<p>Nelson Mandela has died. </p>
<p>I remember when it seemed unimaginable that South Africa would vanquish apartheid without a bloodbath. If not for him…</p>
<p>He wasn’t the one who got rid of apartheid but he was the one who oversaw the rather dangerous and disastrous country that emerged.</p>
<p>A great man - may he rest in peace.</p>
<p>“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
― Nelson Mandela</p>
<p>One of the greatest leaders… may he rest in peace.</p>
<p>“but he was the one who oversaw the rather dangerous and disastrous country that emerged.” – what are you talking about? He was responsible for stopping the black majority attacking the whites after apartheid fell; millions of people owe him their lives.</p>
<p>Don’t engage with people who clearly want a reaction. </p>
<p>I am glad he is finally at peace. My comfort to his friends and family. RIP.</p>
<p>Crime has risen dramatically since the end of apartheid. I read that approximately twelve percent of the South African population is HIV positive. Life expectancy in 1993 was 64.71. In 2011 it was 53.21. Life expectancy went from 78.80 to 81 during that time frame. </p>
<p>Mandela endured almost three decades in prison simply for expressing an opinion. That’s absolutely outrageous. Apartheid ended because of the actions of many many people including the whites to who realized their system was immoral. Mandela had an amazing life even though it was often very painful, but claims of his greatness are usually overstated.</p>
<p>Consolation, thank you for starting this thread.</p>
<p>For many of us who were young adults in the 80s, Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid marked our first inspiration to become politically active ourselves. Thanks to Mandela’s efforts I became involved in the effort to get my university to divest of its investments in South Africa (primarily diamond mines). The pressure worked and the university relented. Until then, I had never had a “cause” that wasn’t close to home. It was empowering.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While Mandela was just one of many who contributed to the end of apartheid, his biggest contribution was in preventing the end of apartheid from becoming a bloody civil war. There were plenty of groups itching to start one, but good statesmanship helped win over the great majority of all ethnic groups and pushed those who wanted a civil war to the margins.</p>
<p>Truly a wonderful human being. May he rest in peace.</p>
<p>Apparently every living president (and of course other world leaders) is expected to attend his memorial services.</p>
<p>RIP. </p>
<p>He’s a great statesman who kept South Africa from ripping itself apart due to racial animosity and tensions due to decades of Apartheid policies, brutal police state tactics by security forces against non-Whites and political dissidents, and past colonialist legacies.*</p>
<p>It wasn’t a sure thing back in the early '90s, either. </p>
<ul>
<li>Blacks/non-Whites vs Whites, Zulus vs Xhosas, Blacks and Whites vs Asians, White Afrikaners vs Whites descended from the British, etc.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, crime statistics during the Apartheid era cannot be taken completely at face value considering the fact there were strong state censorship laws, indifference to crime being committed in the all-Black ghettos unless it threatened the White Afrikaner dominated apartheid regime, and its police force operated under policies of what was essentially an authoritarian state. </p>
<p>The crime statistics after the early '90s is a combination of greater public reporting of crime statistics for all areas, decades of neglect of the poverty-stricken all-Black ghetto areas, greater freedom of movement in general now the authoritarian apartheid police state with its tight travel restrictions and racial segregation has ceased, and a police force ill-equipped and trained to perform policing in a multi-party democracy due to veterans being trained under auspices of an authoritarian state where brutality was encouraged and non-White citizens had little, if any rights under the Apartheid laws or former guerrillas who have little/no experience with operating as part of an official law enforcement organization.</p>
<p>I love that President Obama echoed what was said about Lincoln after his death: “He belongs to the ages.” </p>
<p>Rest in peace, Mandiba.</p>
<p>Mandela was a remarkable, charming man who will be missed. On the radio tonight, I heard that mourners in South Africa were dancing, celebrating his life and what he had done for his country and the world. What a lovely tribute to such a meaningful life. </p>
<p>I loved reading this article by Bono: </p>
<p>[Bono</a> Honors Madiba, The Man Who Could Not Cry | TIME.com](<a href=“http://world.time.com/2013/12/05/bono-the-man-who-could-not-cry/]Bono”>Bono Honors Madiba, The Man Who Could Not Cry | TIME.com)</p>
<p>No doubt he was a great man, but Razor is correct regarding present day South Africa.</p>
<p>The official unemployment rate is 25% and most say it is really closer to 40%. 62% of blacks live in poverty and a quarter of the population live on less than $1.25 a day. Crime is a huge problem, which has hurt the economy. Since 1994, close to 2 million in skilled professional occupations have left the country. Currently, there is a raging debate in South Africa regarding the expropriation of land from the white farmers. </p>
<p>So, although Mandela is certainly a transformational figure and should be praised for ending apartheid and shepherding South Africa from white rule in a relatively peaceful manner, I don’t think we should kid ourselves into thinking that his govt and successive ones have successfully governed the nation.</p>
<p>Goldenpooch,</p>
<p>One major issue with razor’s points about crime is that it ignores the fact it’s a direct byproduct of Apartheid era ignoring of crime in the poverty-stricken all-Black ghettos along with the fact the police force is made up of veteran police trained during the Apartheid era when brutal policing where legal formalities were routinely ignored in the name of maintaining the authoritarian Apartheid state was the norm or former guerrillas/political activists with little/no experience with working in an official policing organization. </p>
<p>The former issue with veterans in military/law enforcement agencies is one common among nations which inherited their militaries/law enforcement agencies from formerly authoritarian societies. What’s worse is that too many veterans may have committed such heinous brutality/murder incidents that would be criminalized under democratic policing standards or may otherwise need to be purged to ensure the old brutish authoritarian and now illegal policing methods don’t continue. The ones who are clean enough to continue may still be struggling with adjusting to policing methods conforming to more democratic norms as that wasn’t part of their training when they started their careers.</p>
<p>It is amazing to me considering what he went through, that he lived two decades longer than my mother.
[Nelson</a> Mandela Becomes First Politician To Be Missed | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source](<a href=“http://www.theonion.com/articles/nelson-mandela-becomes-first-politician-to-be-miss,34755/]Nelson”>Nelson Mandela Becomes First Politician To Be Missed)</p>
<p>Rest in peace, Mr. Mandela.</p>
<p>He was like the South African version of MLK</p>