Mandela - Saint or Sinner?

[BrilloPad]

FW de Klerk says Nelson Mandela was 'brutal and unfair' - Telegraph

Is one man's terrorist another man's freedom fighter?

[oracleslave]

Selective sound byte reporting:

In the same speech he referred to Mandela as an opponent that " had integrity, was a good communicator, charming and someone of stature who was able to keep the ANC unified through the most difficult times."

Mandela for me is a saint - a case of the end justified the means if ever there was one imho.

[Zippy]

Selective sound byte reporting:

In the same speech he referred to Mandela as an opponent that " had integrity, was a good communicator, charming and someone of stature who was able to keep the ANC unified through the most difficult times."

Mandela for me is a saint - a case of the end justified the means if ever there was one imho.

WHS.
I think de Klerk also deserves credit for doing what needed to be done.

[mudskipper]

Yep, end justified means, and the means was justified because there was no democratic process in which to be heard.

[sunnysan]

Mandela

Mandela was a man and not a saint, but he was fundamentally a good man with fair, reasonable and unflinching principles in what he wanted he wanted to achieve, which I am sure everybody present would say is a characteristic sorely lacking in todays politics

A political career spanning decades a man is bound to make a few mistakes, and some bad decisions, but consider the fact that he was incarcerated and his political party having no legitamacy, had to operate as a so called terrorist organization, I believe in difficult circumstances he showed remarkable restraint.

IMH and unlearned opinion, if it was not for him, the transition of power in South Africa would have been a bloodbath of epidemic proportions and he gave the country a chance to achieve the goal of being the first multiracial democracy in South Africa

Now the rant....

After this brilliant opportunity the African National Congress has changed from a liberation organization to a party of gangsters and robber barons, who are still trading on the old status of the ANC but who are corrupting and polluting the countries politics for their own gain and have forgotten, if the ever remembered what the original principles of the ANC where.

The poor uneducated masses in the country who voted with hope for the ANC have been abandoned to fester in a world of raw sewage in the street and rampant crime, with a pathetic failure to deliver public services resulting in the opinion in certain quarters that public services where better during apartheid.

The politicians still play the weary race card to hide their own incompetence, while the party itself is unwilling or unable to control its vitriolic youth leaders who are calling for land restitution and nationalization, creating an unstable environment for investment.

The police and private security organizations becoming a law unto themselves with more and more reports surfacing of rampant corruption and abuse in its ranks.

The ANC does very little about the rampant abuse and xenophobia in South Africas detention centers and on the street. The people getting raped and killed are people from the same countries who harboured and granted political asylum for ANC "freedom fighters" and risked the wrath and retribution of the best bush fighters and military units in Africa for a shared ideal (And probably some money too :-))


South Africa will fester with crime and corruption and become just another failed African state, if not for men , albeit imperfect at times, like Mandela.

[Darren_Test]

I think FW de Klerk should thank Mandela for still alive. Remember what happened to Gadaffi after he thrown out of power. Apartheid rule for natives in SA was worst than that of Gadaffi.

[VectraMan]

Yep, end justified means, and the means was justified because there was no democratic process in which to be heard.

I'm sure most terrorists would say the same of their cause.

Does Mandella himself really deserve any credit for the end of Apertheid? His name became a symbol for sure, but that doesn't mean he himself really did anything. He was in jail after all.

[Scoobos]

My 2 cents - A great guy, his influence was the catalyst for a great change. Although, based on my limited interactions with white South Africans, I wonder how stable the new SA actually is.

[BankingContractor]

More importantly, how would we feel about Mandela before he became a world leader and a figure that stands for all that is good and decent.

Its easy *now* to say what a great man he is, but I'm wondering how many of us would still hold Mandela in high regard whilst he was politically active and fighting for the cause, ie he was a "rebel"?

Lets not forget he was imprisoned for "terrorist activities" so why is he now considered a great man?

After all, the CIA did help to track him down tipped him off to the SA authorities.

[Darren_Test]

I'm sure most terrorists would say the same of their cause.

Does Mandella himself really deserve any credit for the end of Apertheid? His name became a symbol for sure, but that doesn't mean he himself really did anything. He was in jail after all.

Well said..!
So the credit for SA freedom should go to Margaret Thatcher & British Govt who directly & indirectly helped & benefited from apartheid rule for decades..! You must be joking.! Mandela is as great as Gandhi though his path was bit different.

I hope you will not ask what Gandhi did..? Please refer history books to see who/what started end of British Empire..!