The sanctimonious attitude of the majority in South Africa has been combined with foolishness, and as democracy progresses, the division among cultural groups releases racial hatred that only deepens a raging conflict. The diverse cultures of South Africa have, over the past 21 years, escalated into a “holier than thou” attitude from the black majority toward the minorities.
For centuries, blacks have been defined as brutal criminals wanting revenge on the white minority group of South Africa. Over the years, blacks have been described as stupid, irrational and unintelligent, whereas the white minority has been defined as superior, talented, intelligent and victims of crime.
The African traditions are characterized as barbaric; blacks are lazy and African history is primitive and does not contribute to civilization. Today, Africa is riddled with violence, disaster, diseases and overpopulation. Blacks live in squalid conditions, transmit sexual diseases such as HIV/AIDS and are prone to injury.
No government is without fault, yet the South African government has exhausted every conceivable trick in the book, tipping the scales of corruption and forcing power-hungry leaders to break social order. Incompetent and incapable of leading a democracy, the leaders fail the majority by forcing poverty to intensify.
Until democracy began in 1994, blacks were excluded from equal participation in the life and culture of South Africa. Whether discrimination or forced slavery, blacks believe it was the Action of Apartheid that consciously established a deliberate pattern of exclusion and low self-esteem. The South African government is comfortable, and affirmative action is racial discrimination. Blacks are executing racism, and empowerment gives rise to a sanctimonious attitude.
Today the self-hate and exclusion are gone, and the pride and power of unity have replaced the dehumanizing apartheid system of the past. No longer is the unworthy and insulting white-man’s voice lording over the majority. No longer are tears flowing, and children are not abandoned. The fear of the future is no longer a nightmare under the South African democracy. Freedom has replaced a demonized system, giving rise to social equality and opportunities reserved for whites only under the apartheid system.
Sanctimonious attitudes have grown among the few elite who have had 21 years to access the richer, modern and once-safe suburbs reserved for whites only in the past. Equality and opportunities abound for the few who are not afraid to step out into a future where race is no longer a factor; a new world, a better place and the beginning of envy as the unparalleled beauty of life unfolds. The reality of a bitter past shakes the new life of equality, and comparison soon develops into a feverish race to become equal to the minority. No longer satisfied with a black skin, women begin to rebel against the shell of the Caucasian beauty. White is a standard color, and nobody wants to be called a non-white, because it turns into a status of recognition and self-righteousness.
The majority who missed opportunities to get away from the “gangsterism,” cruelty and violence of townships remain dependent on the elected government to deliver on promises of free housing, free water and electricity, grants for having children, subsidies for the elderly, free medical and free education. Life was good, everything was free until the promises trickled in so slowly that crime intensified in the townships and spiraled toward the suburbs.
A mindset of entitlement developed as the masses were directed by influential leaders who promised a good story, and soon the hatred of whites developed into a raging war of attacks. Crime increased and farm murders began in earnest; whites were driven from the land in an attempt to escape the savage torture and brutality. The white minority started to live in fear as the masses took revenge for the past. It is no longer a question of uniting a democratic country; it is now a country where only the fittest survive.
The government ignored the high rise of crime statistics, the failing infrastructure, the poor education system and almost non-existent medical structures as well as the massive influx of foreigners, mainly from neighboring countries that failed to develop under black rule, searching for a better life. The government could not deal with the atrocities happening within the borders of South Africa, because there were far too many other fires to kill. The corruption, the Arms deal, the HIV debacle, the tender fraud, the Nkandla story; the list goes on, yet the greed and self-enrichment have no end.
The black youth, useless and unemployed, walk aimlessly around the dirty streets of the townships, sentenced to life without hope. The white man remains the cause of the misery, and the leaders continue to follow in the footsteps of African leaders who are turning South Africa into another wretched country while the few elite continue to display the foolish attitude of excluding minorities and adopting a self-destruct mode of living. It is not about preserving white supremacy and privilege; it is about the majority being incapable of transforming itself and inhabiting self-humiliation.
Opinion by Laura Oneale
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