Tips_of_Fingers said:
Wolfram01 said:
Plus, South Africa is full of white people.
And pretty sure South African isn't a language. Maybe Zwahili?
Although there are a lot of people in South Africa, it has a strong history of racism...ie: Apartheid.
Also, Swahili is spoken in Swaziland.
They speak French, English and Afrikaans in South Africa.
French?!
Here in South Africa, we have eleven official languages (yes, eleven) of which none are French. Sure, we had French settlers back in the 18th and 19th century, but they were culturally and linguistically absorbed into the Dutch community, which over the last two centuries developed into the Afrikaans Boer culture of today.
South Africa is not 'full of white people', either. The vast majority of the population is made up of a huge range of black peoples, differentiated between by their languages and traditions that vary from region to region and culture to culture. The Xhosa of the Eastern Cape, for example, are - culturally speaking - almost diametrically opposed to the Zulu of Natal. The sad fact is that white males still control much of the private sector's wealth, as a result of the previous apartheid system enforced by the dreaded National Party.
Oh, and not all of us whiteys living here are racist thugs. Not that you at all implied it, but I'd just like to point that out to those out there who are not fully up to date on the social situation down here. It's quite annoying to be tarred with the same brush because of the disgusting exploits of a government that had been abolished before I was able to talk or walk.
Believe it or not, South Africa is slowly on the mend. It will take a number of generations to fix the results of the social and economic injustices of the past and eradicate the racial tensions that do still exist.
The only thing that really stands between the South Africa of today and the South Africa it ought to be, is (somewhat ironically) our new government, which has proven itself excellent at appointing the most corrupt ministers and officials it can find. Embezzlement, fraud, and corruption is pretty much the usual thing here. Everything from law enforcement to state-funded housing projects is a bloody joke, and crime is more rampantly violent than just about anywhere else. What we need is another Mandela to take the reins of presidency. What we got instead was a rapist who regularly sings such fond hits as "Bring Me My Machine Gun" at political rallies, and a government Youth League leader who was recently suspended (after much court deliberation) for rousing thousands-strong crowds with old struggle ballads such as "Kill the Boer" and "One Settler, One Bullet".
But such is life. As a 'white bastard' in South Africa, I sincerely hope that our government is overturned by a relatively honest opposition party that will attempt to curb the violence and bring some sort of relief to the millions of poverty-stricken people who make up the majority of our country, but who still vote for the current ANC government because of its 'struggle roots'. Because, for God's sake, we're all human beings. Black and white aside, this government is running us into the ground.
