orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (09/12/85)
Gene Mutschler has repeated many familiar rightwing prejudices about the situation in South Africa. What is more astounding is that he has repeated Reagan's distortions which even conservatives admit have no relation to the facts: > > As to Reagan's statement, it is more nearly true at a factual level than > you might think. The SA government has eliminated many of the segregation > features as we knew them here in the South not so long ago. These > consisted of separate facilities for blacks and whites at train stations, > stores, etc. The SA government has gotten rid of much of this 'petit > apartheid', although it has not got rid of the more pernicious apartheid > itself. > What difference do small changes in "petit apartheid" make when the gran apartheid policies which do not even allow blacks *into* white areas in the first place continue in effect? Whites don't need separate bathrooms for blacks to keep their "racial purity" if no blacks are ever allowed to even enter many places. Moreover even during segregation in the South blacks had the legal right to vote even if actual voting was prevented by intimidation, poll taxes and other methods. In South Africa blacks do not even have this most fundamental democratic right. This is what makes ridiculous Falwell's attack on Nobel Peace Prizewinner, Desmond Tutu, as not being an "elected representative" of blacks. OF COURSE NOT! Blacks cannot vote! They have NO elected representatives. Moreover a division of Gallup from London found that 77% of blacks polled in South Africa supported divestment- so it would seem that Desmond Tutu represents the sentiments of blacks in South Africa far better than Jerry Falwell, who is not black, and does not even live in South Africa. Another prevalent rightwing fallacy is that an end to apartheid and partipation of blacks in the government will inevitably lead to "COMMUNISM" and the complete exclusion of whites from government. In fact in Zimbabwe right now Ian Smith is still in the Parliament. tim sevener
rastaman@ihdev.UUCP (Herb Scyphozoan) (09/13/85)
In article <704@whuxl.UUCP> orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) writes: >In fact in Zimbabwe right now Ian Smith is still in the Parliament. > tim sevener Uh huh. And if the Rt. Hon. Mr. Mugabe's party is reelected, they have promised to remove *all* whites from the government. Leftist, rightist, centrist, artist, makes no difference. For the most part, these revolutions are the oppressed black African majority ending years of colonial rule by European whites. Unfortunately, the people are now being enslaved and butchered by their own race. (Y'all remember Uncle Idi?)