This is a response to, Contrarian and his article, Commentary from Another White AfricanThe article got a lot of people's backs up, including mine. It begs some questions and a response.
I'm white. I'm not ashamed of myself or my white skin. I am not a bad person. I have never spoken down to a person simply because they are of another race, like Contrarian claims. Maybe that's the one thing we have in common. However, not all/most whites are racists as Contrarian would have one believe either. I am a white person, who was born in Southern Africa and have lived here all my life. When Rhodesia became independent, in 1980, I was 8 years old. I grew up in Zimbabwe, and don't think of myself as a "Rhodie" as many older people born in Rhodesia/Zim do. I was a Zimbwean, and a part of my emotional heart remains a Zimbabwean. I left Zim when I was 18, in 1990, the year Nelson Mandela was freed. South Africa to me, seemed a more exciting and vibrant country than the "backwaters" of Zimbabwe. I say that with no disrespect towards the country of my birth, but South Africa was where it was "all happening", as far as my young adult mind was concerned back then and I wanted more "adventure" than I thought Zimbabwe was offering me. I grew up, singing "Ishe Komberera Africa" as my national anthem and rememeber no other, (the Shona version of Nkosi Sekelel' i Africa). I was a kid, I went to a multi racial shool, I grew up in a multi racial neigbhourhood, in a new Zimbabwe that was full of hopes and dreams. Much like the white youth of today, who have their own hopes and dreams and really don't want to be held hostage to the "sins of the past". Like it or not though, I am under no illusions, that "white Africans", especially the youth, will often be held hostage to the" sins of the past", it's something we have to live with in Africa, although, is it possible to NOT like that, without being labelled racist? Are we not allowed our own opinions without too often being labelled racist?
I work in a "company" that has grown much over the last 10 years or so, when I started there 15 years ago, I would estimate that about 70% of the employees on the floor were white, now probably 80% are blacks, the remaining 20% are Indians, coloureds and whites. If I was racist, I would have left a long time ago. I enjoy the work I do, it makes no difference to me the skin colour of the people I work with. I don't earn an above average salary, my husband is not offically employed, he manages to make just enough to help us at the very least put a roof over our heads - do I blame the ANC for that? No. No one owes me anything, especially not for the colour of my skin and I have no qualms about that. Do I owe blacks because I was simply a beneficiary of a system that benefitted whites more than blacks? I did not ask to be a beneficiary of that system. What would I owe? How much? I don't necesarrily disagree with AA/BEE, but it also does seem like many govt depts post 1994 were in a rush to get rid of experienced white employees who could have made valuable contributions towards training previously disadvantaged youngsters, disadvantaged youngsters wanting to make a difference to their country (not the ones interested only in inflating their bank balances as much as possible).
To start off an article with "It’s no wonder whites in South Africa are still a bunch of cornered savages, in their entire history they could do FUCKALL without some government doing their thinking for them", shows one's utter lack of integrity. The writer may not believe he is racist, and he may well not be, but he is certainly VERY judgemental and really no better than the racist to the core white South African youth he dislikes so much. Not to mention using the broad term "whites". All whites? A few, many, most? It's relative though, because the writer is speaking only from his own experience, in that he has met only mostly racist white South African (Afrikaner?) youths. How many white youths EXACTLY has he met? 20, 30, 40, 50, 100? Maybe 200 or 500? How many whites have emigrated? Half a million? Has he met ALL those whites who have emigrated? Does that mean to say that the writer can categorically state that most of the youths who have emigrated are racist? Has the writer met ALL of the four milllion or so remaining whites in South Arica to personally know that most of them are still a bunch of cornered savages? Generalisations.
Yes it contains elements of truth towards certain white attitude, which I have no beef with. I won't claim that apartheid is not responsible for many of the country's ills today, but it's the generalisations that are irritating, for example, to claim "I can tell you from personal experience, most white Afrikaners youths are racist to the core." Just because most of the white Afrikaner youth the writer HAS met personally & perceived to be racist to the core, does not mean most are, after all the writer cannot claim to have met every single living Afrikans youth, he will have only met a fraction of them. Maybe it's a case of birds of a feather flock together? Every single white (Afrikaner) youth has a job? Come off it. Again, every single white youth, that the writer has only PERSONALLY met. There are give or take half a million white people in SA living below the poverty line and in informal settlements - there will certainly be a fair number of young whites among them without jobs and not all of them will be "non -Afrikans". I am not saying whites don't deserve to be poor simply because they are white, but then the writer is making it sound like every white South African (Afrikaner or not?) has a life of ease and riches in South Africa is nonsense. I LIVE in South Africa, and like I know not all black people are thieving murderous criminals, I also know that there are many white people out there who are not racists with a deep fear of blacks. Like I know that not every black person is a corrupt politician/civil servant, living a life of total extravagance, not every white person lives in the leafy suburbs, surrounded by high rise walls, guarded by private securtiy.
Yes, of course apartheid caused many injustices towards the blacks of SA, I won't deny that, and nor will most of the whites I know and speak to, and even though it might sound hollow to some, on the other hand, there are many many young whites who had nothing to do with apartheid, yes, their parents and grandparents did, which makes them beneficiaries of apartheid. Which is why AA/BEE are in place. What are they to do though? Be guilty for the sins of the past for the rest of their lives? If they don't feel guilty, they are racists, even just for the simple emotion of not feeling personally responsible for having caused apartheid and even if they say "Okay, I am truly sorry for the apartheid my ancestors were responsible for, that caused misery/injustice towards millions of black South Africans, and I, as a white youth have been a beneficiary of, please forgive me/us?" How many blacks are going to say "Pfft, empty words, they just have a guilt complex, they don't mean it" and how many blacks are going to say, "Yes we forgive you, we may not forget, but we are all South Africans, and need to work together for a better country."
What must those young whites do? Give up their every material possesion, because after all, they benefitted from apartheid. Turn their backs on their families, because their elders and dead ancestors were instrumental in starting apartheid, and keeping it propped up? It's a fine line. Maybe every non - Khoisan person should ask for forgiveness, after all, the Khoisan are the original inhabitants of South Africa. Like I say, it's a fine line, especially when you go around throwing accusations at one particular group and make it sound like you are one of the few holier than thou saints in your group.
However, we are being too simplistic if we try and simply say we are not different. Yes, we are human, we have hearts that pump our red blood around our bodies but in a country like South Africa, our different races often mean we have different religions, traditions, beliefs and backgrounds, but the important thing is that people need to learn not to look down on others because of their different beliefs etc and not make others feel inferior because of their beliefs.
I certainly don't believe in forgetting that apartheid happened, because I believe that history is important, - wether we like it or not, history is a part of us, the bad and the good. On the other hand, we also have to move forward and not dwell over the past obssesively and It's all races that have to do that, not black or white exclusively.
At the end of the day, we are all South Africans, and like it or not, every law abiding South African regardless of race, deserves the chance at a better future, wether you perceive them to be racist or not. How easy it must be, from abroad, for a peson to think he knows what is happening on the ground IN this country, when they are not living here on a day to day basis, and throw around hot headed accusations.
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