I'm pretty sure this is along the lines of how that Jesus story started. Thoroughly decent bloke I'm sure, but not the son of god.
You don't have to look that far (geographically) to see an example of what could have happened if Mandella wasn't there to guide the nation through the transfer of power.
The chances of it NOT kicking-off spectacularly were so remote - the fact that it went as well as it did (albeit far from perfectly, and with a long way to go) almost meets the definition of miracle as far as I'm concerned.
I'd like to know more about de Klerk.
I'm not sure how I feel about the current positive discrimination in RSA - Part of me sees it as a necessary evil to redress the huge inequality within the country, but another part of me feels like they should be adopting a more principled approach. I guess one needs to be pragmatic, "just wait another 30 years" isn't gonna cut it when the vast majority of the population are on the receiving end.
Hands up here who remembers Apartheid-era SA?
I spent a bit of time there in the 1980s, whites only schools, trains, beaches...27 million people without representation, that kind of thing.
It took a while for me to fully understand the implications of it, in no small part thanks to a great man who refused to turn the tables on his former captors and instead set them on a better path.
Things aren't perfect, indeed Mandela himself would be first to admit so, but it's a heck of a lot better than either Apartheid or the aftermath of a bloodbath. I challenge any other politician of our age to do better.
[quote=PJM1974 said]Hands up here who remembers Apartheid-era SA?
Not directly in the same way as you, but I think plenty of us were well aware by the late 80s, at which point all boycotts were in full swing (I tend to think that cases like Zola Budd only helped to raise awareness).
As batfink puts it so well, it's quite incredible how smooth the transition has been. Sure it might still be a bit of a mess, but it's a hell of a lot less of a mess than it could be.
The leadership of Saffer SINCE Mandela shows how good he was for the country. I do find it rather ironic that now the whites are out of the way the ANC gets on with the important business of descriminating along sectarian/tribal lines. I wonder if they see the irony...
Still;this is about Mandela,so worth the hype? All things being relative in today's society with our expectations of our leaders and for his attempts to put aside his bitterness for the opp to try and reshape SA? Probably.( despite my natural Scottish adversion to public displays of emotion) A whiter than white example to all humankind? God no.
Fairly interesting....
http://thebackbencher.co.uk/3-things-you-didnt-want-to-know-about-nelson-mandela/
I'm not sure about it's truth/bias though.
I've seen some links on social media to articles about Nelson Mandela alleging that in his younger days he was involved in, or sanctioned acts of violence & terrorism through his involvement in various anti establishment movements.
Difficult to tell if any of them have any truth in them, if there is any evidence on which to base the allegations, whether they are true but simply ignored, or are complete fallacies.
Mandela was a terrorist. The MK (armed wing) was a terrorist organization. Mandela discussed this extensively in "Long Walk to Freedom". The MK aimed to demoralize the farmers that were facilitating the border squads and cross-border military units, and to demoralize white workers at strategic industries. It was not a terribly successful undertaking I'm military terms.
""One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter"
People who say this are lazy, ignorant bellends. Lazy because they haven't thought about what they are saying. Ignorant because they don't know what terrorism is. Bellends because it's a cliche.
But its true though. Just depends which side your on. The victor writes history.
I might be a "lazy ignorant bellend" but I try to have a civilized discusian before hurling random insults.