Wednesday, April 9, 2008

"Racism, Guilt, Self-Hatred & Self-Deceit"







What was the most interesting in this article to me, was its honesty from a black man. But I also thought it would be interesting to show people something else. If you will read what he writes about whites, you'll see that he is pointing out that generally, whites are more honest and reliable and that in Africa, Blacks themselves DO regard Whites as superior. This is in fact exactly what an American wrote in his book which can be found on my website store. Gedhalia Braun is a White American Academic who came to Africa in 1975 and lectured and lived all over Africa. In his book, he points out the views of Black Africans on the issues of race. He hAdd Imagead many discussions with Blacks over the years and their views are recorded in his book called: "Racism, Guilt, Self-Hatred & Self-Deceit"But, will the Blacks rise to the occasion this time? Well, in my view, if they haven't done so in 28 years, why will they do so now?This article was published in the widely distributed THE ZIMBABWEAN newspaper. Jan]Black people prove yourselvesSome of my black brothers and sisters will always consider white people to be superior. They will always treat white people with some reverence and give them better service in restaurants and work places. The reasons behind this are numerous with the first one being the so called colonial hangover. The other reasons are more to do with the belief in white people’s honesty, professionalism and generosity.Black people would rather buy cars and other pieces of property from white people. It is generally believed that white people are more honest about the condition of the goods they sell. Waiters in restaurants attend to white people first because they are almost guaranteed tips for their service. The reason why I’m pointing out these facts is that they have a bearing on our country’s future. Some black people believe all the farms that were taken from the whites must be returned to them. They firmly believe that only white people are capable of managing and producing on the farms. The reasons for these beliefs are obvious. Most of the black people who were allocated farms just went on farms to reap where they did not sow. These black people dismantled irrigation systems to either store in sheds or to sell. Cattle were slaughtered and braaied or sold. Workers lost their jobs or had their wages severely reduced and their perks taken away. Some black farmers are absentee farmers who do nothing on their land. These people accepted or grabbed farms sorely because “the land is ours” and don’t believe they should be made accountable on what they do with this essential national resource. This is the legacy of the land redistribution programme under Robert Mugabe.In the Avenues area of town you can tell where whites reside because of the condition of lawns and flowers. Elevators still work and walls are repainted periodically and structures repaired. You can tell where black people have taken over by the fact that the premises will be rundown and the residents have their washing hanging over balconies and not on allocated areas at the back of the flats. Where whites still reside caretakers and grounds men are given a living wage whilst black flat owners will pay the ridiculous government gazetted wages or less.Factories and companies that are run by white people are considered more professional and reliable. If you take something for repair to a white–run company and are told to collect your repaired goods in a week’s time, you are guaranteed of delivery in the time frame given. Not so vana Museyamwa. Black people have no respect for time. We see it as a general guideline. We hardly have a concept of timeframes, deadlines and goals.I’m not one of those self – loathing white – loving Uncle Toms. I’m just a black man who believes that the only way we can improve ourselves is by identifying and accepting our faults, then working hard towards ridding ourselves of these unflattering characteristics. We must also learn to emulate good practices from other races.Our former colonizers will always be ready to point out to the world how we are incapable of governing ourselves and run our industries and farms. We tend to play into their hands. We have no discipline. We seem incapable of finding solutions, setting targets and meeting them. ZANU (PF)’s response to hardships was “Rambai makashinga”. There was no mention of the time period for us to remain steadfast and patient. There has never been any sign of a concrete plan to get us out of this quagmire.Whatever government will eventually rule this country has to come up with a plan. There has to be a rolling out of this plan with short term and long term targets that are tangible and realistic. These targets must be met. Zimbabweans must be given back the ability to plan their lives.Black people and Africans in particular have a lot to prove not only to the world but to ourselves. We can not afford attitudes like that exhibited by the likes of ZANU (PF)’s Chris Mutsvangwa who, in an election campaign discussion tried to excuse ZANU (PF)’s corruption by saying that corruption was also rife in countries like America. If something is widespread that doesn’t make it acceptable. When will black people learn that they have to be twice more convincing, hardworking, honest and dedicated than other races? We have more to lose than other races like our white counterparts.Black African nations are expected to fail and we will and do fail if we continue to behave like village simpletons who have no idea how the world works and are content to live in their own little worlds. Mr Mutsvangwa must also realize that Zimbabwe can not afford the corruption running rife in government. We still have infrastructural challenges to take care of. America can afford some level of corruption because they already have strong infrastructures unlike Zimbabweans where the corrupt activities of one individual can mean the difference between a dam being built or grain going to a hungry region. So Mr Mutsvangwa, corruption at whatever level is unacceptable in a poor country like Zimbabwe.The struggle for black Zimbabweans is similar to the struggles that disadvantaged people all over the world have to go through. We not only have to be as good as other races but we have to be much better. We need to be more disciplined, honest, organized, more innovative and hardworking than everybody else. We don’t have the luxury of making mistakes and learning things along the way.When a people are coming from a colonial legacy where the white man was the boss, the ushering in of a blundering government makes the people of that nation lose self belief. How can we believe in ourselves when the government is going out of its way to prove what the world has always believed, that we are incompetent and incapable of managing our countries let alone small businesses?The people need numerous examples of black people succeeding in starting or turning around successful business enterprises. We need government officials and the people’s representatives to live frugal lives consistent with the country’s poverty. The practice of buying expensive luxury vehicles for officials and chiefs must stop. These vehicles must be sold and the money ploughed into developmental projects. Officials must then be supplied with functional, economical vehicles to use in the execution of their duties.Self – belief and determination must begin at the top. Our leaders must exhibit tremendous discipline, foresight and innovation to take us to the Promised Land. We need men of vision who can identify and be prepared to work with capable teams of Zimbabweans. None but ourselves can carry out the tasks at hand. We must prove our abilities to ourselves first. When we succeed, the world will be convinced. We will then be able to hold our heads high and not have to make excuses and blame other people for our failings.

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