The Global Community Tribunal

Justice for the People by the People

Nov 11 2007

Racism is as racism does

Posted by: admin in General

Let’s talk about racism in South Africa.

I read the posting of Ryland Fisher which I greatly appreciated.

He makes the following interesting statement: “The difference between me and the people who are not prepared to admit to their racism is that I will probably overcome my racism at some point in my life. The people who are not prepared to admit their racism will probably remain racists until the day they die.” This surely is as true of racism as of all other behavioral problems.

The problem I however have is that racism is as institutionalized today as it was during apartheid. There are only two differences. Under apartheid whites benefited and in the New South Africa blacks benefit. The other difference is in the way the two groups react to racial discrimination: Blacks ‘struggled’. Whites ‘trek’ (migrate). Whites ‘trekked’ out of Europe as a result of the Reformation etc. They ‘trekked’ north, away from British oppression and the Xhosa threat in the Eastern Cape during the Great Trek. Now a million or more have already ‘trekked’ due to institutionalized racism and crime. What was attributed to a ‘miracle’ was nothing of that kind. A bloodbath was simply averted because, on the one hand the ‘hate factor’ amongst the general black population was not yet charged high enough and, on the other hand, whites started packing.

South Africa is a racist country and neither white nor black is innocent. Apartheid, as I experienced it, started off as a honest and bona fide effort to create a racial solution for South Africa. Vested interests rendered it evil. The same applies today. The new, democratic South Africa was born from a yearning to establish a just society. Vested interests have again taken over and will ensure that racism stays a part of this country’s make up.

When will it end? I do not think that it will end before this country has completed the same pilgrimage that Zimbabwe has now almost completed. With the venom and the evil of racism South Africa will destroy itself and from the ashes that remain a racist free society may emerge. It is only sad that (as in Zimbabwe) no whites will be left to experience it.

J.C.Grobler.

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