Will Winnie give a speech? Silence is golden, i guess... He was a good man, with a dark past...... Let the man be remembered for his good times, this weekend....
I would have preferred a minutes applause to celebrate what he has achieved, but I agree that his passing had to be recognised in some way..
Without trying to sound out of place mate, do you see it being observed? After all, some don't really care.
I believe the vast majority of those present will observe the minutes applause, which is far better than a minutes silence when it just takes one or two people to spoil it..
I don't know how old you are, but during my youth I watched and read, almost on a daily basis, reports of the horrors and atrocities associated with apartheid in South Africa. Mandela suffered the abuses of the system and played a major part in ridding the world of it's evil, leaving a legacy that reaches further than South Africa. It's every ones choice of course but my respect for a great man who has died is my reason.
Mandela is one of those rare people who had the ability to inspire people across the globe. His humility, grace and words of wisdom transcended race, religion and physical barriers, and the least I can do to celebrate the life of this great man is to stand for one minute and clap my hands in his honour..
Thats fine mate. Bur everyone has to realise, that there is two sides to everyy story, to give a balanced view. Yes he was a good man, but also had a darker side,
If you believe the Apartheid propaganda which attempted to portray his darker side, the old saying about one mans Freedom Fighter is another mans Terrorist comes to mind. The atrocities which I seen reported including the Sharpville massacre in 1960 tell me that he was a Freedom Fighter, but as you say there are two sides.
If Mandela had been the terrorist that the regime tried to portray him as then there would probably been huge amounts of bloodshed when he eventually gained power. Instead he made it clear that he did not want to see the opression of the blacks by the white minority replaced with opression of the whites by the black majority. He fought to end all forms of opression in his country. Mandela was definitely a freedom fighter. It was his grace and dignity which prevented South Africa from becoming another Zimbabwe. I will be joining in the minutes applause.
Exactly mate, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up by Mandela went a long way to ensuring the transition was seamless. I will join in the applause.
The out cry over this man is understandably a lot.... Yes i admit he did many a good thing, but how easy is it to forget his past? Now many will rake this as an insult to the man, but he was no angel, he along with his ex wife, were, let's say, no angels, in early days... Maybe he redeemed himself in many an eye, that's everyone's opinion, but, i'm entitled to mine also. Maybe i'm sad, maybe i'm shallow, but there are no tears shed from myself.
