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Image courtesy of michael.berry.321's Flickr page - Nelson Mandela Pixlr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93298912@N02/8481523207/in/photolist-dVu2mK-fs4iak-iaQHiZ-6ZXQjz-2VqRzo-i7dTzH-pmDL7d-dpBdw-i7RhJA-6g8GP6-8ii4Gp-22owz7Z-akDMEQ-akB2cz-gTzoo-rESQxL-fs4hTX-9hENyp-i7Rv3c-fs1s3E-dWhJCp-frL1T6-frL8xt-fDBEWm-frL7sn-fsiGxo-jeYSfu-i8Vtva-4A1g5e-fs1jmW-qgSKee-fs4iSz-iaYGKt-8g9tCb-fsiCJ3-fs4dcv-iaYjnq-fs1khN-eVBKup-fsiyRQ-iaryNv-85q4J5-8gi8hf-rDhzNU-i8UTBa-biPTKk-dZewLh-biP4gX-fsiEPq-fs1p8h
Today is Mandela Day. Obviously, this honors former South Africa president and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.
Today would have been the 104th birthday of Nelson Mandela, although he died nine years ago.
Still, his birthday, and his accomplishments, are still celebrated by people all over South Africa and, indeed, around the world.
Mandela famously went to prison for 27 years for fighting against the apartheid system then in place in South Africa, which was a legalized form of racism and oppression by the white minority government, and supported by a majority of whites until the very end, mostly because they feared retaliation. Mandela, however, allayed those fears and gave the whites, and especially the Afrikaners in South Africa, assurances that they would continue to enjoy a high standard of living.
Interestingly, some younger people are beginning to question Mandela, and feel that he might have given away too much to whites by essentially retaining most of their privileges and their high standard of living, at the expense of the majority of blacks, who still live mostly in poverty in the country.
In fact, a growing number of South Africans feel that white males still dominate the nation economically, and that Mandela and the other leaders focused too exclusively on attaining political power, and not enough on gaining economic power. In this way, they feel that the situation has prevented them from getting a serious toe hold on economic opportunities, and that equality is still a far ways off, as whites retain a far higher standard of living. CBS News recently reported on the issue, and got this telling quote from Johannesburg resident Jabu Simelane:
"White people hold the power in South Africa. It's still white male-dominant. The economy is still run by white people."
Interesting stuff.
Take a look at the entire article (see link below) for this sea change in terms of the way that Mandela is regarded. Truly fascinating.
Many say South Africa "still white male-dominant," and they blame Nelson Mandela by CBS News. July 18, 2018:
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