THE TWO AMERICAS

The Two Americas

THE AMERICAN DICHOTOMY

There were two women, one white and the other black. The white woman is wealthy while the black woman is of modest means and had a criminal record. Both women, according to prosecutors broke the law in their respective cases. The white woman was accused, and convicted of offering bribes ($15,000) in order to raise the SAT scores of her daughter while the black woman was convicted for "illegally" voting about three years ago. 

The black woman's action was deemed illegal because she voted while on a court ordered supervisory probation. The black woman claimed she did this in ignorance and the vote was thrown out anyway. But the prosecutor had other ideas. He convinced the judge that the black woman's previous convictions proved she is a potential lawbreaker. The judge obliged and handed the black woman a 5-year prison sentence. Yes, you heard that right, five years in a United States prison for voting inadvertently. A few days ago, the wealthy white woman got a grand total of 14 days in prison for offering bribes to influence the examination results of her child. 

The white woman is actress Felicity Hoffman and the black woman is Crystal Mason. Though Crystal Mason is out of jail on appeal, she spent several months in jail and the conviction affected her family so adversely that their home was on the verge of foreclosure. Crystal now relies on charity to stay financially afloat. The case of the two women represents the two Americas many non-white people, especially blacks have to deal with all their lives. One America works and appears specially made for whites while the other not only does not work for non-whites but also seeks to destroy them. And there are hundreds of such barefaced judicial genocide in the "land of the free and home of the brave" 

WEB Dubois once said, "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line". Whether you are talking of wars, poor education, poor medical facilities, poor infrastructure and ineffective leadership the people who suffer the most are the non-whites of the world. The most obvious contrast in color between people in America is that of blacks and whites. Being black increases the likelihood of getting killed, maimed, incarcerated, disrespected and most importantly criminalized in the eyes of society for the slightest infringement - even an inadvertent one. Innocent blacks; whether adults or kids, men or women, young or old suffer egregious injustices, not just in America but also in the western world. In addition to Crystal's case described above, another black, homeless woman, Tanya Mcdowell was recently sentenced to five years in prison for using a friend's address in documents submitted for her son's school admission. Obviously, the authorities would prefer the kid become a drug mule in the neighbourhood so he can end up in the labour camps called prisons. 

The power relationship between whites and blacks has not changed significantly in the past seven hundred years. When it comes to black lives in a white world, blacks are considered less than human.  A prominent US official once called racism and its attendant oppressiveness an American "birth defect". Cases such as described above are many but only a few are exposed for what they are - an organized institutional racism that is based on fear and pseudoscience. The system is rigged, and trying to get justice while living in the same space with a White Supremacist culture has proven difficult for hundreds of years. If Blacks are obviously not real citizens of the United States it is time to move to where black citizenship is free - Africa.  

jrotimibgood@gmail.com

Xenophobia In South Africa Has A Deep Reason - Injustice

Xenophobia In South Africa Has A Deep Reason - Injustice

Xenophobic Attack in South Africa

Africans are among the most self-loathing and least accepting of each other as a people on the planet. They would rather accept, invite, fete and betray each other to foreigners who don't look like them than foster togetherness with each other. We compete for the white man's attention, adopt his ways and seek his approval even when it is evident that white Neo-liberal economic oppression is the main cause of the problems on the continent. 

In the past couple of weeks, black South Africans have besieged businesses belonging to other Africans, wounding and killing some of them.  South African citizens appear to think that the prosperity of those they define as foreigners has been at the expense of indigenes. This short-sighted idiocy is encouraged by dishonest and xenophobic political leaders and state officials  who try to maintain the illusion that South Africa's economic inequalities will be ameliorated once other Africans doing business in the country are eliminated - literally.

A few decades ago, black South Africans were treated less than human in the land their ancestors had lived for millennium. They were segregated into what amounted to ghettos and mainly interacted with white apartheid South Africa as farm hands and house helps. South Africans became refugees in surrounding countries and the fight to end white domination of the country was possible through the generosity of many African nations. After the end of apartheid and installation of black majority rule, there was no concerted effort to address the injustices perpetrated against blacks during the apartheid era. The egregious evil of apartheid (which only ended on paper) was swept under the rug through a cockamamie "truth and reconciliation" nonsense. This essentially meant that all the atrocities of the army, police and judiciary were forgiven after confessing to their crimes before the "reconciliation" committee. In contrast, after the Second World War, at the Nuremberg trials of NAZI officers, there was no truth and reconciliation - just truth and judgement. The atrocities of apartheid parallel those of the NAZIs but was shamelessly condoned by the so-called "developed" world. But more importantly, most of the white sociopolitical structures that kept blacks in an inferior position were left intact. Access to land and upward mobility through gainful employment remained a pipe dream for blacks in the so-called townships. 

Because very little was done to integrate the majority of black people into the "new" South Africa, they were frustrated, and anger at the system continued to simmer just below the surface. First, no real justice was served for black people at the end of apartheid - probably because of a political trade-off acceded to by the leaders that took over from the apartheid regime. Second, some irresponsible black leaders at the end of apartheid sought to deflect the real reason for black disenfranchisement by subtly suggesting and allowing xenophobic attacks on black foreigners. This has led to a deep rabbit hole that may eventually lead to a civil war. Julius Malema, the EFF leader has consistently warned that the anger exhibited by black South Africans against foreign Africans may later degenerate into an unpredictable internal conflict in the future as economic conditions continue to deteriorate for blacks. 

Today, without justice, hope or real freedom, black South Africans vent their frustrations on those least able to fight back - other Africans. Most of these Africans are self-employed and contribute to the local economy. Black South Africans appear to have no motivation to go beyond the satisfaction of basic needs. They have become envious of the fact that so-called foreigners are filling some of the local business void. But if truth be told, the real problem is that post apartheid economic emancipation of black South Africans has not gained any traction. 

A common problem of black on black interaction when economic survival is an issue is the failure to seek cooperation and harnessing potentials for the common good. This destructive and self-defeating attitude is a reflection of our colonial past of "divide and conquer" that was imposed by whites. But which was subsequently entrenched by indigenous leaders who took over from the departing colonists. 

Xenophobic attacks on other black people in South Africa is totally uncalled for when the white architects of economic misery in the country live rich and protected lives. Because the culprits of injustice appear untouchable, black South Africans have turned on other blacks because of self-hatred and fear. The whites and their black collaborators keep the flame of xenophobia alive so that black South Africans cannot see the light of truth. Today, the country of Mandela is notorious for murder, preternatural violence against women and armed robbery. The armed struggle against apartheid has degenerated into a self-destructive debacle and attacks on black foreigners are a symptom of a deeper reaction against a disquieting sense of injustice.

Until the historical injustice, barefaced thievery and genocide that culminated in the institution of apartheid in South Africa is fully addressed the country will continue to work for whites and their black cohorts while the majority poor blacks will keep asking the wrong questions, getting the wrong answers that result in wrong actions. Other Africans, no matter the propaganda, did not cause the problem of South African blacks - the blow is coming from the white fist inside the velvet glove.

jrotimibgood@gmail.com