Prof
Your distance from Zimbabwe has divorced you from Zimbabwean politics. While Mugabe has many faults I don't think you can fault him of racism especially of the kind that you are imagining. I know you are imagining the kind of racism that is traditionally practised by whites. You see whites are generally supremacists and do not want to mix with blacks because they consider them inferior and less worthy than themselves.
They generally do not want to be led by blacks because they consider blacks less human than themselves. They have even attempted pseudo-sciences like eugenics to try and prove themselves superior to blacks. They generally do not want to associate with blacks. On the other hand all blacks I know do not mind associating with whites.
Back on the subject of Mugabe he has shown no qualms about including whites in his cabinet. One of his close advisers is Dr Timothy Stamps who is a member of Zanu-PF. Even now we have David Coltart in cabinet, and had it not been for regionalism and tribalist issues within the MDC-T, not Zanu-PF, Eddie Cross would have been there too with absolutely no objection from Mugabe with respect to their skin colour.
In the case of Roy Bennet I think Zanu-PF have made it abundantly clear that they are opposed to him as a person. They have cited aspects of his background and history, especially as a farmer, but I have never heard them citing his skin colour as the reason for their objections.
Therefore it is wrong to insinuate that there are no whites in Mugabe's cabinet because he does not want them there. Rather it is them who try and keep their distance from him. I see no reason why Mugabe would be opposed to a white vice-President in Zambia.
In fact I think you are the racist for considering it unusual for Zambia to have a white-vice president. Rather than discussing your own issue's with that fact you are trying to make it Mugabe's issue.
It is perfectly normal for any African country to have a white among the leadership even right at the top. All that is needed is for such a leader to clearly demonstrate that he has the interests of all the people at heart.
Of course I am not naive and I do know that whites are generally regarded with suspicion. Given the history of racist oppression, misrule, segregation, abuse and neglect that blacks suffered at the hands of white rulers in the past that suspicion is very much justified. Given that many whites on Africa are still supremacist African countries of course have every right to be careful not to let those supremacists into the top leadership.
I am sure that you are very aware that the imbalances in terms of wealth and opportunity that exist in Africa were created by very deliberate and calculated racist policies. It is therefore naive to expect anybody trying to correct those imbalances not to mention race as part of the debate.
Those who benefited from colonial policies because of their race will have to expect to loose something in order to restore balance or at least the perception of balance. The current conventional wisdom which expects balance and equal opportunity to be created without those who benefited from racism giving away or loosing anything is simply too impractical to implement.
Regards
Jupiter
On 16/10/2011 06:17, Prof. Reuben H Simoyi wrote:Folks; The new Zambian prez is the anti-African dictator. He is doing the exact opposite of what a typical SADC, AAU, Third World dictator would do. He threw away the manual and the script!! Even going into the face of Chinese colonialism, and asking them to do everything by the book. In meantime Zuma can't find his tail because it is neatly pinned between his legs as he dinied the Dalai Lama a visa. Further up the road, in Zimbabwe, the Chinese are getting lucrative diamond consessions, and the whole country is looking east (5 times a day!). With all the racism spewing out of Harare, it must have been a slap in the face for Zambians to nominate a white VP (something Mugabe might have done in the '80's whe he was still lucid). Must be exciting to be Zambian.. all those changes and turns, spring is always tomorrow: Kaunda-Chiluba-Mwanawasa-Banda-Sata. While Zim has been fed a steady diet of a single party that has been a bull in a china shop, Zambians have exhaled and inhaled and smelled one flavor after another. There is no training needed to be a minister, a president, or an MP. ZanuPF was the LEAST party ever prepared to take over when they did in 1980.. and it shows. One day you are firing an old rusted musket, the next day you are minister of health? At least the MDC is much better prepared than ZanuPF ever was.
The racism that Mugabe spews is a black mark on all African leaders. Is is OK to be bigoted (there are many bigots) in your house while eating your biltong and drinking cheap whiskey... not cool when you are the president of a country.. what lesson are you teaching your subjects? The young impressionable 17-year olds... that white people are bad and evil? There is no worse disservice Mugabe has done to Zimbabwe than to rear racism as a tool to win elections. Messing up young people's minds and telling them you can take a farm from someone because they are white? and I know there are people on this forum who think in this barbaric manner. I have absolutely no respect for anyone with such a predilection. Even cows do not discriminate on the basis of the colours of their hides, and yet a supposedly intelligent 'elected' official like Mugabe is so rabidly racist. Supposedly all our economic problems can be placed at the feet of all while people in Zimbabwe, and doubtful if there are more than 10,000 white people left in Zim. This is exactly what Hitler did in Krystallnacht.. that Jews were responsible for all of Germany's woes... and for 12 years, Hitler got away with it...
This Sata fellow in Zambia must have done this deliberately.. for the 'shock' factor in making people understand that the color of one's skin is irrelevant in Zambia. Not in Zimbabwe, though. With leadership renewal in Zim, some of us may even take early retirement from our jobs here and return to rebuild Zimbabwe; but when a racist scallywag is still leading that country. I just hate and despite racists with a passion. I have not met a nice racist in my life; as in: 'he is a racist, but deep inside he is a very nice person'.. no, he is NOT. Racism is the lowest form of humanity possible. And in most cases, racists are not intelligent.. they are not the type of guys I would want to go out and have a beer with; or play a whole 4-hour round of golf with.
Prof.
Ishe komborera Africa (Enoch Sontonga, 1897)-- "I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white." -- Nesta Robert Marley, Jamaican Musician__._,_.___Join us at Mwananchi an African Forum at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/mwananchi
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Sunday, October 16, 2011
USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [Mwananchi] White VP for Zambia sticks in Mugabe's craw.. ignore any othe...
As usual, a voice of reason, Jupiter, edifies.
MsJoe.
In a message dated 10/16/2011 9:44:12 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, punungwe@gmail.com writes:
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