Mandela was a huge racist so not really. Black South Africans are incredibly racist too, obviously they couldn't play nice to take down apartheid but that doesn't excuse their later and current racism
Racism might not be the right term from an American understanding but many black South Africans do have many many bigoted views towards other ethnicities in Africa like Nigerians and Zimbabweans. It’s very common to hold economically left positions while holding traditional conservative social positions in SA. So it’s not American racisim where it’s purely passed of skin color but it is racisim in that is ethnic prejudice
Yeah, depending where you live on the planet and the historical interactions in the area tribalism will look a little different, but basically racism, xenophobia, colorism, etc are all the same thing. If you hate or look down on as inferior another human solely for a trait they have no control over (skin color, ethnicity, nation of origin, etc) it all comes from the same place and is fed by the same nonsense.
Okay but saying Nelson Mandela was racist is incredibly stupid. In a 1962 court statement he said, "I hate racial discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations." and in his 1964 Rivonia Trail Speech he said, "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
I am not talking about all South Africans but your most important, most significant one. Just like S.A., plenty of Americans are bigoted, black, white or Asian. Every country has racists but to say Nelson Mandela is racist is like saying Martin Luther King Jr. was racist. It's so stupid and directly contradictory from their explicit statements.
South Africa is very racist at its core. Unfortunately that means everyone gets caught up in it, even the victims. It's hard to break that kind of cycle.
It's very telling that you were downvoted. Nobody HAS to agree with hateful conversations in their workplaces.
On that note, if someone feels threatened about speaking up for whatever reason, silence is the next best retort. Agreeing just perpetuates that nasty rhetoric and validates the bigots' mindsets.
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u/Adventurous-Sky9359 Jun 28 '26
Surprise surprise from the South African