The obsession discovered by political parties by claiming struggle victories to themselves is not where the death of our society ends. It continues further with these parties using individuals as sole architects of revolutionary excellence. Today, it is almost impossible to disagree with Mandela’s ideas. I have experienced the rage of “Mandela’s supporters” on many instances, people who simply refuse to listen to any critique of the man. In their eyes, everything Mandela said is correct and everything he wrote is relevant and the man himself is a God. I want to argue today that Mandela must be allowed to rest in peace. Yes, he must rest in peace. His ideas must never die, but the sentimentalism around him must die. He must rest in peace because he is an albatross tied around the necks of Black South Africans, who are held captive by his legacy. Before he even became the President, he had already become a drug. His name had been elevated above the revolution itself, such that the struggle had its own meaning but assumed a subordinate place next to Mandela’s. The South African struggle for liberation was a struggle by the people and Mandela against the system. It was not a struggle by the people against the system. No. Mandela had to be included, but not as one with the people, because he was a collective on his own. The cry for the release of political prisoners was a cry to “Free Mandela and other prisoners!!” and in Robben Island there was “Mandela and other prisoners”. But when he became the president, Mandela became more pronounced and ultimately, more problematic to the progress Black South Africans. Today, as young people, we continue to find ourselves entrapped by Mandela’s legacy. We have to move on. We have to build were he left of and to do that we must strengthen what Mandela will leave us with, not simply retell everything he said. It is time for our generation to produce its own revolutionaries… I wrote this article with a high risk of being attacked. I know this article may provoke many of you but it will take only few comprehend the synopsis that this article entails. Please do not read this with feelings, because it may paralyze your emotions. INDEED! THERE ARE MEN AND GODS AND THERE THOSE IN BETWEEN…. Good day good Africans.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 08:15:44 +0000
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