Friday, August 31, 2018

The Anti-Apartheid Movement


Good liberals from back in the day opposed apartheid in South Africa and prayed for its overthrow through peaceful, non-violent means. (Radicals are a different story.)

Fast forward to 2018. South Africa's economy isn't looking too well, and the black-majority government wants to steal land from the whites and give it to the blacks. A lot of liberals think this is perfectly O.K., you know, "karma, man."

I am against communism, which is what this is, in a nutshell.

It seems to me that nowadays, the only accepted and widespread form of racism evident is anti-white racism, encountered from blacks and from the media at large. The slightest incident, the tiniest misjudgement on the part of a white person results in nationwide media coverage, humiliation and oftentimes, getting terminated from one's job. Whites get no protection. Meanwhile, the laws and public opinion favor blacks. And the situation over in Africa, where white people are just made victim and then told, "Oh well, historical injustices coming due," is atrocious.

All of this explains to a large degree Trump's successful playing of the Race card. Chickens coming home to roost. Of course whites feel like they are encircled by whooping Indians and outnumbered, and the cavalry ain't coming. That's why whites have gone crazy in some respects.

Yes, whites have gone crazy. There, I said it, so the real white racists are already rolling their eyes and hovering over the escape button to banish my thoughts. Oh, no! Liberal trap!

I think that there is a middle-ground where fairness and equality can come together. Yes, there were grievous historical wrongs visited upon the black ancestors of long ago. For that reason, we should not venerate the Confederacy or anyone associated primarily with the defense of slavery. Take down those monuments, rename those buildings and streets. It is a minor concession, a matter of manners and common sense. One should not uphold sinners. We exclude the Founding Fathers from this list because they founded the country and operated at a time when opposition to slavery had not taken hold of the country's imagination. They are excused because they operated in greater ignorance than those that came after. They are excused because their importance to the country in other respects outweighs their sin. With the Confederate Generals, politicians and so on, pull down the monuments already. In truth, it should have been done long ago. They never should have been raised in the first place. The Confederacy was a stupid idea that brought ruin to the South, and the South would have been a lot better off without it. The North was willing to compensate the South for its slaves and ship them back to Africa, you know. Think about all the money that was instead wasted on a bloody war, and for what? What did the South gain out of the deal, except exercising its foolish pride? Nothing but beautiful, gallant corpses.

In matters of history and society, I would make concessions. All should have equal rights under the law. Agents of the law must treat all with equality and be colorblind. If a business harms a person of color, it too must be held accountable. I do not sympathize with anyone who harms another based upon something so trivial as skin color. Most everyone agrees with these things in this day and age. Now, for these beliefs, I consider myself not to be racist, and yet there are many who would argue I am racist, because I do not bend over backwards and accuse my own skin and offer to pay amends in cold hard cash for the victims of my great-great-grandfathers. I am racist because I don't reject myself? Well, then, that kind of attitude results in a situation where there are a lot of racists. It is possible to manufacture racists, where none were present before.

In the present day, I do not believe that a white man, born long after the last slave died, owes anything to a black man. The sins of the grandfather are not to be visited upon the grandson. That is not justice, but racism, pure and simple, and will be perceived as such, correctly. Thus, I say no to affirmative action, and no to redistribution of property. Thou shalt not steal.

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