As we gather here today to reflect on the passing of an unfortunate soul and tragic enigma of our collective South African history, very few words can adequately capture the impact of this his actions and ideas on countless South Africans throughout the span of his public and private life.
Eugene was an anachronism, not as much misunderstood as having misunderstood the time and context in which he was so unfortunately born and raised. It would not be too far-fetched to contend that Eugene would have been far better suited and a much happier child had he been born in Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy, the burden of this mismatch haunted Eugene throughout his natural life and was subject to constant scrutiny in the media.
A better public persona could not be invented for such a social mismatch and societal misfit — affectionately labeled ET — Eugene’s continued contribution to a post-apartheid South Africa was out of this world and some would even say not suited for this world.
Eugene, in his last days, had to carry the unfair burden of living in a post-apartheid South Africa so far removed from the ideals of his childhood and life as a younger and ageing man. Having to endure altogether foreign ideas of integration, black empowerment and the unfair burden of equality, Eugene never really managed to fully embrace the new South Africa.
Yet, throughout all this toil and suffering, ET never fell off his moral high horse and held fast through turbulent and challenging times. Holding true to his questioned ideals, even to his last days, Eugene insisted on paying his eventual murderers R300 a month, in his mind, a fitting R10 a day.
His legacy and impact on South Africa is also poignantly demonstrated by the actions of those who eventually released him from the burden of this new and foreign South Africa. His legacy, that impacted so many black South Africans — and misguided white Afrikaners — shall forever be recorded in the history books.
Eugene instilled fear in those around him, a man that, with his thunderous voice, forced his way and point across. So much so that his eventual murderers waited for the police to arrive to lament and show remorse for their deeds. Indeed, Eugene, even in death, made sure that he was not forgotten as the bastion of the far right.
In closing, let it be remembered that the passing of this unfortunate soul and his twisted legacy shall forever haunt this country, lest we forget where we come from and what needs to be changed in order to truly realise the ideals of our post-apartheid dispensation.
I believe that ET’s one and only regret would be his inability to meet with Julius Malema before his passing, an equally maladjusted anachronism with whom he would have indubitably had long and meaningful conversations about the state of our society and the demands of the future of the republic.
And even though my isiZulu is a bit rusty, I believe the appropriate words to salute a man of this stature would be: uyahamba inja. Lala kahle ibhunu
Yes all those that believe in salvation by the state and non voluntary association of people are nutjobs. This includes the constitutional court judges, their supporters and ET. Libertarians Rule!
@ Marius – most writers has spent their quality time exploring the origin of the AWB and its impact on the political climate today in the country. Not wrong at all, but many have fail to find that the very same AWB at one point betray their leader. ET was left to rot at his farm with no help at all from his colleague. Now when they find out that he is dead, and not a political death as one assumed, immediately they want to cease the moments. ET has found out the hard way that AWB has no role to play in the new SA. Hard pill to swallow. However he insisted, and died a poor man. Yes, history will record a life of a right wing who fail to see light and transform for the better. Painfuly ET died alone, with no friends or a dog beside him.
Ironically, the impact your right-wing nutjob has had on South African history is mostly thanks to the attention he got from the left-wing press. The AWB never commanded the levels of active support Terre’Blanche’s media profile suggested. ET was simply the English world’s favourite caricature of the Big Bad Boer, the prototypical Nazi. According to one obituary Eugene only started donning his Khaki attire at the behest of an English-speaking journalist and admirer, one Ms Jani Allen.
Do not make the fault to think that the ramblings of this “Alternative Afrikaner Redelinghuis” is an accurate reflection of the present mood of the majority of Afrikaners.
I understand why the other bloggers could not be that realistically factual about ET, it could be seen as a racist attack and on the whole, I think they did fine. So thank you for doing the duty no-one looked forward to and provide the honest reality. If we could all be honest enough to point out and shame those with a non-conciliatory attitude amongst our own, we will soon not have inter-culture problems. Enough said, lets teach our children to do differently, using distasteful examples from the past, like Tereblanche.
He paid his workers R300 per month? Who represents farm workers in this country? That is a criminal wage and, it seems, more than one crime involved here.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that the majority of Afrikaners actually give a shit.
The other issue everyone seems to be overlooking is the fact that he employed a 14 year old. Why is nobody bitching about his criminal offence of child labour?
Thank you all for participating in the biggest intelligence gathering operation by the N.I.A. of this decade! Your input/ threat to the SWC will be assesed and used in country wide round-ups this weekend.
By the way ET was a fossil and a politician, not a Boer. He was the embodiment of what is wrong with the Afrikaner, Christian or not!
Brilliant: ‘ET never fell off his moral high horse’. Ha! Ha!
For the rest? Well, I guess it all depends on where you came from.
For me, he was always a bit of a joke, as are Zuma, Malema, etc. And as for ET and JM getting together, I think it’s somewhat better they did not.
I’m not sure that their combined IQs could have carried an intelligent conversation or would have won the day!
@ Marius,
So you obviously think it is better to murder hundreds of thousands of people, steal billions, and cause millions to suffer, like the ANC?
Terblance, like many of us from the same era, could foresee the consequences of “african democracy” and tried to do something about, albeit maybe not with your approval, but really, what do you know of the sufferance of white South Africans in the Border Wars of the 1800’s, the Groot Trek, The Anglo Boer war, World War I and World II etc., without which you would not be wallowing in your smug, privilaged lifestyle.
ET’s so-called atrocities is not a patch on the atrocities committed by the ANC, see Anthea Jeffery’s People’s War, and the daily terror and crime which we are subjected to or the doings of thugs like Malema, whom you obviously support.
By running down a man who cannot defend himself, are you any better than those that murdered him now spewing any bile they want?
It might or might not interest you to know that the atrocities, chaos and outrages foreseen by rightwing dinosaurs like ET and myself are happening every day in these times while self righteous liberals like yourself, whose fault this really is, are running around frantically trying to close Pandora’s box.
Can we accept that the man is gone, let him be. As for his death, let it be as it is: a crime committed by criminals. Lucky for him that he was not charged and tried for his breach of labour laws.
@Eagle, dermocracy is not for blacks only, I think as a reader, as your references seem to prove, you can research the meaning and origins of the concept. The boarder wars ould not have occured if the owners of the land were left well alone. Why do “you people” call those of your kin traitors and other names if they do not tow the victim line??? I understand your stance against Blacks, but your own…..
A pathetic and one-dimensional effort, Marius. Almost embarrassing to read. You’d do well to give Tinyiko Sam Maluleke’s blog “Mourning Eugene Terre’Blanche” a really good read. His is a sincere and very objective viewpoint. And that, coming from a black man at a time like this, is highly laudable.
Marius, as allways when I give attention to an opinionator, I googled you first, (then I have an idea of who you are) and were truly impressed. The balance in your contribution, does give alternative perspective. I also have always contended, that a person’s words and actions actually reflects one self: thus, “uyahamba inja” may be an indication of the situation, (but for myself), I would have refrained from the lable, lest it shows my own character.
@Eagle – Are we choosing between lesser evils now? Surely, if we, as the voting population, forget our little surface differences and recognise the people who can actually lead us to a better future, we can surely come up with leaders who do not assert themself atrociously or inspire the weak amongst the population to do likewise? Why do we have to have a pure Afrikaner party? Most of the Afrikaners I know, who do btw remember their history and all the atrocities in it, have joined more multicultural parties like COPE, ID and DA, since most of us believe that it is the separatists, elitist, terrorist, condescending, shortsighted attitude of certain elements in our society who caused most of the problems in our history. Being a micro minority party and adopting the arrogant stance the AWB has, trying to mislead the world into believing they are actually representative of all Afrikaners, comitting those same acts of terrorism to get what you want that you used to put the ANC behind bars for, is not going to endear you to most other Afrikaners, or gain their support.
Your name is interesting, would that be eagle as in the one who used to sit on top of those standards carried around by those who favour wearing khaki, black and red?
Dear f4nyx
I would really like to answer you as there is obviously have a huge comprehension problem.
However, I need you to explain to me your understanding of “you people”, “if they do not tow the victim line”. While you are about it also explain “dermocracy” and “boarder wars”.
Awaiting your response.
If we are able to look past the personas involved, we find an employer killed by 2 employees over a wage dispute. There are processes in place to handle such disputes that are probably not communicated to labourers.
This simple equation, however, shows that it could have happened to any of us, that life is so cheap in SA that any of us could have been killed over a dispute. Be it haggling over wages or price.
The legacy ET has left us ironically, is that we need to learn to respect each other and respect human life and to learn to settle our disputes with dialogue and mediation.
Redelinghuys, so you pretend to know what the majority of Afrikaners think.
As an “Alternative Afrikaner” you are obviously not aware of the rage expressed by Afrikaners in postings to Beeld, Rapport or Praag. Or does an AA not read the Afrikaans media?
The impression that I get is that there is an outpouring of grief and anger from Afrikaners like me that had never had any previous dealings with the AWB. ET’s death is becoming a rallying point for the anger at the unabated farm murders and lawlessness. Ironically, in death, ET is having more influence and is doing more to unite Afrikaners than he ever did whilst alive.
You pretend to be a scholar. Is a political scientist exempt from the scientific method? I do not see any analytical or scholarly content in any of your postings – just the same old leftist PC rhetoric.
I must have completely confused Thought Leader with a platform for expressing opinions, instead of the academic journal that it actually is.
Marais, R.E.the rage expressed by Afrikaners in postings to Beeld, Rapport or Praag.
A Small vocal awb minority is still a small minority. I have to much to loose to get involved with a fringe grouping, and one that has no moral base at that. Farm murders and the awb are not linked. If you want to fly the flag to get attention for farm murders, fly an ethical and morally defensible flag. When my forefathers arrived there was no such thing as apartheid. In those days it took 6 months from Europe to the Cape, now I can be anywhere on the globe in 24h. Times have and are changing – adapt or die. Get with the program Dude.
@Marius Redelinghuys – No, the fashion in (emotional) debate in this country is that when people feel strongly (emotional) about an issue and cannot find logical support for their opinions, they will attack: the debater’s use of English, spelling, lack of titles or education, lack of perceived standards, etc. etc.
So that an opinion (hypothesis) like: “ET’s death is becoming a rallying point for the anger at the unabated farm murders and lawlessness”, may use newspaper letters from a few angry readers as “scientific proof” (without reference to what % these make of the whole set of set of Afrikaners or how accurate and unbiased the reporting), whilst at the same time telling you that you show no such method in your debate. Emotional debates only therefore succeed at insulting a perceived opponent and never really reach any constructive conclusion. Please keep giving us your own original opinion instead of the scholarly spoutings so admired by the unimaginative.
People often choose to hear what is nice for their ears. ET was a liability to the White man in South Africa. Why is there none of his blinkered supporters that reflects on the violent way he lived his life? He went to jail for violent assault of two blacks, one of which was disabled. Are the victims less human than us? Why turn a blind eye to his gross violation of labour law by employing a minor and paying starvation wages? A 60-something gentleman from Tshing township has rejoiced at ET’s death, saying he was often beaten by ET while working on the farm. Is this how you treat fellow human beings, and even more, people older than you.
If people feel that ET was an embodiment of their outlook on life in SA, SHAME ON YOU. Count us out!
Just another farm labour dispute, hey? Usual way disputes are sorted in Africa.. Bludgeon the victim sensless with a pipe/knobkerrie then hack him to death with a panga, genital mutilation included.. Then leave without taking anything, although they are so poor and underpaid.. Now we hear there was not much to steal as the victim was himself living in poverty. Whatever. But did your folks not teach you to speak ill of the dead?
@Marius: The masthead reads: Thought leader – blogs * opinions * analysis.
With all respect, at 23 you have not done a lot of living. Opinions at this stage of live will mostly be second hand, not gained through living through tumulus times unlike (say) Max du Preez. However as a trained political scientist your analysis should be worthwhile.
I do not see as you do, Malema as an anachronism. He, like Mugabe, is worshipped by a very large segment of the black population.
As Afrikaner nationalist, I can understand the nationalistic feelings amongst blacks that make Mugabe and Malema possible. What I do not understand (useful field for study) is that their followers would rather grab land and consequently starve – and then beg for food from the much despised West. What can be more demeaning?
The Afrikaner did not grab the mines in 1948 although foreign ownership of the mines was a major factor leading up to the ABO. Mining in 1948 was the backbone of the economy as was farming in Zimbabwe in the 1980’s. The Afrikaner did not wreck the economy to settle old scores.
Relevance to murder on Terre’Blanche: a high profile murder that highlights the plight of farmers. With the elimination of farmers and Malema’s proposed land grab, the begging bowl is South Africa’s future.
@X Cepting: Visit Afrikaans web sites such as that of Beeld or Rapport. These publications belong to NasPers/ News24. Their editors are left-leaning in respect of the majority of Afrikaners.
In a recent poll in Beeld, in excess of 70% of Afrikaners were favorable disposed towards an Afrikaner Volkstaat.
Look at the overwhelming reader’s reaction to Terre’Blanche’s murder in Rapport: http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Eugene-TerreBlanche-op-plaas-vermoor-20100403
@Ernst Marais, and I can have statistics do any dance you want them to, simply by choosing the experimental population set carefully. If the Bleed had bothered to include all Afrikaners in their statistical analysis across South Africa they would, I can assure you , have come up with different figures. There are many Afrikaners who really wish a small minority in the old Transvaal and OFS would stop giving the rest of us a bad name through a lack of faith in change and a support of facist regime principles.
@ XXX Cepting
Some extracts from you previous “postings”.
“Are we choosing between lesser evils now? Surely, if we, as the voting population, forget our little surface differences and recognise the people who can actually lead us to a better future, blah, blah, blah”, “comitting those same acts of terrorism to get what you want that you used to put the ANC behind bars for, is not going to endear you to most other Afrikaners, or gain their support” , “would stop giving the rest of us a bad name through a lack of faith in change and a support of facist regime principles.”
Besides the spelling being atrocious, this delusional psychobabble has got LIBERAL written all over it. When will you lot twig that it is liberals like yourself that is responsible for the mess that we are in and for the suffering and deaths of millions in South Africa alone? Better still why don’t you do what most of your liberal brethren had done and vote with your feet to some country far away when you lot finally realise that you cannot stuff the genie back in the bottle?
And yes, the eagle is to cover up the swastika on my cap, or better still, the eagle was also the emblem of the old SA Air force, the decent one, so maybe I am an Air force Colonel, who knows?
However, there is no doubt in my mind as to what you are.