“Rich and Poor”

differences in apparence are inherent and essential for survival of the human race. science tells us that inbreeding is fatal so i would like everyone to know that they once had an undesirable looking ancestor in one instance or another inorder for them to be alive, so stop judging one another on the basis of fashionable phenotypes in society at a given point in time.

As for Zimbabweans getting what they deserve since they don’t like Malawians, Mozambicans, and Zambians, they didn’t go on a mass murdering spree… Also anywhere you go in Africa, black Africans are prejudicial to their own, whether they speak a different language or have a different skin tone. Dare I say, colonialism excaserbated the problem which had been present from before, but I will not expound.

First and foremost, I think we should never underestimate the extent to
which people in this country revere that man. I would even go so far as
to say people would moderate their actions (even though it may not seem
it at current) lest they disrespect/offend him. I believe there to exist
deep wounds in SA’s populace. Such wounds (exacerbated by current hardships)
could be easily re-opened provided
there were a compelling trigger. The resultant actions of people following
such a trigger are at best unpredictable.

@Cynthia

>so how would his death make matters worse?

I remember circa 1993 when Lucas Mangope adbicated his
leadership of the Bophuthatswana Bantustan (now largely North West), people went
an a looting campaign (as in jogging with mattresses and sofas on their heads)
after looting the malls and shops they razed them to the ground. After that, we had
to endure months of not being
able to get bread and other basic commodities and thus had to source goods from
farther off. These shops were owned by well known people living in the community.
Surely I couldn’t be comparing the abdication of Mangope to the
death of Mandela. I am not. What’s my point? I am trying to show that
we shouldn’t place an undue emphasis on having a rational path from
the occurrence of certain events and the actions that follow.

We should rather try mitigate circumstances which, upon the action of a
certain trigger(s), may result in adverse actions. The list of triggers may range
from so-called third force elements to deaths of certain individuals.

@Alisdair Budd

> Dont you thin that that is the racism
> you are supposed to be condoning?

The purpose of my stating it is to bring it out into the open so that
we may openly engage the subject matter and hopefully in the process
weaken the foundation whereon this “othering” process is founded

@Lyndall Beddy

> “You are what you eat”

I think that to be plausible.

@Grant Walliser

> I think you perhaps underplayed the
> role of economics in this

Noted and after spending the weekend chatting to some of my buddies
living in squatter camps, I think that without the economic environment being
what it is the situation might not have escalated as quickly as it has.

If a guy has a work permit then another set of rules applies.

This reminds me of when government said they wouldn’t allow the army to do patrols in rough areas, “against the constitution again”. The gangsters loved that piece of news.

i think our govt doesn’t know how to prioritize, and all they do is plug holes after most of the damage has been done.

If anything, I think you perhaps underplayed the role of economics in this. It is perhaps not surprising that the monster that has been lurking below the surface has come up for air in perfect step with our economy coming off the boil. Jobs are drying up and money is getting tighter.

Needing someone to blame was probably the spark…

When there is money and prospects, everyone is tolerant and loves their neighbour. When times are lean it’s a different story whether it’s Joburg in 2008 or Germany in 1932, or SA in 1948. People retreat into what they feel is their cultural group, the one that has the most claim to local resources. Culture is a product of economics.

Thenjiwe SIBANDA, there are a lot of smart black south africans, whose mentality is not completely washed, exactly a reason we are not voting for the same candidate for 28 years or run to Tanzania instead of solving real problems.

you should go home to vote, so you can alleviate our problems here in Mzantsi, surely the township guys are fedup with people that print IDs (and illegal money of course), kill, rob and steal.

There is something inherently wrong in a system which allows asylum seekesr to work. refuges have no track record no police clearance no place of fixed abode and have nothing to protect so can quickly slide to crime.
The reason zimbabweand have flocked down to SA is the xchange rate. no matter how little he earns in SA the exchanbge rate makes sure he is king in Zimbabwe.The employer would be happy with the peanuts he patys this guy improves his profit margin and this illegal employee is happy because he is feeding is family. he tells his friends in Zimbabwe- they abandon the fight there and come to Jozi. Those who dont make it slide to crime (I Understand from 70 % of crime now is immigrant crime).
They have now realised this in the UK and are fining employers of foreign labour harshly. As soon as employers stop employing illegals illegals will be housed at refugee camps and procesed properly not this “fence jumping and work policy”

The following pattern is also telling: Zambia helped Zimbabwe in the liberation war but after the war Zambians were hardly tolerated in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe like many other african countries assisted south africans in their strugle against apartheid, come freedom Zimbabweans are not really welcome in south africa. I wonder what this means to the african rennaisance. It does not help matters that africans from other countries seem to have lost the african tradition of nurturing the hospitality of ones host. It is true that some of the nationalities are guilty of practicing anti social behaviours thereby playing into these prejudices.