Quote:
Originally Posted by kitchkinet
so from what I've seen and read, it seems like SA is still pretty heavily divided along racial lines. I assume you're white (correct me if I'm wrong). If that is so then how do you feel about the black people who make up the majority of your country but still probably don't enjoy as much priviledge as a white person? What were your views on apartheid while it was going on? Who told all the white kids in Johannesburg to dress up like the lived in America in the 80s? We don't do that anymore, we learned better the first time.
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Hi Kitchkinet
You are correct, I am white.
It is difficult to even begin because we & our forefathers did deplorable things to the black person. Our government declared apartheid which basically labelled their actions & brought attention to our own bad judgement, yet rascism exists all over the world, but this is not an excuse.
The demographics of the country is that we have approximately 50 million citizens & the ratio between black & white is approximately 20 to 1.
SA is still divided along racial lines to a certain extent because mostly of large cultural differences, but I have a few black friends, but they are friends because of common ground, not to make my conscience feel better with window dressing.
As a child, my exposure to black folk was indifferrnce. I have never had political affiliations & did not have any as a child. At the age of 17, I was conscripted into our military forces for a compulsary tour of duty for 2 years. At the time our government was fighting Cuban sponsored soldiers in South West Africa, a war we should never have had. I lost many friends too during this time. I was very highly trained & ended up in that war for over 5 years of my life. I was called up annually for 15 years thereafter to fight in the military. At the end of my military days (which I hated) I ended up patrolling the black townships during the time when the ANC was challenging the government & eventually won the battle & took control of the government.
It was during this time that I got to know the herb. We were usually mostly stoned when we were fighting, it was a way to keep ones sanity during a terrible time. I am not proud that I killed many people in the name of the military on orders. I was also wounded twice during this time during skirmishes. Suffice to say, I would probably have been killed now that I am more aware f the situation if I was born black. I would have been an activist & would have been right next to Mr Mandela if this were the case. I was simply ignorant. Apartheid was a disgusting setup & damaged the country badly because there is a lost generation of black people because they were so poorly educated in order to ensure that black people did not go out & accomplish anything meaningfull in their lives. Fortunately this has changed & I feel positive about the future. My children attend the same school as their black counterparts & have made some very good friends who are black, one in particular is a lovely child who hails from the States near Oshkosh. I have become good friends with her father & we correspond regularly & spend time together when he is in SA.
My sister is married to a good man who happens to be coloured, we believe in building the future because we cannot change the terrible past. Luckily, the majority of black people just want to provide for their families & are willing to be part of the reparation process.
Crime, huge problem because it is usually violent involving AK47's. The criminals have no regard for human life, quite scary. If there is interest, I can describe typical scenarios. I have been the victim of crime many times, but you become very aware of your surroundings as part of second nature. If anyboby is interested, I would be quite happy to relate my own experiences. I would also enjoy some insight about life generally in the States.
Cheers T