There's an analogous example in US history with MLK, JR. The nonviolent methods of the SCLC were only "effective" because the very real threat of very real violence from the Black Panthers and the NOI, specifically Malcom X, who himself excoriated MLK JR as a "house negro" in a speech using the twin concepts "house negro" and "field negro" to describe the difference between folks like MLK JR and the SCLC and himself. Find the whole speech here:
It is also the same with Mandela - because they kept him caged for so long. Mandela was also very rare in that he practiced what he preached - he genuinelly did not want to act out any sort of revenge. I have a feeling though that a lot of pro-Mandela sentiment in the West comes from not only his long imprisonment but the huge failure of the ANC in securing equitable economy, leaving the country pretty much still in the hands of white people and white elites as whoever holds the purse strings, holds the power:
"Although statistics are not easily available, media reports indicate that 77% of securities listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) are majority-owned by whites, foreign and local institutional investors, with blacks, directly and mainly through institutional investments (pension funds), controlling the remainder – about 23%. The conglomerates listed on the JSE are also managed overwhelmingly by white male executives: 91% of CEOs and 75% of directors are white.
Many of the mammoth JSE-listed businesses have advanced into the townships and rural areas, previously a stronghold of black businesses. This is demonstrated by the mushrooming of huge malls, pushing the once-thriving black business people – who are unable to compete – into the informal sector of tuck-shops and petty businesses, further widening the gap in wealth between blacks and whites.
Land ownership and the agriculture sector show similar trends of white domination. About 79% of prime agricultural land – and associated resources – is majority-owned by 35,000 white commercial farmers and big corporations and a tiny fraction of black elites.
The economic system in South Africa is therefore firmly in the hands of the minority whites. The benefits of the country’s economic success have not trickled down to the poorest – the ordinary black South African – but are the exclusive province of a small group, mainly white."
This might be one of the most extraordinary pieces of written I’ve ever read on this or any subject. Thank you so, so much for choosing to share this on substack. I’m also so deeply sorry that this country has made it so, so difficult for you and so many millions of others. Empire is the great elephant in the global room - that until acknowledged and atoned for, peace is a chimera.
This is brilliant! Gandhi's despicability not only extends to conducting 'erection experiments' with his 17 year old niece, but for being one of the leading apologists for the caste system (which takes the deplorability of racism to another level). There's a book by Arundhati Roy titled 'The Doctor and the Saint' which analyses a series of exchanges between Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (born to a Mahar family, one of the so called lowest castes, who went onto gain a doctorate in law from Columbia against tremendous odds) and the pedophile masquerading as some sort of champion for non-violence. The latter robustly defends the caste system (which, as you probably guessed, is enforced with horrific violence) as some sort of natural order tied to the concept of 'duty' and 'fate' in what can only be described as a twisted, repugnant line of thinking. But what else could you expect from someone who believed that successfully controlling his urges through 'erection experiments' would temper the thirst for vengeance amongst Indians in the carnage unfolding due to partition (nothing to do with the fact that people were being forced to leave ancestral lands in Bengal and Punjab which they'd tended to and lived off for generations - because some dickhead from London arbitrarily drew lines that tore apart their communities without even bothering to ask for their opinion).
Britain has much to apologise for, and frankly anyone who thinks otherwise is an even bigger dickhead that Cyril Radcliffe. Here's a good way to start - stop blindly idolizing Churchill (Stalin - a butcher with more blood on his hands than Hitler - had much more to do with winning WWII). And in all fairness, it's high time India put an end to this 'Mahatma' nonsense and refer to him as Mohandas Gandhi. Nehru, Gandhi and Jinnah are all deplorable characters that deserve nothing but the highest orders of condemnation for a accepting a partition plan that was bound to result in bloodbaths that ensued.
If I'm not mistaken, the Holy Qur'an says that the shayateen will ultimately burn in hell. Well I certainly hope the seven individuals mentioned above get roasted for their callous savagery.
Thank you for a wonderful post. I was aware of most of the things that you mention. I appreciate your courage to confront the Empire's myths with honesty. More people need to read and understand these illusions, fake narratives and propaganda. The myths and the invisible chains created by these myths need to be shattered!
If you're trying to make a comment about me living in the West, please understand the West is an ideology - not a land. The earth was free for us all and does not belong to anyone no matter how much anyone says, 'This bit's mine!!'
There's a lot to ponder about in what you've written. You've written some things here that I have not seen put together. I didn't skim or skip ahead. Not sure I agree with all the views expressed, but the issues raised make me want to think about them more.
There's an analogous example in US history with MLK, JR. The nonviolent methods of the SCLC were only "effective" because the very real threat of very real violence from the Black Panthers and the NOI, specifically Malcom X, who himself excoriated MLK JR as a "house negro" in a speech using the twin concepts "house negro" and "field negro" to describe the difference between folks like MLK JR and the SCLC and himself. Find the whole speech here:
https://youtu.be/7kf7fujM4ag?si=2FuSIo8Sk0oELEpj
Yes, it is exactly this.
It is also the same with Mandela - because they kept him caged for so long. Mandela was also very rare in that he practiced what he preached - he genuinelly did not want to act out any sort of revenge. I have a feeling though that a lot of pro-Mandela sentiment in the West comes from not only his long imprisonment but the huge failure of the ANC in securing equitable economy, leaving the country pretty much still in the hands of white people and white elites as whoever holds the purse strings, holds the power:
https://newafricanmagazine.com/21207/ :
"Although statistics are not easily available, media reports indicate that 77% of securities listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) are majority-owned by whites, foreign and local institutional investors, with blacks, directly and mainly through institutional investments (pension funds), controlling the remainder – about 23%. The conglomerates listed on the JSE are also managed overwhelmingly by white male executives: 91% of CEOs and 75% of directors are white.
Many of the mammoth JSE-listed businesses have advanced into the townships and rural areas, previously a stronghold of black businesses. This is demonstrated by the mushrooming of huge malls, pushing the once-thriving black business people – who are unable to compete – into the informal sector of tuck-shops and petty businesses, further widening the gap in wealth between blacks and whites.
Land ownership and the agriculture sector show similar trends of white domination. About 79% of prime agricultural land – and associated resources – is majority-owned by 35,000 white commercial farmers and big corporations and a tiny fraction of black elites.
The economic system in South Africa is therefore firmly in the hands of the minority whites. The benefits of the country’s economic success have not trickled down to the poorest – the ordinary black South African – but are the exclusive province of a small group, mainly white."
Ok. Good chat 👍
This might be one of the most extraordinary pieces of written I’ve ever read on this or any subject. Thank you so, so much for choosing to share this on substack. I’m also so deeply sorry that this country has made it so, so difficult for you and so many millions of others. Empire is the great elephant in the global room - that until acknowledged and atoned for, peace is a chimera.
High praise indeed, I am glad you liked it. The whole Empire does seem to be crumbling, but it's determined to take us all down with it in.
This is brilliant! Gandhi's despicability not only extends to conducting 'erection experiments' with his 17 year old niece, but for being one of the leading apologists for the caste system (which takes the deplorability of racism to another level). There's a book by Arundhati Roy titled 'The Doctor and the Saint' which analyses a series of exchanges between Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (born to a Mahar family, one of the so called lowest castes, who went onto gain a doctorate in law from Columbia against tremendous odds) and the pedophile masquerading as some sort of champion for non-violence. The latter robustly defends the caste system (which, as you probably guessed, is enforced with horrific violence) as some sort of natural order tied to the concept of 'duty' and 'fate' in what can only be described as a twisted, repugnant line of thinking. But what else could you expect from someone who believed that successfully controlling his urges through 'erection experiments' would temper the thirst for vengeance amongst Indians in the carnage unfolding due to partition (nothing to do with the fact that people were being forced to leave ancestral lands in Bengal and Punjab which they'd tended to and lived off for generations - because some dickhead from London arbitrarily drew lines that tore apart their communities without even bothering to ask for their opinion).
Britain has much to apologise for, and frankly anyone who thinks otherwise is an even bigger dickhead that Cyril Radcliffe. Here's a good way to start - stop blindly idolizing Churchill (Stalin - a butcher with more blood on his hands than Hitler - had much more to do with winning WWII). And in all fairness, it's high time India put an end to this 'Mahatma' nonsense and refer to him as Mohandas Gandhi. Nehru, Gandhi and Jinnah are all deplorable characters that deserve nothing but the highest orders of condemnation for a accepting a partition plan that was bound to result in bloodbaths that ensued.
If I'm not mistaken, the Holy Qur'an says that the shayateen will ultimately burn in hell. Well I certainly hope the seven individuals mentioned above get roasted for their callous savagery.
What a charade we're living under. Thanks for your words.
Thank you for a wonderful post. I was aware of most of the things that you mention. I appreciate your courage to confront the Empire's myths with honesty. More people need to read and understand these illusions, fake narratives and propaganda. The myths and the invisible chains created by these myths need to be shattered!
If you have the West so much, why have you swallowed the most extreme form of Western egalitarian ideology?
Such as?
Your entire post.
I'm sorry I genuinely don't understand.
If you're trying to make a comment about me living in the West, please understand the West is an ideology - not a land. The earth was free for us all and does not belong to anyone no matter how much anyone says, 'This bit's mine!!'
> please understand the West is an ideology - not a land.
And you've embraced that ideology much more thoroughly than nearly any Westerner.
> The earth was free for us all and does not belong to anyone no matter how much anyone says, 'This bit's mine!!'
Ah, Rousseau mixed with Proust. And you claim to hate the West.
There's a lot to ponder about in what you've written. You've written some things here that I have not seen put together. I didn't skim or skip ahead. Not sure I agree with all the views expressed, but the issues raised make me want to think about them more.
Thank you for reading; if you want any links to the sources let me know and I'll paste.