Through the ages of man’s conflict, fire has been used to destroy the buildings and materials of the enemy. Two of the driving forces of conflict is to rape and steal. The Leaders and Generals may couch it in “civilized terms” but for the common soldier often forced into armies, raping and stealing were the primary benefits.
Through the passage of time, very little has changed, until Adolf Hitler. When his dreams of world domination came crashing down, his megalomania despaired. The “corporal” issued orders such as “do not retreat, fight to the last man” on the Eastern Front against Russia. This horrified his generals, because in modern warfare, mobility of troops is essential. Hitler condemned his troops to death. This played right into the hands of the Soviet Armies. I know General Model refused to follow the instructions of Hitler. He was fired several times but kept being reinstated as General as he was one of the few generals who was capable of dealing with the Soviet Armies. Hitler preferred the entire destruction of Germany if they could not deliver on his lofty goals.
This is the mentality of the suicide victim. Their own mental pain and anguish override all other considerations. This happens far too often in this country. Then there is another terrible trauma that so many policemen suffer from; they commit suicide but too many times they first kill their girlfriends or wives and children. I cannot imagine such torment, that you would want to kill your own loved ones first. I always wish that if they would only kill themselves first, and then kill their families (I know, I know). There are men who fall into despair and feel that they cannot provide for their family, so they must kill them first before they kill themselves.
South African Society is severely traumatised.
The fruits of the liberation struggle are being borne by the suffering masses. Black communities have struggled and suffered. Their leaders make promise after promise, mostly always empty. So they are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Another expression that can relate: “you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t”.
In a previous article I spoke about some of this when my mother in law got robbed. How the youth of this country are filled with hatred and self-loathing. When there is a protest against poor service delivery, the school, the clinic, the police station, houses in their communities are burned down. Whenever they protest, they destroy their own facilities.
One of my colleagues is a Zulu. He and his wife are highly intelligent people. (I am not being patronising, please note those of you who are racially sensitive). He cannot understand it. He spoke to one of the youngsters from a community who had just burned down their own clinic. He said to the teenager, “I know you bring your granny here to get her weekly medication, what are you now going to do to help her get her medicine?” The youngster became extremely angry and could not really answer the question posed.
Heatedly the youngster then observed the following:
1 Yes, there is corruption and it is everywhere
2 those we trusted have betrayed us for big fat bribes.
3 They buy the BMW and a house in another area, then they disappear and we never see them again
4 Other leaders in the community come and say, “yes, I know what to do, vote for me and things will change”, they vote for the new leader and they get elected.
5 But then the new leader also gets bribed and does the same thing. If they do not accept the bribe, they will be killed.
Disillusionment has set in; the poor no longer believes in the lies of the politicians or community leaders. They have no hope, there is nowhere for them to turn.
The propaganda of the current age, makes all the electorate feel like victims, powerless and worthless. They are taught to believe in the handout, for example, the free blanket, free t-shirt, free KFC, free housing, free pensions, free electricity and not least education. Now the new thing is free land, take it!
No one is given skills on how to work, how to have self-respect (comes through work), and how to have a collective vision.
History moves in cycles, never changing patterns. Even in this very country.
The Afrikaner was despised by the British military overlords. The Boer was dirty, did not care for their children, were ignorant, and were savages with just a thin white veneer. Probably this is what justified the vile treatment of women and children in the concentration camps by the British military. These practises and contemptuous attitudes could have destroyed the Afrikaner nation but it did not.
The Afrikaner fought against the attempts to destroy their language and culture by Anglicisation to English. They built their own schools, their own churches, and they learned to work hard on their farms. Family structures were strong and respect for parents was expected. They had only themselves to depend upon. Key to their cause was their strong Christian faith. Of course they were not perfect and many of their flaws have created great racial stresses in our society.
Now the challenge faced in many Black communities is to combat self-hatred and low self-esteem. The Mining Industry used migrant labour and destroyed the family structure in so many communities. They will have to learn not to worry about the patronising attitude from so many whites. They will have to be strong. Many of the youth are atheist and have no core to base their lives upon. Their struggle has been monumental and will continue to be monumental.
Some examples of what white bias they face:
1 if you are poor and ignorant, that is expected; it is the norm.
2 Only fairly recently did the Afrikaner church concede that the Black man has a soul.
3 If you get into university, a more deserving white kid has been kept out (it does not help when for example the University of Cape Town admits white kids into medicine with a school aggregate exceeding 90%, whereas the black kid must get over 70% due to the township schools being so poor in their standards. Many universities practise this same policy)
4 if you qualify and get a good job, then that is affirmative action and the company is complying with quotas forced upon it. You don’t deserve the job and you only got it because you are black
5 if you are a talented sportsperson and get selected nationally, then it is obvious you were selected to fill a racial quota
6 if the national soccer team does poorly, then it is what comes from selecting teams with just black players
7 if the national rugby team does poorly, it is the fault of the black players
8 if the national rugby team does well, then it is expected and what a great team!
9 For centuries, the white Westerner has believed in their superiority because of their technological advances.
So how is this trauma to be overcome? I believe generations will have to pass. Yet the future cannot be expected to heal what is not being addressed now. Politicians feed themselves first, and maybe, hopefully drop a few crumbs for the poor. If the present problems are not addressed now, the future harvest will be a bitter one.
Aleksandr Solzenitzhen, a philosopher/writer said that the greatest reason for Marxism destroying so many tens of millions was because they did not believe in God anymore. Political expediency was the most important criteria and the individual was to conform.
Mandela was the face of South Africa, he caused a great deal of unity when in office.
Who can be the next face? Who will be the next leader who will give hope to the poor?