Racism in South Africa

So, I'm no politician. Nor am I highly educated. I'm not living in South Africa, although I have been there recently. I guess in a way I have no right to have an opinion, but I do. I am concerned for my people, my friends.

I feel really sad to see the things that have been happening in the last week:

*The murder of Eugene Terre'Blanche (although I in no way would ever support his racist views and actions...Terre'Blanche spent three years in prison for assaulting a black petrol station worker and the attempted murder of a black security guard in 1996). Terre'Blanche's home was called "humble", but compared to the way his black workers live & many many black South African's live, it is luxurious.

*the mental singing of "Kill the Boer" by the ANC's Youth Leader, Julius Malema. He continues to sing it.

*The reaction to Terre'Blanche's death outside the court...some black people supporting the killing, and white people singing "Die Stem" the old national anthem from the Apartheid era. Then white people getting so up in arms and throwing things at and trying to attack the black people for singing the current South African national anthem "nkosi sikelel' iafrika" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8605175.stm

* the amazing reaction of the far right, racist AWB's Secretary General Andre Visagie on a live TV debate...to me just showing his lack of respect and tolerance and pure blindness. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8610222.stm

Facts (in my eyes):

*Black people were the first on South African soil...therefore they have a certain right to feel like land was taken from them and it is our duty to try and make it fair.

* Black people were unfairly suppressed by apartheid for 46 years! This resulted in lack of education and the squatter camps, etc that we see today.

* South Africa has a history of white people killing black people, such as "the battle of the blood river" where around 3000 Zulu's were killed

Yet we still somehow feel we have a right to dominate black people...I think ignorantly and unknowingly. They are still our "maids" and "gardeners" under the belief that we are providing them with work. They wouldn't be able to do any other work, right? As they are not educated.

But somehow we don't see that as our problem.

But look at apartheid?? Maybe it is our problem?? We may not have been responsible for apartheid and we may have been really young when it ended, but our parents and grandparents were in some way, even if they just went along with it. Surely we need to take responsibility for that? Maybe if Black people had had the same chances and opportunities as us they'd be earning as much as us and living in decent conditions instead of living in squatter camps and travelling for hours to get to work at our houses, to practically bring our children up and clean our houses, only to get paid a tiny fraction of what we do.

Yet we feel it is our right to call Affirmative Action unfair. Why should black people get priority for jobs??? Perhaps because they had no opportunities for these jobs for 46 years.

We feel that having black people in our schools has lowered our children's level of education. But we don't see this as inevitable....a result of years of not allowing black people access to decent education. We don't see this as our problem?

We live in beautiful houses in lovely areas whilst the majority of black people live in squalor, often without electricity and clean running water, sharing their tiny, cold shack with their extended family all crammed into one room. We then wonder why we are targets of burglaries. Of course it's all black people who are committing these crimes. Who can blame them? (not that I'm condoning it, but if roles were reversed perhaps you'd feel similarly?)

I think it is unfair to blame all the violence on the black people. In the past, our white policemen let their dogs savage black people, simply for being black. A lot of South African's sleep with a gun or knife under their pillow and would kill a burglar in defence, but some would kill a burglar simply because he was on their property and call it defence. And maybe it makes sense, because there's the fear that if you don't kill first you will be killed, but I think some people just have this built-in racism and anger that makes them mad and feel they have a right to kill.

But it's all crazy and sad and I wish everyone could just take a step back and put things into perspective.

And I'm probably just as responsible because even though I'm not living in South Africa, I may be doing some things exactly the same if I was. I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Steven was in SA for the first time a few weeks ago and he felt he couldn't live there because it was still the majority of black people living in squalor and without cars, while the white people drove around and lived in nice houses and still made racist remarks about black people without even realising it. It is black people begging at traffic lights, not white. Things have changed since apartheid, but not as much as they could have. It is really sad.