wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (01/07/86)
As part of the anti-South African demonstrations and efforts, there have been picketings of places that sell Krugerrands, along with pressures on those stores, banks, and coin dealers to discontinue handling this SA product. However, I have seen absolutely NO evidence of any similar campaigns or efforts against diamonds. Since the vast majority of the world diamond supply comes from South Africa, and the deBeers combine/cartel/whatever is widely known to control the world diamond trade, why is this? Diamonds are an obvious target -- why are there no moves to counter the pro-diamond advertising (very common in many magazines) and link buying (and even wearing) diamonds with supporting SA? This discrepancy is so obvious and glaring that it makes me suspicious; I just wonder why... Will
tw8023@pyuxii.UUCP (T Wheeler) (01/10/86)
The main reason you see noone picketing diamond outlets is that most of those connected with the current "cause" are living with tunnel vision. They refuse to see the real world around them or to apply even a moderate amount of logic to the problem. First, let us take the krugeraand. It is now illegal to import the coins, however, since its introduction, there are thousands in the hands of both collectors and speculators. To picket a coin dealer for selling the coins that are still in circulation is asinine. The government of SA receives nothing from the current trading in those coins. The protestors are only creating a hardship for the coin dealers. Those dealers have been, for the past 40 years, dealing in coins made by the infamous Third Reich. Do we pressure them for that activity? How about coins made under the rulership of Idi Amin or any other despot going back to the first instance of coining? Now, let us look at diamonds. Should everyone throw their diamonds into the sea in protest over a despotic government which will not last one one hundred thousandths as long as the diamond in question? No, I don't think it is a good idea. To cease buying krugeraands or diamonds or to even protest the the third or fourth level of the marketing of those items is a pure waste of time and effort since the govenment of SA is not effected in any way by such actions. This kind of protest only serves to boost the egos of those doing the protesting and to provide a very shaky platform for their cause. Most protests concerning the current despicable situation in SA are missing the target completly. Their protests have been aimed at U. S. corporations, which, by the way, have a 1000% better batting average concerning the humanization of the black population than the government. What is needed is a refocusing of protest efforts. Picketing and protesting is a time-honored institution, but it has to at least come close to the mark in its efforts. Picketing the SA consulat or embassy is fine, but doing the same outside the offices of XEROX has no effect on the SA government. Picketing outside our own State Department will have 100 fold the effect as opposed to harrasing some small coin dealer. Sitting in at the local passport office is much more effective than screaming at some poor woman or man because they are wearing a diamond ring. Most of the current SA protest effort against local merchants goes for nought as it is just not news outside the local area. Sitting in at a local passport office, however, is national news and has a better chance of being seen by the powers that be in SA. As for all of the hullaballo over divestiture, phooey. The ones who came up with this have never, obviously, learned how the stock market operates. I don't think this is the place to try to educate those folks about buying and selling stocks and bonds. Sufficeth to say that all of the divestiture efforts do not amount to a pimple on a gnats butt. The SA government couldn't care less how much you screw up pension funds, funding programs, or savings for US citizens. What they are mindful of are efforts directed specificaly at their seemingly secure positions as leaders of their regime. And finally, tunnel vision. Why is it that many of the leaders of these protests seem to have blinders on and cannot see the same sort of enslavement practices going on in other countries? Where were these people when Idi Amin was playing his little games? Where are they now while certain African tribes are living in absolute bondage to governments run by tribal factions not their own? What sort of enlightenment rules these people to allow them to ignore the plight of millions of other enslaved peoples and to concentrate their efforts only on SA, and, badly at that. Instead of protests against coin dealers and little old ladies wearing diamond rings, why not think for a minute about what should be done to get the word to the SA government? Most of the current efforts do nothing more than cause great amounts of laughter in the halls of the SA government. The current crop of protestors have to realize that it is the government in SA that has to change, not private corporations, not private coin dealers, and not little old ladies wearing diamond rings. Change in SA is ONLY going to come about through a change in the government and its policies. The major reason there has not been a great outpuring of protest in this country is that most people see the current efforts as useless in convincing SA to change. Protesting and picketing against aparthied must be aimed at a higher plane. It has to effect the thinking of the government in order to bring about change. I don't have any clear ideas on what could be done to reach the ears of the SA government, but the efforts so far have been pitiful and misdirected. Perhaps there are some more logical thinkers out there on the network who can come up with some better suggestions as to what form SA protests and picketing can take. Please don't start suggesting that some form of divestiture can work. Remember, for every stock sold, there is a buyer. The guy that really makes out is the broker, he loses nothing and gains all. Besides, the company who originally sold the stock makes nothing on subsequent trades. T. C. Wheeler
wasaunders@watdragon.UUCP (Alec Saunders) (01/23/86)
I don't think you should bother feeling guilty about buying SA diamonds. Now
before anyone gets really angry with me let me explain.
Recently (I don't know how recently), the Australians have discovered diamond
pipes in the outbacks - diamond pipes that make the SA pipes look like sand
boxes. De Beers when it heard this attempted to negotiate a deal wih the
Aussies to the effect that they would buy all the Australian diamonds mined.
The same thing happened in Russia also not too long ago. The Russians agreed
to this, but the Australians didn't. The Australians will sell SOME of their
diamonds to De Beers, but not all. Economically Australia has De Beers over a
barrel because if they decided to flood the market De Beers wouldnt have the
resources to prevent it. I read recently that De Beers has gone from having
in excess of 1.5B dollars in their coffers in the mid '70's to a $1B debt
today, just buying the worlds excess diamonds to keep the market artificially
inflated.
In summary - firstly I wouldn't buy a diamond because they're too expensive.
Secondly, if you do decide to buy one don't kid yourself that you're hurting
any poor south african black - the diamond itself was probably mined in
the Soviet Union or Australia, and those two countries are doing far more
damage to the diamond industry that you or I could by not buying one.
Alec Saunders