch and Lomb once said "We can't change the way the world looks, but we can change the way you see it" We stare blindly through our lenses of hope - like fools blinded by the bull fed to us by those who speak elequently about the redistribution of land....

The ZAR picture is fading, like a painting left out in the sun....

Lose your conscience, make your money, and hit the road!

Say out loud; I don't give a sh_t!

The scorpion will sting the frog because it is in the nature of the scorpion - don't hate the scorpion - it is what it is!

...and for you who don't understand what I just wrote, forget about it, DesA sure will!

[desA]

The ZAR picture is fading, like a painting left out in the sun....

The scorpion will sting the frog because it is in the nature of the scorpion - don't hate the scorpion - it is what it is!

Yes, indeed.

[ChrisNG53]

Racism is racism is racism

Who cares, forget about the rats, let them roam the streets devouring everything in their path, you ain't the Pied Piper!

The light green tinged frog will only boil if it lets itself boil - we live with our eyes wide shut. Looking, not believing what we see, yet hoping for a better day - so are the Palistinians, see where it gets them!

Bausch and Lomb once said "We can't change the way the world looks, but we can change the way you see it" We stare blindly through our lenses of hope - like fools ....

Lose your conscience, make your money, and hit the road!

Say out loud; I don't give a sh_t!

The scorpion will sting the frog because it is in the nature of the scorpion - don't hate the scorpion - it is what it is!

...and for you who don't understand what I just wrote, forget about it, DesA sure will!

With respect, this is simply another way of saying - "accept it, tolerate it, look the other was ... just get on with your own life ..."

.... thus accepting that you are already dis-empowered ... victimized ... stripped of even your right to open your mouth ......

... exactly as you are intended to be by those wielding power ...

... for all the sheep on Animal Farm .......

This form of "stoic defeatism" is exactly the culture we all adopted in Zimbabwe during the so called "good years" - 1980 - 1990 ... and the rest is history ... because what you are dealing with is not just a scorpion ... it is a monster in the making ... that you choose to ignore at your peril .... like us 3.4 million Zimbos in the Diaspora.
Read ....

[adrianh]

With respect, this is simply another way of saying - "accept it, tolerate it, look the other was ... just get on with your own life ..."

I clearly remember the 2 years that I spent in the army - I had no choice, I had to accept whatever came along. The name of the game was tolerating the situation for 2 years and then moving on.

It is not "stoic defeatism" - it is the ZEN art of "Not giving a Sh_t"

Yes, I am saying fly under the radar and look out for number 1. (Let the scorpion figure out how to get across the river itself - it has taken over the entire forest anyway)

[ChrisNG53]

Racism is racism is racism

I clearly remember the 2 years that I spent in the army - I had no choice, I had to accept whatever came along. The name of the game was tolerating the situation for 2 years and then moving on.

I too "survived" the army in the same way. It's all you can do.

However, that still does not mean that you adopt "stoic defeatism" as a personal code. Just as, because you cannot remove a president or MEC you don't like, does not mean that you must thereafter forever "shut up" about what is unjust, wrong, diabolical .... It is a non sequitur with respect. In my book I relate how, when I got the chance, I did my best to undermine and embarrass the army. It's what I could do.

South Africans quite correctly blame us Zimbos for our situation. WE DID adopt a creed of "stoic defeatism", and the scorpion became a monster.

Understand this ... if you are gonna be quiet, pliant and cowed (as those who wield power want you to be), one day you will be voiceless ... and it will have started because you, yourself first gave up your voice!

The reason why the Media Bill is not going to fly is because voices have risen up in opposition!

[adrianh]

To fight for something you have to care enough about it in the first place. I don't care enough about this lot to be bothered.

[Sparks]

I certainly am. I have good Coloured, Chinese, Phillipino and Indian friends for years, but the fact remains, some people believe they are entitled to whatever they want and will stop at nothing to get it. If it means lowering the standard of education to achieve better pass rates, so be it. We already have a country with poor levels of education. As the Judge said "superficial" remedies are easier. The government saying they must pull up their socks and strive for higher standards would mean they agree with what whites said all along.

[ChrisNG53]

Racism is racism is racism

I certainly am. I have good Coloured, Chinese, Phillipino and Indian friends for years

Appreciate your point. It is sad though that, 16 years after independence, having supposedly defeated racism, we still find ourselves forced to "think racially". It's actually a national preoccupation; an obsession that underpins just about everything.

How tragic; after the great promise that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela epitomized.

I have worked in Zimbabwe, SA, Botswana and Namibia. It was only in Namibia that I was absolutely unaware of the fact that I am Coloured.

The Namibians are doing something right! .... wonderfully right!. I have tried to work it out. What I know is that the average Namibian can speak 4 languages. I even found that Black Namibians, at Keetmanshoop, will often speak to each other only in Afrikaans. WOW!

It was wonderful living in Namibia. The Black people, in particular, seem to love you even more if you are a foreigner or ethnically different.

From that I deduce that a person who can speak the language of other ethnicities, has crossed a significant barrier, and has no sub-conscious emotional block about people who are different.

"Man is a great wall builder
the Berlin Wall
the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem
But the wall
Most impregnable
Has a moat
Flowing with fright
Around his heart ..."
Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali (SA)

[Justloadit]

The Namibians are doing something right! .... wonderfully right!.

The reason I believe is that the ruling party is only 1% point higher than the opposition at the polls, which ensures that they have to perform, or they will be out at the next election. This ensures that the politicians concentrate in solving the nations problems with out having to employ their friends and family. Their position is measured by their ability, and not by their connections.

[adrianh]

I also spent time in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

The Namibians are doing something right! .... wonderfully right!.

Yes, I fully agree. If I were to move anywhere in Africa it would be to Windhoek.

It is amazing how one doesn't notice race in Namibia. Here is a thought - could it be because the people have vey similar accents and speech. Whereas in South Africa the different accents are not only noticeable but also encouraged through the use of 11 languages - Food for thought.

[Dave A]

I thought this is a strong point to consider.

The reason I believe is that the ruling party is only 1% point higher than the opposition at the polls, which ensures that they have to perform, or they will be out at the next election. This ensures that the politicians concentrate in solving the nations problems with out having to employ their friends and family. Their position is measured by their ability, and not by their connections.

Not only do they have to be aware of their performance, there has to be a genuine underlying respect for democratic principles if they see the potential of not being the "ruling party" as real.

I actually think that's where a lot of the sh*t starts - when the majority party sees itself as the "ruling" party, not merely the party that represents most (but certainly not all) of the interests of the citizens of the country. Governments need to attend to the best interests of all its citizens, whether they support the majority party or not.

When you're sensitive to the fact that you might be the minority party one day, you tend to be a little more sensitive to how the majority party might treat you and set good precedents as to how that relationship should be conducted.

Knowing you could be on the receiving end of your own medicine one day certainly encourages wise decisions.

[ChrisNG53]

Racism is racism is racism

The reason I believe is that the ruling party is only 1% point higher than the opposition at the polls,

Oh no ... there are plenty perceived and other problems as regards government in Namibia. And their Home Affairs Department .... huh!!!!!

I am referring to the social fabric ... and the emotional intelligence of the general populace.

Ordinary people in Namibia seem to without the moat around the wall that is referred to in the poem by Mtshali. In SA we are much better at division than unity and acceptance of each other. And, as I have insisted in a previous post, it is not going to change as long as there has been no national reconciliation (including forgiveness) ... AND we have this climate of official embedded racism.

Having said that, I must admit that the Basters in Namibia really seem to want to be just left alone ... in the main. Ah well, it can never be perfect.

[desA]

Will SAmbabwe go the same way as Zimbabwe?

[ChrisNG53]

Racism is racism is racism

Will SAmbabwe go the same way as Zimbabwe?

I do not think so. There is one HUGE difference about SA in relation to Zim and the rest of traditional Africa. It is what may be termed the "Polokwane phenomenon".

You see, at Polokwana, something truly fantastic happened. The vote of ordinary branch members removed the most powerful person in the country.

This could never have happened in Zim. You did not even discuss Mugabe, except with those closest to you, and in hushed tones. If you did, you could disappear ... as many did .... CIO, Mugabe's Gestapo would deal with you .... Zapiro would have been a candidate for "mineshaft internment".

So, in SA, people are truly free ... and leaders are accountable.

This freedom was hard won. Many gave their lives for it. Some were even "braaid" whilst their killers drank in celebration. It is a freedom that must not be wasted.

That is why it is so important to use your voice ... as the Tunisians have at last .... and not hunker down in stoic defeatism .....