Disturbed.

I should definately be focusing on my soon to be due paper on Proportional Representation but I can't do it right now. Sitting in class an hour ago I was suddenly overcome with sadness and frustration thinking about this blog I have started and the comments that have followed. I have to just say everything that I need to say to make me feel better.

This blog will mainly be a response to my comments from blog members A2Z and Jeff, who have been honest and have replied with I believe the best intentions they could have to my posts. But I need to reply with the best of my intentions and out of concern for this shitty world that we have to live in.

First of all, the main cause for my concern comes from the problem I have with how influential the internet is and how everyone and anyone can post their thoughts and views online. Whether these views are extremely left or right on the spectrum, they still have equal opportunity to be heard...this is a beautiful and a scary thing. While my fellow bloggers Jeff and A2Z im sure had innocent intentions and just wanted to inform me of what i'm going to face in South Africa im scared that those out there on the internet that are reading these posts may take their comments the wrong way. It was thoughts such as these that at one time were assumed to be innocent but turned into extreme. I'm sure when the Belguims went down to Rwanda and noticed a physical difference between the population they had no idea that these sketches that they made would lead into the mass genocide of 1994. What makes your views (jeff and a2z) any different then how the Germans felt towards the Jews? They too thought that Jews were born with a lower iq then that of other Germans and look where that led to....the death of 6 million innocent people, who didn't deserve to die over anyone else because of their race.

Please dont take this the wrong way a2z or Jeff, you may not feel that your words had racist undertones but I feel like you should recognize what others can do with them and how they could interpret them.

One of my comments was discussing how it's been proven that blacks are less intelligent then whites even in Canada because even after all of the opportunities that are laid at their feet they still committ themselves to gang violence and poverty. First of all, the surveys from which this information is coming from needs to be examined closer. There was a similar survey that my friend pointed me to trying to prove a similar point, it was later discovered by many scholars that these questions were skewed and twisted to prove the point true. So next time someone wants to present me with cold hard facts saying that blacks are generally less intelligent then whites then please point me to the article/website so I can see this for myself.

I think that there is too much emphasis placed on the faults of black leaders in Africa over the faults of white leaders as well. We all know that Ian Smith former leader of Zimbabwe was no saint and please don't get me wrong, there are black leaders in Africa as we speak that are responsible for the blatent murder of their people. What I'm saying is that attention needs to be given to all corrupt leaders, not just the black ones. People need to start investigating Western Imperialism to its depth and see all of the evil deeds that have sprung from the many middle aged white men that have nodded their head in approval to the initiation of many unspeakable evils. To list two we could talk about the slaughtering of thousands in Latin America in the 1970's (Argentina and Chile) of which the US supported, or we could discuss the lives that are forever ruined in the Middle East and North America from this terrible decision for a war that has killed thousands.

Please remember that before colonialization and mass immigration societies all over the world had their own system of government that worked for them beautifully. Africans had a way of life before the arrival of Europeans that worked and prospered...through the slave trade and colonialization the mentality has been born that because things weren't done the "western way" these people were simply un-intelligent savages. This is where your (Jeff and A2Z) mentality is stemming from.

I know that crime is terrible in South Africa, and when a family member gets raped or killed by a merciless black man it is IMPOSSIBLE not to hold a grudge and hate SA. I'm not saying that these terrible crimes are to be overlooked and understood, but im begging people like you two to please look past your experiences in South Africa and past this notion that blacks are inferior, because that mentality causes nothing more then a larger divide and more violence. There should be no sympathy for a rapist, but dont say that person committed the crime because they are black, the main population of Africa is black, what are the odds!?

I know that one of you is very religious, I too, at one time was a devout Christian (now....not so sure..go figure I had a problem with people in the church!). How can you say that your fellow man is by nature inferior compared to the white man because of the colour of his/her skin? What makes you white and right? Jesus would be appalled by those words of yours.

Lastly, I hope the comment saying that I must really love black because I kept my font that colour wasn't meant as I took it, because if so, the whole validity of your arguement was lost with childish words such as those.

So anyways, it's all out, I feel better. I never wanted to make waves and that was not my intention by writing this blog. But I felt so overwhelmed with greif today that I knew I had to say what I needed to say. Our conversations have been respectful so far, so please lets keep them this way, I hope you don't feel attacked....but please, take my words seriously. I can only hope that you will one day wake up and realize that you have been tainted....and I can only hope that I make it through my time in SA without agreeing with you two.

That being said, I do feel wrong writing about SA and not being there yet, so this will probably be my last post until I arrive in May....then perhaps we can have an even better debate.

Peace.

A Question of Legitimacy...

On December the 7th, 2007, former President Thabo Mbeki stepped down from Presidency of the ANC and Jacob Zuma took his place.

Jacob Zuma has been a part of the ANC since 1959, he served 10 years alongside Nelson Mandela on Robben Island and played a significant role in the process of negotiations between the National Party and the ANC (along with many other parties) from 1990 to 1994 when South Africa dismissed apartheid.

In June 1999 he was appointed Deputy President of South Africa and believed to be the future President of South Africa until 2005 when he was faced with charges of rape and fraud. Eventually, he was let go of both charges and carried on winning the position of Presidency of the ANC this past December. Given the strength of the ANC in National elections Jacob Zuma can be assumed to be the future President of South Africa in 2009.

Despite his past charges of rape and fraud Zuma continues to be supported by many, this support has allowed him to remain a credible political figure in the eyes of many South Africans which seems absolutely ludicrous to me...but who am I to judge? I don't live there yet, but I just can't help it.

As a self-proclaimed polygamist, it is incomprehensible to me how he continues to achieve undying support from many women's groups around the country. If the reports are true, Jacob Zuma has publicly stated that he didn't rape his friends 31 year old daughter because she was wearing a skirt and therefore, asked for it. He knew that she had AIDS, but he figured it was OK, because he showered directly after having sex with her. This boils my blood. A continent infested with AIDS is going to be looking to the future President of South Africa and thinking that it's alright to sleep with someone with AIDS, as long as they clean themselves after! If the President of SA said so, it must be true!

I agree with the words of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that "Politics have no place in the bedroom". A politicians personal life should not interfere with how she/he governs a country...but when comments and allegations like these are made, they are hard not to forget and hold against someones character. I can only hope that if/when this man takes Presidency in 2009 his governing decisions won't follow along the same lines as his personal life choices. The shoes of Nelson Mandela are large and indeed hard to fill, but if this man rules as he rules his own personal life, in my opinion, the shoes are not even worthy of being put on in the first place.

So what now?

Let's just let the raging idealist inside come out for a moment to pose a question...

If everyone hates SA, if everyone gives up on it....what happens next? Do you just leave it to rot?

If all the educated people of SA are fleeing to the Western world...how are things ever going to get better?

I understand that one would rather not risk their life by commiting themselves to a place where they don't even feel wanted...but I just so often think about the future of a place like this and wonder what's going to happen to it.

I've heard the stats, and I don't doubt or deny them...in fact, speaking to my boyfriend earlier I asked how his day went, "it was great" he said...."except for the part where I had to watch a gang of men violently beat an individual on the streets"...."did you call the police?" I replied.....he just laughed.

Ok, so I get it, SA is a mess with crime. But as long as SA continues the phenomenon often referred to as "brain drain" what will happen next? How will the place ever improve?....This is a genuine question and thought. I'm not in any way saying everyone should go risk their families and lives just to contribute to a society that doesn't even want them...but what do you honestly think is in store for a place like SA? Especially with a man like Jacob Zuma who is presumed to take presidency in 2009?

Europe wasn't always so democratic, people had to fight for their country and many often died...unfortunatley they couldn't just move somewhere safer.

So if we reach beyond the stats and reality of crime in SA and look at a long term perscription, what should be proposed?

Glossy Eyed Liberal

In a capitalist society, so many young people end up following the accepted norm of the cookie cutter lifestyle in the appropriate order...highschool, university, wedding, mortgage, kids...etc. Anything done outside of this order is often found confusing by our parents and their parents generations who have, for the most part, lived their lives out in this way and worked hard to give us the same.

Nowadays, so many of us in our mid-twenties are feeling the need to "travel"...whether it be a contiki tour in Europe, or volunteer work with some sort of organization in Latin America. Either way, we are finding a way to do it, to just go somewhere. This has almost become a necessary thing to do before settling into the above norm of life.

So many (my family especially) can't understand why in the world a young adult who has been seemingly given so much opportunity and is so privledged would want to purposely put themselves in danger and leave a country that so many people are fighting to get into. I can't say I don't see their point because I do. My Canadian citizenship is something I will never give up and I feel blessed to have it. For us, the world is an open door and with some money we can instantly become globetrotters entering and leaving almost any country that we wish. For others, this is not the case, their citizenship offers them little more then a hopeful trip within their borders. I realize all of this and am thankful everyday for being so lucky to have the opportunities that I do. Honestly, my reasons for wanting more are still mostly unknown...when asked why I want to trade a secure life here in Canada for one in a crime ridden city like Johannesburg I don't really have an answer. I just want something different, something raw and something real. I'm not stupid, I realize Johannesburg is dangerous and scary for a 24 year old 'glossy eyed liberal' like myself, but I also know that I won't push my limits, and I will be safe. My South African boyfriend is often amused by my intense idealism and continually shakes his head as I continue to put faith in a world that, in reality is rotting.

The point of this is that I realize the dangers of a city like Johannesburg, I realize the possible potentials and consequences that could be in store for me, but I am confident that everything will be ok. I'm not just another liberal idealist running over to Africa to try and save the continent...I just want to live my life, do something different and feel alive. At the moment I can't do that here in Canada, living my life and following the path of security and comfort. I'm not ready for my 50 year mortgage and office job. I want to experience the raw truth of life outside of the Western world. A year from now I could be writing from SA cursing the country, or maybe I'll be content, God knows...I just want to see it all for myself and offer up a "Canadian" point of view of the country. For a change, I'm going to start off positive, instead of smothering myself with negative thoughts and images of the country, I'm going to give it the chance that no one wants to.