We must not deny racism, but we must also not exploit it to stop reconciliation – Daily Maverick
Posted: August 28, 2020 at 5:56 am
Issues abound and of late, while race-based concerns have risen to global prominence, in South Africa, race has always more than simmering below the surface been centre stage of our social, economic and political interactions.
Many embrace this centrality, others lament the reduction of almost everything to race. Still, most current issues be they racial, geopolitical, gender, discrete transgressions of human rights, public health, education, unemployment or inequality and more are connected by a golden thread: Othering, the process of stigmatisation that defines another and sets them apart in a way that renders them an outsider.
To be clear, the opposite of Othering is not saming, it is belonging. And as John A Powell, director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California, Berkeley, says, belonging does not insist that we are all the same. It means we recognise and celebrate our differences, in a society where we the people includes all the people and does not involve a presupposition that ones own race or nationality is inherently superior to another. To treat those of other races and nationalities with unfairness or unequal justice, with dismissiveness or with active contempt, is pernicious.
The recent revelations of Makhaya Ntini, the first ethnically black South African to play for the national cricket team, about his experience of loneliness is a reflection of being Othered. A senior black woman in politics who once confided in me her experience of being Othered and how many of her peers didnt even know her name provides another example.
Many will recount similar encounters, and these form a part of the basis of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. It is important, however, to acknowledge that class regardless of race also allows for the othering of people and that it is also not incumbent on others to embrace you you must embrace yourself. As Steve Biko remarked, as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior. The subtext is that inferiority needs to be countered by self-improvement and self-confidence.
In this vein, I ask myself then, why have I not felt othered? Im old enough, after all, to remember encountering, first hand, the engravings on benches and signs on buses and buildings that read Europeans Only. My parents were imprisoned, banned and placed under house arrest by the apartheid regime. Friends and close family members were hounded, some tortured. I was arrested. My marriage to a white woman was in contravention of the Immorality Act. My children suffered the stigma of racial classification, being neither fish nor fowl in the eyes of government. Yet, I never shared Ntinis loneliness, nor my colleagues sense of non-recognition. Why?
Credit, in the first instance, must go to my parents who had the foresight to send me to a pioneering non-racial school in Swaziland when apartheid was at its zenith, and then to an international college in Wales that championed international understanding and whose stated mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. These formative experiences stood me in good stead. But more than this, I subsequently embraced, challenged and immersed myself in the dominant cultures I encountered. I sought to understand and compete on my own terms. I never felt less than I am.
I rejected oppression. I rejected being rescued. I rejected victimhood. And yes, the paradox of my experience under apartheid and other dominant polities and the impact of my formative education courtesy of the schools I attended and the example of my parents resistance of, and refusal to, accept apartheid emboldened this rejection.
The tragedy is that a black government in our country has failed, over more than a quarter of a century, to provide a sound education to the majority of its (black) people. It has failed to dignify their lives in the provision of housing and services to allow them to compete on an inclusive basis. Instead, it panders to a failed narrative and engages in tit-for-tat racism to justify its failures, which it lays at the door of others.
I recount this to illustrate both the reality of feeling Othered and the importance of not allowing yourself to be Othered. While I acknowledge my experience in this regard and understand that this may not be shared by many, I believe that this understanding needs to be internalised universally if we are to have any hope of celebrating our differences, in a society where we the people includes all people. Of necessity, this requires standing up against transgressions of fundamental human rights and not manufactured rights that serve no edifying purpose everywhere. More, it necessitates, in that defence, an engagement of both the victim and the oppressor.
Within this context, an interrogation of the BLM organisation that seeks to champion aspects of this cause is necessary. BLM calls for, as a cornerstone of their demands, the curtailing of property rights, the cutting of military budgets in half, the defunding of the police, the disbanding of private schools, the abolition of private hospitals, the creation of government-funded sacred sites for black worship and extra tax rebates depending on how black you are.
The kernel of truth embedded in the original focus and reaction that has in its genesis a case and a concern that is pertinent and merits attention has come to be hijacked, aggressively funded and sloganised beyond its original purpose and intent.
It is necessary therefore to guard against those who use ostensibly noble causes for their own material gain at the expense of the very people they seek to champion and who are perversely incentivised to do so. Behind their angry masks there often lies a cold dismissal of the nobility of racial reconciliation and an agenda that seeks to milk a grievance for eternity for the benefit of an elite as grievances are moulded, part of an echo chamber of the past. Once racist, always racist and the institutions bear witness, is the false mantra.
Opposing this is not minimising racism. It involves maximising reconciliation and responsible redress. It means refusing to bend the knee in the service of an agenda that is patently in the service of certain puppet masters. It involves a commitment to build a just society regardless of race, religion, circumstance of birth, sexual orientation and more. It is necessary to beware that when fighting monsters, you do not become a monster, as Nietzsche famously said, for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes at you. DM
Ghaleb Cachalia is an MP in the National Assembly and the DA spokesman on Public Enterprises and serves on the Ethics Committee in Parliament.
Please note you must be a Maverick Insider to comment. Sign up here or if you are already an Insider.
Go here to see the original:
We must not deny racism, but we must also not exploit it to stop reconciliation - Daily Maverick
- Too Busy to Read? Use These Educational Audio Courses Instead - MakeUseOf - December 1st, 2020
- Garett Bolles Opens Up on the Epiphany That Led to him Becoming NFL's Top-Graded Left Tackle - Sports Illustrated - December 1st, 2020
- A Guide to Substantially Improving Your Life in 3 Frugal Ways - University Herald - December 1st, 2020
- Lucifer: 5 Things We Love About Dan (& 5 Reasons We Hate Him) - Screen Rant - December 1st, 2020
- People share the life hacks that sound terrible but really work - New Zealand Herald - December 1st, 2020
- The 3 Most Important Questions to Ask Before If and When You Stop and Ask for the Business by Sofiya Machulskaya - ABCmoney.co.uk - December 1st, 2020
- Aiteos 21 Years of Consistency and Commitment to Serving Africas Communities - THISDAY Newspapers - December 1st, 2020
- The Big Business of Being an Ally - ELLE.com - December 1st, 2020
- Self-improvement guru sentenced to 120 years for turning some followers into sex slaves - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland - October 28th, 2020
- 5 self-improvement books that will change your life - Prestige Online - October 28th, 2020
- 7 Reasons Vegans Are More Likely to Be Women Than Men - The Beet - October 28th, 2020
- David Byrne on Voter Suppression, Self-Improvement, and Why the Talking Heads Still Wont Reunite - IndieWire - October 4th, 2020
- FT Assistant Store Manager job with Tory Burch | 147475 - The Business of Fashion - October 4th, 2020
- 'Assistance provided by govt to help improve people's lives' - The Borneo Post - October 4th, 2020
- Hunting the big wave: Topsail's Gianni Pike perseveres through challenges of autism - StarNewsOnline.com - October 4th, 2020
- 'The 100' series finale review: Who wants to live forever? - Hypable - October 4th, 2020
- Cort McMurray: Bake that bread. Write that novel. Self-improvement is hard, but its liberating. - Houston Chronicle - September 30th, 2020
- Pisces: Avoid getting into needless debates with others - The Bethel Citizen - September 30th, 2020
- Jay Shetty and Ranveer Allahbadia come together to talk about the various aspects of self-improvement - Times of India - September 30th, 2020
- Being Alone vs loneliness: What is the difference between THESE two states? - PINKVILLA - September 30th, 2020
- 20 Best Documentaries on Hulu - Hulu Original, Crime, and More Documentaries - GoodHousekeeping.com - September 30th, 2020
- Why Aubameyang Passed Up Big Offer From Barcelona To Stay At Arsenal - International Business Times - September 30th, 2020
- 3 Signs DocuSign Could Be the Future Leader of a $45 Billion Industry - The Motley Fool - September 30th, 2020
- Getting to the Meaning of Mariah Carey - The Ringer - September 30th, 2020
- Saraki, Fayemi Commend Adenuga's Influence on Nation Building - THISDAY Newspapers - September 30th, 2020
- Endgame: Each Avenger's Reaction To The Snap Revealed Their Key Weakness - Screen Rant - September 30th, 2020
- The Pandemic Has Accelerated and Spawned Trends That Startups and Small Businesses Can Leverage - Direct Selling News - September 30th, 2020
- Walters named coach: I can unite Broncos and return to finals next year - NRL.COM - September 30th, 2020
- Take your career to the next level with this hands-on entrepreneur training - Boing Boing - September 10th, 2020
- Mike Signorelli Shares 3 Habits That Develop Simple Living & High Thinking Lifestyle - Yahoo Finance - September 10th, 2020
- Small Changes That Can Improve Your Confidence In Your Appearance - We Heart - September 10th, 2020
- 6 apps and tech innovations that could help you find your dream job - Northumberland Gazette - September 10th, 2020
- Gain clarity with a life audit - Eve Woman - The Standard - September 10th, 2020
- Grupo Bimbo May Be Coming Out Of Hibernation, As Improving Market Share Can Drive Better Margins And Stock Multiples - Seeking Alpha - September 10th, 2020
- Opinion | There's more to Daddy Issues than meets the eye - The Breeze - September 10th, 2020
- The Great Bed Making Debate: Are you a make-every-day or do you love the nest? - ABC News - September 10th, 2020
- NTCA Names 2020 Tile Setter Craftsperson of the Year Awardwinners - Floor Focus - September 10th, 2020
- Self regulation code adopted by Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and other OTT platforms could either be a - Business Insider India - September 9th, 2020
- Why Americans Really Go to the Gym - The Atlantic - September 9th, 2020
- The Case For Meditation: Why Everyone Should Try It - StyleBlueprint - September 9th, 2020
- SJM says first Grand Lisboa Palace recruitment drive attracted 2000 job-seekers - Inside Asian Gaming - September 9th, 2020
- What Happened to Woojin? Shocking Updates on the Ex-Stray Kids Singer - Distractify - September 9th, 2020
- Parks and Recreation Offering Fall Tennis, Tae Kwon Do and Dance for East Hartford Youth - easthartfordct.gov - September 9th, 2020
- Global AI in Education Market (2020 to 2025) - Featuring IBM, Amazon and Microsoft Among Others - Yahoo Finance UK - September 9th, 2020
- Joy Zinoman, ever the innovator, takes acting to a higher level via Zoom curriculum - DC Theatre Scene - September 9th, 2020
- Donald Trump Wants You To Believe His BS Narrative about BLM and Protests! Wake Up America to What is Really the Truth... - Ringside Report - September 9th, 2020
- In Fallout of Black Appropriation in US, Echoes of Debate on Dalit Representation in India - The Wire - September 9th, 2020
- How to find your unfair advantage and succeed as an entrepreneur - YourStory - September 9th, 2020
- 'Law and order impeded governance, development' The Shillong Times - The Shillong Times - September 9th, 2020
- What's on TV: Friday, September 11 to Thursday, September 17 - Brisbane Times - September 9th, 2020
- New book discusses about leadership and everything that it embodies - GlobeNewswire - September 9th, 2020
- What's the Use of a University? - Brooklyn Rail - September 9th, 2020
- Started Drinking a Little Too Much During Quarantine? This Upper West Sider Teaches You How to Moderate - westsiderag.com - September 9th, 2020
- Outsourcing the Accounting Aspects of Your Self-Storage Operation - Inside Self-Storage - September 9th, 2020
- Podcast Week: New Sarah Grynberg series and book, SpokenLayer arrives - Mediaweek - September 9th, 2020
- A global history of the Freemasons - The Economist - August 28th, 2020
- Gemini: Ignore those looking to stir the pot or bring you down - The Bethel Citizen - August 28th, 2020
- 'Good to Know' Review: JoJo forms dream team with Demi Lovato, Tinashe in sultry album that cut out Tory Lanez - MEAWW - August 28th, 2020
- Finding a Good Mentor: What You Need to Know - Uloop News - August 28th, 2020
- Who Is Sarah Edmondson And What Role Did She Play In NXIVM (And It's Downfall)? - Oxygen - August 28th, 2020
- Everything new coming to FOXTEL ON-DEMAND this September - TV Blackbox - August 28th, 2020
- Judge Sentences Arcata Man to 11 Years to Life for Attempted Murder, More Than a Year After a Jury Convicted Him of the Crime - Lost Coast Outpost - August 28th, 2020
- An interview with Ervin Cohen & Jessup discussing dispute resolution in the United States - Lexology - August 28th, 2020
- The Power of Positive Thinking: Too Much and Never Enough - The Bulwark - August 28th, 2020
- Covid-19 Is ChangIng The Way People Think About Cannabis - Green Entrepreneur - August 28th, 2020
- Why the COVID-19 Pandemic Might Actually Be Helping Your Dating Life - AskMen - August 28th, 2020
- HIV Self Tests Market: Rise in adoption rate of HIV self-tests is projected to drive the market - BioSpace - August 28th, 2020
- Online Training Courses and Programs Help Workers and Employers During Pandemic - University of Arkansas Newswire - August 28th, 2020
- Metallica drive-in show, Jason Aldean backyard concert top this weeks virtual concert picks - cleveland.com - August 28th, 2020
- Soldier on Afghanistan ambush that earned him Medal of Honor - Brinkwire - August 28th, 2020
- Finding Success By Believing In Yourself: Lailah Alese Has Mastered Self Growth In Order To Perfect Her Businesses. - Yahoo Finance - August 25th, 2020
- Your stars August 25 - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com - August 25th, 2020
- Horoscopes Aug. 25, 2020: Blake Lively, be open to suggestions - Vacaville Reporter - August 25th, 2020
- Your stars August 24 - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com - August 25th, 2020
- Losing weight, gaining dreams: How Mike Breedens transformation turned into an MMA career - MMA Junkie - August 25th, 2020
- Explore hidden treasures of the Freemasons at Cedar Rapids Masonic Library - The Gazette - August 25th, 2020
- Aaron Rodgers Has Been Sharp in Camp and He Explains Why Sort Of - Sportscasting - August 25th, 2020
- Your stars August 22 - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com - August 25th, 2020
- This trans woman served her country. Now she may be banned from rugby - Outsports - August 25th, 2020
- Self-charging, thousand-year battery startup NDB aces key tests and lands first beta customers - TechCrunch - August 25th, 2020