South Africa facing an unpredictable future after Nelson Mandela

The Daily Mirror ^ | April 6, 2013 | Mark Austin

[MinorityRepublican]

Mandela is on the mend. Good news. The bag I packed can be unpacked. But not for long I fear.

For the truth is Mandela is on the wane. At 94, with recurring lung infections and pneumonia, he’s spending almost as much time in hospital as out of it.  

A couple of years ago, during another of Mandela’s bouts of ill health, I spoke to his wife Graca.

“The body is frail,” she told me, “but inside is one tough guy.”

She is obviously right. Once again the old trouper has confounded the odds.

But South Africa must brace itself for what comes next. And what comes next may not be pretty.

Mandela has long removed himself from the day to day running of South Africa. He ­transcends party politics.

But he remains idolised by blacks and whites.

He is the ­grandfather of the nation whose presence is effectively the glue that bonds the new South Africa together.

I don’t believe for a moment the wild, dark theories that predict violent chaos once he’s gone.

There is somehow a well entrenched myth that blacks are waiting for his passing to wreak revenge on the white population with some kind of “night of the long knives” or “ethnic cleansing”.

[blueunicorn6]

“Millions of people.....are still living in shacks without running water.”

“Freeeeeeeeee Nelson Mandela. Freeeeeeeeeeeeeee Nelson Mandela.”

[max americana]

“There is somehow a well entrenched myth that blacks are waiting for his passing to wreak revenge on the white population with some kind of “night of the long knives” or “ethnic cleansing”.

It’s a myth? Well, let’s test that by sending white liberals to the middle of Johannesburg at the moment he croaks..

[dynachrome]

I think the future of South Africa is very predictable.

Zimbabwe 2.0

[Flag_This]

"There is somehow a well entrenched myth that blacks are waiting for his passing to wreak revenge on the white population with some kind of “night of the long knives” or “ethnic cleansing”."

What's that old ANC ditty Jacob Zuma likes to sing? "Bring Me My Machine Gun"?

[dfwgator]

“I’m gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see....”

[Da Coyote]

I think the future of South Africa is very predictable.

Zimbabwe 2.0

Precisely.

[CreviceTool]

South Africa of the late 1970’s and early 80’s was something to behold. The country was very clean, orderly and businesses thrived. The Carlton Centre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Centre was the epicenter of commerce in “Joburg.” The outdoor bar at the Balalaika Hotel in the suburb of Sandton http://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel/Protea_Hotel_Balalaika_Sandton.htm was the place to socialize on balmy Friday evenings after work.

[Flag_This]

“I’m gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see....”

And the almost as popular "C-I-L-L... My Landlord"

[rdcbn]

I think the future of South Africa is very predictable.

Zimbabwe 2.0

Precisely.

---

With a dash of Rwanda thrown in to keep things interesting

[Gay State Conservative]

It’s hard to imagine South Africa not going the way of Zimbabwe in the end.

[Gay State Conservative]

A physician on the staff of the hospital where I worked was the daughter of Helen Suzman,the leader of the opposition in SA for some time.The stories she told me were amazing...disturbing and amazing,actually.

[MoochPooch]

While I dislike apartheid, I can’t help wondering: what have the blacks gained since its demise? They seem to have won the battle but lost the war: AIDS, crime, unemployment, everything else.

[3Fingas]

Same here. However, for all its faults, the old South Africa did a better job of providing opportunity and safety to blacks than the new South Africa.

Ditto, Rhodesia/now Dysfunctional Zimbabwe.

[Leaning Right]

for all its faults, the old South Africa did a better job of providing opportunity and safety to blacks than the new South Africa

Which reminds me of that classical philosophical question: Is it better to serve in heaven or rule in hell?

[the OlLine Rebel]

I wasn’t aware that Mandela was such a great guy.

Oh, this is a British paper. Where Thatcher was “wrong” about him, per Labour leaders in their tribute to her.

[Arthurio]

Entirely predictable. See Zimbabwe.

[DesScorp]

On the contrary, SA’s future was entirely predictable as long as the ANC was in power. Because one thing Communist governments are guaranteed to do is run their countries into the ground.

[Syncro]

On the contrary, SA’s future was entirely predictable as long as the ANC was in power. Because one thing Communist governments are guaranteed to do is run their countries into the ground.

Absolutely.

The country has been in a downward spiral ever since the whites there were demonized.

How bizarre to predict that "There is somehow a well entrenched myth that blacks are waiting for his passing to wreak revenge on the white population with some kind of “night of the long knives” or “ethnic cleansing”.

Hasn't that been happening all along since this necklacing murdering communist Mandela has been running things?

Don't the leftists in our country idolize him as a great elder statesman and healer kind of like they do Clinton (an impeached criminal rapist and molester) and Carter (an American hating traitor?)

[edpc]

The dismantling of their nuclear program coincided with the looming majority ANC rule. A supremely wise decision.