Why South African Students Say The Statue Of Rhodes Must Fall

NPR ^ | MARCH 28, 2015

[MinorityRepublican]

more than two weeks, public debate in South Africa has been dominated by a statue. Students at the University of Cape Town have been demonstrating to have the bronze figure of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes removed from its central position on campus.

Rhodes bequeathed the land on which the university was built, but he also slaughtered Africans by the thousands in colonial conquest and helped lay the foundations of apartheid in South Africa.

[stubernx98]

“A lot of the original settlers were Dutch; the Boer War was fought to determine who would rule, and apartheid was to entice the Dutch to support the new mixed country”.

That is correct, in doing business in SA I found the Brits much more amimiable than the Dutch. I have a friend who was born in Zulu Land (white) only spoke zulu before imigrating to the cities in SA, now in USA. Speaks good English now:-)

[kearnyirish2]

Interesting; why didn’t he speak Afrikaans (a variation on Dutch, I believe)?

[Verginius Rufus]

If Wikipedia says it, it must be true.

/s

The anti-Rhodes people need to tread carefully or they might be accused of homophobia.

[Rummyfan]

...but he also slaughtered Africans by the thousands in colonial conquest and helped lay the foundations of apartheid in South Africa.

Oh, BS!

[MinorityRepublican]

When the Dutch settled in South Africa there were no Africans there; they migrated southward later.

That's correct.

[kearnyirish2]

Thanks. I’m surprised the whites didn’t just set up an enclave around the resources they developed (with an outlet on the coast, of course) and try to make a go of it alone. Then again, if they are used to having menial work done by blacks (and couldn’t imagine doing it themselves), I guess that thought never occurred to them.

[Paid_Russian_Troll]

South Africa was a cesspool for a very long time. Much like certain previously prosperous parts of the United States, it might had an economy to envy and a look of advanced Western country but you haven’t need to dig that deep to find out that it was everything but.
Visual deterioration of their cities is striking comparing to mid1990s (though it was already downhill) but you should pay attention to the fact that you are in Africa so it is simply return to their normal.
The level of hostility between white and black communities are extraordinary high and blacks are certainly not a single party which is guilty.
You can see activists from both sides acting extremely stupid at rallies and gatherings they are holding to commemorate certain event in either black or white history.
It often degrades with either party arriving to ruin rally, with offensive posters and slogan with blacks resorting to their ‘Toyi-toyi’ dance and Boers to ‘Proud baboon’ song.
It is quite a surrealistic scene. A few dozen blacks are screaming their rap: Grab your AK! Shoot the white devil! Kill the Boer! The whole black crowd responds: Bang-bang! Tra-ta-ta! Power to the people!
Opposing white crowd responding in style with chorus: Proud baboon climbs on the mountain!..So nimbly!.. So quickly!
They are starting to beat their chests and so on mimicking apes.
In half an hour it turns into a bloody melee. Stones thrown, arses kicked.
How could they ever live in peace is beyond my understanding.

[MinorityRepublican]

Cape Town should declare independence from South Africa. Look at how well it turned out for Singapore when they declared independence from Malaysia.

[kearnyirish2]

That’s right; I just don’t know if the area has enough of the resources (gold/diamonds) to make it viable.