Racism, a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others. I first saw the screenshot circulating on Twitter, and that she being called racist *derogatory term of your choosing*. At first I didn’t pay much attention to it, as I thought, well… just another day on Twitter. That was like in mid March. But then again, I bumped into the image today (April 4, 2014), yet again on Twitter. It was then that I decided to do my investigation. I went onto my Facebook, searched for Ms Alna Dall’s profile, just so I could go down her timeline & read through the entire thread as to what might have been said further. I came to find out that the post has been long been deleted, and Ms Dall had came forth to apologize for Ms Strydom, stating she was not racist, and that she was dating an Indian. After reading this thread on facebook of the conversation, I decided, I had to write about this evil that was perfected by men such as Hendrik Verwoerd through acts of apartheid, racism. Firstly, is Ms Strydom a racist? That I will let you, the readers be the judge of this. Secondly, how can we uproot this evil that is racism? That is a question that I would like to at least try & tackle.
I believe, one can never know another’s story without having walked in their shoes. For that reason, I would like to talk of the issue of classism. I believe classism and racism are intertwined like bread & butter go together, especially in Namibia’s case. Why? Well, our history like that of the rest of the world is built on the oppression of race over the other. And hundreds of years of oppression have created social classes that are favorable towards one race than the other. White people in Namibia are especially well off. They are in the upper echelon of the economical class in Namibia. They live in suburbs, neighbored by other white people. They go to “white people schools”, they socialize with other white people. And yes, there are some minimal black people that live in their suburbs, that go the same schools as them, they socialize with, but mostly, these are elitist black people, the ones that are referred to in the movies as “good niggers”. They don’t really represent ordinary black people, the lower class black people. They behave in the same ways as white people do. Liberal Nicole Myers like them, but racist Andreas Müller dislikes them; which they view as nothing else then them not “clicking”. This is because to these elitist blacks, race is not a topic of discussion in their houses. Now, Andreas Müller will never really walk in the shoes of a black person, he never was met with the stinging words of a really angry black person that sees color. A little Nicole, who might have gone around saying racial slurs without repercussion around her black friend that she liked, who acts like her, listens to the same music, lives in the same suburb as her, will probably go on one day and just make vague statements that are really racially insensitive to a person of a different race. These two souls have been left behind in the face of a changing world that is trying to move forward. And it’s all because of economical and social classes that never allowed me & Michael Mackenzie to form a true friendship.
Another hindrance is what I am about to coin, ‘reconciliation that meets half way’. It’s only fitting that all the players meet on a football pitch for a football match to take place. So when Nelson Mandela called for reconciliation but was facing opposition from both sides of the color line, reconciliation was already facing strong opposition from the onset, even from Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. There was no football match going to take place. But black people I feel seem to be the ones pushing for reconciliation compared to our fellow white brothers & sisters. Whites just don’t seem to wanna join the party. They don’t wanna take a seat at the table and aid negotiations, they would rather play foul at how programs like BEE are reverse racism. But ask yourself this, when has equality really been been reverse anything bad but good? Yes, I recognize that the thought was an excellent one, but BEE is being applied in a way that is creating an elite class of blacks. Which is just creating another social evil that is classism. But point of the matter is, more white people need to join the conversation of racism, they need to come to the table. Not dismiss racism just because you, your family and other people you know aren’t racist. Let us all join hands and built a better, unified, color conscious, equal Namibia.
Shout out to Whitney Kendra Greyton. Her comment on that thread was to me, the most thought provoking one. Clearly these aren’t the only solutions to racism. Let’s talk about it. Leave comments. I have vowed to always leave you guys with a song every time I write a piece. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “A Wake”:
“…It’s just something our generation is used to, and neighborhoods where you never see a news crew. Unless they’re gentrifying, white people don’t even cruise through. And my subconscious telling me stop it. This is an issue that you shouldn’t get involved in. Don’t even tweet “RIP Trayvon Martin”. Don’t wanna be that white dude, million man marching. Fighting for freedom that my people stole. Don’t wanna make all my white fans uncomfortable.”
With that, thank you Alna Dall for raising the issue in the first place, intentional or not.
edwardmekondjo 