We all knew this day was coming, and Heaven (if you believe in one) welcomed another angel today when Nelson Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was 95 years old. Tonight I'm going to do something different. Instead of telling you how great he was like everyone else, I'll give you a few thoughts about him that no one else is saying.
There are people out there who say he was a Marxist. They will also tell you he was a terrorist. While all of this is technically true, I don't hold it against him one bit.
Mandela protested against white supremacist policies for what seems like his entire adult life. At first he fought apartheid non-violently, and when those protests didn't work (read about the Sharpeville Massacre) he fought back in a way that I can appreciate. MK, an abbreviation for a name that translates to "Spear of the Nation", was formed to be the armed wing of the African National Congress, and they lauched guerilla attacks on government installations one year later. From that point forward, the fight against apartheid was on.
I completely understand if what Mandela did makes him a Communist and a terrorist in some people's eyes. But he fought an injustice that was in some ways nearly as horrible as what the Nazis did to Jews, gays, and anyone else they saw as less than them. Apartheid wasn't just about racism. It was some seriously fucked up shit you should take a few minutes to read about to understand why Nelson Mandela and his fight against it is such a big deal.
I live by the rule, "By any means necessary". Even if you don't agree with my methods, at least appreciate the end result. That is why I do not blame Mandela one bit for what he did or how he did it. Get the job done. That is all that matters.
If someone stripped me of my citizenship, attempted to move me from my homeland, and force me to carry ID to venture into white-owned land, I'd be fighting mad. Whoops! I forgot that has already happend to me and my family members.
Consider the following:
- I have to carry my birth certificate with me if I ever visit Arizona.
- Some of my ancestors live on the Mexican side of the border due to Mexican Repatriation that occurred in Texas just before World War II. Legally, they could be American citizens and have every right to be here just like noted anchor babies Michelle Malkin and Mitt Romney.
So when I see people on the right calling Nelson Mandela a Communist and a terrorist tonight, I have every right to call them the American version of the Nationalists because deep down they are no different than the white minority that made living in South Africa a living hell for people of color for half a century.
That is why we have to continue that fight here in America. It is the right thing to do.
3 comments:
Great, great piece, RJ. He's no different than George Washington.
Thanks. I've been on fire lately. :-)
What Zeb said. The reaction from some of the right has had me a bit fired up. I took it out on my facebook feed.
Reagan was terrible on this and history proved him wrong. It was precisely the sanctions by the US that said to the world "not cool, people."
After that, divestment snowballed. The UMaine system was one of (or the?) first colleges to divest in South Africa.
This was my first personal investment I ever took in politics, writing letters and such.
Well said, indeed.
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