In South Africa we have one major, overriding problem and that is crime, especially brutally violent crime. Crime stems mostly from abject poverty and hopelessness, but because of our country's history, the Apartheid system, much of the violence is fueled by hate.
(Translation: Our water is already finished. Stop the farm murders otherwise our food will be finished too.)
This morning I wore black. But when I got dressed I had completely forgotten about today's protest. As I drove into town and saw the gatherings along the road I remembered and because I was actually wearing black I felt somehow co-opted into a group I'm not comfortable belonging to. Yesterday my boys, aged 10 and 13 years, mentioned something about wearing black to school. I told them they could not wear any protest symbols until they fully understood and supported the issue being protested themselves. I wonder how many of us (of all races) understand what is at stake when we take action. Which is not to say action should not be taken, but careful consideration should go into our actions.
(There are scenes like this countrywide today.)
I am a white South African. This is not my fault or something I should be ashamed of. It is happenstance of birth. I did not create Apartheid, and I certainly didn't support it. In fact I became a young adult during the final turbulent throes of the dying Apartheid system and was greatly affected by the issues I was confronted with, especially being on a University Campus for 3 years during that period. As a human I am deeply hurt by the suffering inflicted by members of my race on members of another race, but realistically, apart from the few people (in the scheme of things) who cross my path, who would know what is in my heart. It would be easy for another to judge me by the colour of my skin, or by the choice of the colour of the clothing I wear today, but they don't know me. And this I think is the crux of the problem, we don't know each other, and in general we make very little effort to understand the other.
The nature of crime in our country is absolutely horrific. The issue being highlighted today is that of farm murders. Mostly (but not exclusively) white farmers are being systematically murdered, often tortured too. Farmers and their families are isolated in their homes on the farms and are easier to target. This is not the reason they are being slaughtered though, but probably one of the reasons. We also can't ignore the elephant in the room ~ Apartheid. White people did oppress non-whites for a significant period of time. Farming and land is culturally important to black people, and they feel very strongly about the land that was stolen from them. Even in my daughter's high school class there was much passionate discussion about the topic. Also, sadly, in many cases non-white workers were treated poorly, and sometimes much worse than that. These issues are incendiary and add fuel to fire that has been built by poverty, political corruption and desperation.
We have a black government now and they are shits. This has nothing to do with the happenstance of their race. The white people who created Apartheid were shits too. But that people can be manipulated by corrupt governments and political rhetoric is yet another factor in the conflagration. I have an iota of additional understanding as my best friend is non-white and we are brutally honest with each other. It is ironic the little acts of racism she still experiences regularly infuriate me, but not her. It has become part of her experience of living in South Africa.
Today a very real problem is being addressed. If we lose our farmers, we lose our food. Farm takeovers by unskilled farmers lead to starvation. We need only look at our neighbour Zimbabwe, as a reminder of this. I would like to think the wider problem of all crime is on the minds of many today. Unfortunately the protests will also feature those white people who wish to return to the previous era. This will inflame racial tensions. Where will the balance of sentiment lead us?
(Here is one of our big problems. The support of and display of the OLD South African flag. A symbol of oppression by the majority of our population.)
There is no easy solution to this problem. We need to work together and get to know our neighbours. We need to have empathy for the situations of others. We need to control a corrupt government who misuses public funds that could be used to uplift the poor. We need to somehow stem the culture of greed, the culture of me and mine. I feel slightly uncomfortable about my accidental wardrobe choice. I don't want to be grouped and stereotyped by my clothing. Just as I do not want to be stereotyped by the pigmentation of my skin. Every. Single. Day. I believe we all can work from this starting point.
@onetree
I have used photos sourced from facebook and twitter to illustrate this issue.
My previous Black Monday post 7 months ago: https://steemit.com/politics/@onetree/rant-supreme-and-questions-black-monday-friday-march-if-only-we-could-harness-this-energy-for-something-that-would-make-a