Ted Rall for December 07, 2013

If he was that much of a sellout, why was he imprisoned for 27 years? You’d think he’d robbed a convenience store or something.

Fair enough; there are many in South Africa who criticise him in the same vein.

I will, however, strongly disagree with the tick along-side the “create one-party state”.

The ANC has managed a 2/3rds majority since Mandela stepped down (Mandela was shy of that mark himself by a few percent) and that effectively has made it overwhelmingly powerful, allowed cronyism, corruption and non-accountability to run rampant. But it isn’t a one-party state, the ANC’s rule is under threat through democratic processes, and hopefully the masses will see through the wool pulled over their eyes in the next elections so that, at the very least, a strong opposition comes into parliament. I think Mandela had little to do with the machinations of the ANC entrenching itself as an overwhelming force. But I accept he did little to rein in the excesses of his fellows.That once he stepped down after his term in office, he didn’t wield his influence more so within the ANC in order to redress the poverty, and continue with the programmes which aimed at correcting the inequities within the county. His term in office was that of keeping the county united and that in itself was quite a feat.

‘Justice for the victims of apartheid’ – The Truth and Reconciliation Commission tried to do restorative justice but I do accept that for many the Commission was not enough and many injustices endure. However, I’m of the opinion, shared by many other South Africans, that if it were not for the TRC, there’d be more resentment seething within South African society.

“Please educate me on what that is to mean by you. But from your last two remarks I think I need to do some reading.” -——————-//—————————Don’t worry, Ted usually just makes stuff up.

asked “Help Townships” Please educate me on what that is to mean by you.”

Harly, “townships” in the South African context, not the American definition, were racial neighbourhoods on the outskirts of white towns and cities which basically housed the ‘non-white’ labourers for these towns’ economies.

There were black, coloured (mixed-race) and Indian townships. The overwhelming majority were little more than shanty towns, often without proper sanitation, running water, electricity, proper housing, paved roads, basic amenities etc

Harly also asked: "Redistribute wealth? I don’t know him well enough to call him a Commi, "

No, he wasn’t communist although he was aligned with the SA Communist party. He had socialist ideals, yes. And of course redistribution was on the cards. It could only be on the cards bearing in mind the gross inequality within South Africa.But many criticise the ANC that wealth redistribution has been badly managed, that instead of a rising black middle-class, an elite black middle-class has come up, often imitating the ways of the privileged whites of the past.

I’m in two minds about this one. It’s incredibly brave to remind people of what Nelson Mandela himself said, that he was never a saint in any sense. And Ted raises important issues: the post-apartheid state still has pretty much the same economic inequalities and uneven distribution of wealth and opportunity as it did under white minority rule.

On the other hand, Nelson Mandela was a charismatic and courageous human being who managed to bring about a peaceful revolution in a country where that had seemed impossible. He set standards which statesmen – and not just African leaders – will be measured by for the next several hundred years.

On balance I think Ted was right to be a contrarian here. There is no shortage of eulogies for Mandela. It’s good to remember that he was a man with human failings and limitations and that he failed in several important respects.

Thanks Ted, and RIP Nelson Mandela.

Wow. This rivals the 9/11 widows cartoon for sheer idiotic bile.

Perhaps you could illustrate your point by telling us who in American society you would compare to Nelson Mandela?

Right on Debt Free! The banks who sold worthless sub prime mortgages should be able to keep the wealth they stole from investors and home owners.

suggested, “Ted, if you must speak ill of the dead, please do so in private.”

Why, he’s an editorial cartoonist, that’s his job.His criticisms here are fair and Mandela is not sacred.

If this was in the 1990’s, it should also include “Tell Winnie who should get the next necklace.”

re Mandela’s legacy

As the joke making the rounds (before Mandela’s death) goes:

Q: What did South Africans use before they had candles?

A: Electricity

He helped break the back of apartheid. That was all he could do. Now it’s time for socialist revolution, there and everywhere. Am I right, or am I right?

I took some time to mull this one over because despite the glow surrounding the man at the moment, he was not perfect.Mandela only served one five year term as President. His main objective was reconciling South Africans of all colors. He did that. Mandela did initiate programs to improve areas that were ignored under apartheid, but the fact that South Africa is still struggling with basics like water & electricity, is an indictment against his successors, not Mandela.Ted gripes that, “There should have been no forgiveness for apartheid-era murderers.” I wonder if he also meant to include the members of the ANC who tortured & murdered people as well. I think Mandela understood that forgiveness was more important than “justice” if the nation were to avoid a bloodbath.

South Africa is not perfect, its not even as good as the media usually implies. We’re going to blame Nelson Mandela for that? I’ve been on the fence about Rall for some time now, but this strip decides it. I sometimes like this strip but I have limited respect for its creator.

I must say I’m disappointed with Rall’s replies on this thread but more so since he seemed to pass over direct comments to his ’toon from an egte blerry seff effrican.

Ah well; I think that signals the end of my comments for the weekend. I hope the media circus ends but since his funeral is set for the 15th, I regret to predict more round-the-clock media coverage.

Sorry, Ted, but he wasn’t on your side and his pragmatic work to rebuild the South African economy on this planet rather than in Cloud Cuckooland was intentional:

“As far as the Communist Party is concerned, and if I understand its policy correctly, it stands for the establishment of a State based on the principles of Marxism. Although it is prepared to work for the Freedom Charter, as a short term solution to the problems created by white supremacy, it regards the Freedom Charter as the beginning, and not the end, of its program.

The ANC, unlike the Communist Party, admitted Africans only as members. Its chief goal was, and is, for the African people to win unity and full political rights. The Communist Party’s main aim, on the other hand, was to remove the capitalists and to replace them with a working-class government. The Communist Party sought to emphasize class distinctions whilst the ANC seeks to harmonize them. This is a vital distinction.

It is true that there has often been close co-operation between the ANC and the Communist Party. But co-operation is merely proof of a common goal – in this case the removal of white supremacy – and is not proof of a complete community of interests.

The history of the world is full of similar examples. Perhaps the most striking illustration is to be found in the co-operation between Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union in the fight against Hitler. Nobody but Hitler would have dared to suggest that such co-operation turned Churchill or Roosevelt into communists or communist tools, or that Britain and America were working to bring about a communist world.

Another instance of such co-operation is to be found precisely in Umkhonto. Shortly after Umkhonto was constituted, I was informed by some of its members that the Communist Party would support Umkhonto, and this then occurred. At a later stage the support was made openly.

I believe that communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements. Thus communists have played an important role in the freedom struggles fought in countries such as Malaya, Algeria, and Indonesia, yet none of these States today are communist countries. Similarly in the underground resistance movements which sprung up in Europe during the last World War, communists played an important role. Even General Chiang Kai-Shek, today one of the bitterest enemies of communism, fought together with the communists against the ruling class in the struggle which led to his assumption of power in China in the 1930s.

That’s not how nameplates work.

“Liberals get away with murder. They call it “choice.””That’s another conservative myth. Liberal pundits pay a higher price for offending political correctness. Rall got dropped from the Washington Post in 2004 because of the Rice cartoon among others.Rall doesn’t get much attention when he’s offensive, because he is very much a fringe voice. Unlike the talking heads on cable & radio, he isn’t invited to party fundraisers. Rall doesn’t get to sit down with powerful politicians. I doubt he’s ever been invited to the White House.

Ted has more to say on his blog:http://rall.com/comic/nelson-mandelas-unfinishedunstarted-work

Politics aside, I usually respect Rall’s perspective even when I disagree. This is particularly tactless to speak ill of the recently dead. Even if Mandela didn’t accomplish more than to survive and see the birth of a nation with a new paradigm, he deserves our thanks.

C’mon, Ted. Don’t be such a jerk. If you can’t recognize Mandela was a great human being, then you’ve lost what little credibility you had left.

Maybe it’s just me but I get the impression that Ted is not a fan of Mandela.

Let’s see, Mandela’s effects versus this probably Everyday-I-Consider-Offing-Myself cartoonist, along with Bors, Sorenson and that pitiful wannabee whose one-syllable name starts with a “P”, at what point was the man allowed to get old?

Would you please change your picture? I really don’t like associating such an upstanding guy like Goofy with your inanity.