tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post5621248856252963147..comments2024-03-28T00:47:44.474-07:00Comments on Diary of a Frustrated Brotha: We Possibly Overrated MandelaDiary of a Frustrated Brothahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01171143622302626870noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-24474637875452790782014-04-23T21:34:03.757-07:002014-04-23T21:34:03.757-07:00You are not South African. You may never understan...You are not South African. You may never understand. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-35488589844498041182013-12-31T01:49:22.247-08:002013-12-31T01:49:22.247-08:00I think Mandela's greatness has less to do wit...I think Mandela's greatness has less to do with 'forgiving' the whites, but with the influence he had on ordinary South Africans to fight apartheid. I once had a chat with a south African tour guide who shared his experiences as an anti-apartheid activist in his youth and adulthood. According to him, he never knew Mandela and his colleagues personally, neither had he ever seen even a photo of him. All he knew was the name and that was inspiration enough to him and other young people to resist apartheid. He demonstrated to the ordinary south African that they could fight for their freedom. That is what made him great!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-43402899054575523592013-12-24T01:12:51.232-08:002013-12-24T01:12:51.232-08:00Frustrated Brotha.
Courageous piece indeed.
Nels...Frustrated Brotha.<br /><br />Courageous piece indeed. <br />Nelson Mandela is adored for the things that all humans are supposed to uphold on a daily basis such as forgiveness and not being overly egoistic. He is adored not because he spent 27 years in jail, but because besides undergoing so much - he chose to forgive. That is not what the likes of comrade BOB down in ZIM would have done. The problem with most of the leaders that championed the fight for freedom is that they thought they were our little 'gods' that needed to be worshiped. Why shouldn't we after all they brought us freedom! But Nelson chose a different path, forgiveness, reconciliation etc. <br /><br />In Nelson's speech in court before sentencing in 1964, he chose these word; "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."<br /><br />That tells us that reconciliation and working together was an ideal he propagated way before his release from Jail and Being 72years at the time of his release did not take away his will power to fight. How old is Mugabe now and how much fight is in him? <br /><br />At the time he stepped down as president I remember when i heard the news I was shocked! after all the years in jail, the least we could have expected him was to complete his mandatory two terms. Alas he stepped away while he was still a hero. This is what put him apart.<br /><br />Flaws, Nelson had too. Plenty of them like all humans. It is even highly rumoured that he was a womaniser and cheated on his first wife Evelyn many times with all the young girls he constantly came into contact in the struggle programs until finally marrying Winnie a few months after divorcing Evelyn. But those flaws do not outweigh his great side. <br /><br />Nice write up and nice blog site. Will visit it more!patricenambayohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13901413793428483476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-27630745930621166482013-12-18T22:58:29.743-08:002013-12-18T22:58:29.743-08:00Frustrated Brother, this is an interesting piece. ...Frustrated Brother, this is an interesting piece. While there are many cases of people mellowing with age there are also a number of instances of some leaders' sense of vengeance increasing with age. Talk of Hugo Chavez who became increasingly more militant as he grew older, our very own president whose desire to fix his opponents has not abated in the slightest and even the same Kaunda who worked towards entrenching power in his own hands as he grew older.<br /><br />I suppose only Mandela would know the real reason behind his actions. I agree with you that he has been overrated not because he flagrantly sought it but due to the deep-seated need for heroes in our society. Our collective conscious in its quest to create super-man out of Mandela conveniently glosses over those aspects that remind us that he was human after-all and magnifies those that made him standout. Mandela was not in prison because he wanted to or as part of research for a novel or movie, he spent 27 years in that prison because some regime put him there. A regime bent on creating a Boer nation to the exclusion of the natives. And so even his heroism needs to be looked at in that context.<br /><br />I suppose in a world as decadent as ours it only takes a moment's prompting for us to find an object for worship, an object that signifies a collective hope (rational or irrational). This was the case with Barack Obama when he became president, and as such many would be offended by reminders that Obama was and is still a mere mortal.<br /><br />Mandela of course chose obscurity and avoided the hype as much as possible ( as most old men do), but who was he when the world's imagination had already been set alight by the idea of a saintly Mandela? Its my submission that there is a world of difference between Mandela the symbol and Mandela the person. Most people never knew Mandela the person or when accosted by Mandela the person, chose to focus on the symbol instead. And they thus chose what they wanted to do with the symbol, elevating it to levels of deity often times. <br /><br />Great thoughts as ever. Courageous piece as well.Keith Hamundyoli Hamusutehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103689138132664359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-37502753569176183182013-12-18T07:19:07.170-08:002013-12-18T07:19:07.170-08:00I agree. I should also add that Mandela has been g...I agree. I should also add that Mandela has been given the respect he got because it was a white man who benefited out of his forgiveness. Had it been another race, I believe the story would have been different. I appreciate what he did, and I know very few are capable. But I also believe they are many who have done better. There are many who have contributed more to the fight for freedom and independence than he did. For example, I would say Martin Luther King Jr. did more for blacks in USA than Mandela did for blacks in South Africa. But Luther's funeral can't be compared to the hype surrounding Mandela's. Mandela was a great man, but the world has overrated him. We kind of treated him like a god, which I think was unfair to other freedom fighters across the globe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-91633798470741588212013-12-18T06:54:32.534-08:002013-12-18T06:54:32.534-08:00Good reflection. Age may have played a part, after...Good reflection. Age may have played a part, after all, with age you learn to make exceptions to the rules. The rule in this case was a tooth for a tooth; an eye for an eye, or even an eye for the whole head. However, I am unable to substantiate the link between age and his decision to forgive. It may be true that it goes beyond age.<br /><br />Where I can bet is on the fact that 'when a white man beats the drum, it sounds better, and people dance to the tune.' By and large, the 'canonization' of Mandela has been by the white man, and all blacks who 'canonize' Mandela, to a very large extent, do it following the white man's beat. If Mandela forgave black people, I can offer my head on the chopping board, if he would be this rated.ACnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8855057824542728030.post-59205922211445311672013-12-18T05:48:33.981-08:002013-12-18T05:48:33.981-08:00Great Piece.
I agree Nelson was old, AND/BUT in a...Great Piece.<br /><br />I agree Nelson was old, AND/BUT in age comes wisdom. Was he Overrated? maybe so.. but he was as close to perfect as they come. Being 72years at the time of his release did not take away his will power to fight or reason, after all, many young people in S.A were well, able and ready to fight his/ their battle. <br /><br />Flaws he had plenty of and that's his human side. However, no one cares so much for that because the GOOD outweighs the BAD! <br /><br />He is a man unlike any other because he chose to NOT punish his oppressors - that in itself is Jesus-like! and that's what makes him stand out from all his fellow African leaders mentioned above... that and his amazing 27years of reflection!!Lilianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02633865626473964350noreply@blogger.com