WHITEHORSE, Yukon, Dec 9, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Nelson Mandela was no saint. For some, the exposés of his life accompanying his passing have revealed facts that undermine his legacy.
Certainly, his involvement in the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) must seem at odds with his Nobel Peace Prize. But greatness is not a measure of altruism; it is a measure of influence, and Mandela had a profound effect on South Africa.
Whatever black marks history may assign to his person cannot taint what he represents to South Africans: the great unifier who gave human form to a national vision that black and white alike could embrace.
Unfortunately, South Africa today is not the fulfillment of that vision.
Economically, the country’s GDP is hurting and its unemployment rate sits at about 25 per cent. Income is still slanted towards whites, even though black incomes have increased substantially and affirmative action laws favour blacks in the labour market. Whites may be better off overall, but lower class whites are among the most marginalized groups in the country. Semi-skilled white workers have little chance of finding a job when there are so many unemployed black people in the country. While the history of South Africa’s affirmative action laws is obvious, it is the only country with such laws geared towards the majority instead of minorities. Poor blacks may still be at the bottom, but poor whites have no avenues to move up.
The country’s economic struggles are compounded by crime. South Africa is one of the most violent countries in the world. According the United Nations, there were over 15,000 homicides in South Africa last year. That works out to about 45 murders a day.
Homicide statistics pale in comparison to rape numbers. Rape is chronically underreported, and the South African Police Service is chronically inept at arresting perpetrators, so statistics only tell a partial story, albeit a horrifying one. In an anonymous survey last year, one in four South African males admitted to committing rape. In another survey, a quarter of women admitted to having been raped. In addition, gang rape and child rape have spiked in recent years. Horrendous stories of eight-month-old babies being raped are not uncommon, and one think tank suggests the rise is partly attributable to the myth that sex with a virgin will cure HIV – a myth that has gained traction in the country with the highest number of HIV-positive citizens in the world.
The country is literally killing itself, and presiding over its demise is bombastic president Jacob Zuma. Zuma is a caricature of a world leader. He has stood trial for rape, commenting in that trial that he “took a shower” after sex to safeguard against HIV. He is also an unabashed black nationalist and has been recorded singing the black power anthem “Shoot the Boer” at an ANC convention. He is not building Mandela’s “society in which people will cease thinking in terms of colour.” He is counteracting it.
South Africa needs a turnaround. The ANC’s hold on the country is strong, although its failure to reign in crime, HIV, and poverty is generating restlessness. Still, it is the Party of Mandela – a claim that its main domestic challenger, the mostly white Democratic Alliance (DA) will have trouble out-doing. Unless the DA can market itself as a viable alternative to black voters in the next election, or unless a new leader of the ANC reclaims Mandela’s vision, not just his name, don’t count on South Africa’s political landscape changing much.
For South Africans, the country’s maladies amount to the worst kind of tragedy – the forgotten kind. After the great catharsis of Mandela’s election, the international community largely neglected South Africa. Few South African stories make the international wires, partly because there are simply too many tragedies to report, and partly because no one’s quite ready to admit that post-apartheid South Africa hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Apartheid needed to end, but it mattered a great deal what happened after. Mandela dedicated his single term to reconciliation between whites and blacks, yet given his age, he retired before its achievement, and the ANC has largely undone his progress.
Reconciliation doesn’t live in South Africa anymore, but Mandela’s image is a constant reminder of its promise. As long as his picture hangs in classrooms and on signposts, there is reason to remain optimistic that the vision of what South Africa could be will, one day, be realized.
Troy Media columnist Yule Schmidt holds a B.A. in History from Stanford University and an M.A. in History from McGill University.
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The media here in the US tells us every day, in a myriad of ways that it is ok for whites to be abused, victimized and denied our rights. South Africa is merely a model, a test incubator for what the socialists and ethnomasochists want in the future.
Cowardly, traitorous Whites have sold your legacy down the river.
It is time to wake up people.