Nelson Mandela and South Africa: Did he ruin it?

Question

So my friend and I are having a debate about Nelson Mandela: did he ruin South Africa (Specifically Johannesburg) or did he do the people Justice by establishing Democracy? because supposedly there was order before Mandela came into power and then after he did Johannesburg went "bad"...

I'm so confused about the whole thing and I was wondering if someone would like to shed some light on both sides of the story.

Thanks in advance! :)

Answer 1

That's tough. You have clashing societies that were forced to be separate that are now being forced to live together.

Mandela did the right thing, but it didn't turn out right.

Some might say the same thing about Lincoln. He freed the slaves, but ruined the South for a hundred years or more. He made southern whites more racist than ever because they blamed the blacks for losing the civil war. The northern whites also didn't like the blacks because their sons had to go die in a war to free them.

Lincoln might have made things harder for blacks by forcing the issue at that place and time instead of letting slavery run its course and fizzle out. Robert E. Lee freed his slaves before the civil war in an effort to prove that the war was not being fought over slavery. Slavery would have been abolished soon enough anyway. It would have made life easier for blacks had the North not decided that Slavery would be the propaganda cause for the war.

Answer 2

Nelson Mandela did indeed ruin South Africa--for racists.

The reality of the history is that "order" was maintained by brutal subjugation of the majority black population by the whites. The "apartheid" was even worse than teh "jim Crow" South in the United States. blacks were not only segregated into slums, they had to have passes to even go to work outsied these zones. Violence and murder were routinely used to intimidate or eliminate anyone who dared to speak out. Blus much more--some of it even worse.

In the years since, South Africa has had its problems. In part this is due to the fact that the black population's poverty and misery could not be remedied overnight--you cannot build the education, infrastructure, etc. overnight. The cheif complaint of the whites, however, often amounts to objecting to a new order in which they are not grannted privilege simply because of the color of their skin.d. I have no sympathy for them--nor for their complaints that freedom for black people "ruined" South Africa--because that is what they really mean.

Answer 3

Any society that abolishes segregation and racism is on the right path, no matter how terrible the situation seems. There is still a great deal of hatred for blacks there in the post apartheid south africa. Their problems are aids, and violent crime. But things there are improving.

Answer 4

Nelson Mandela was considered to be a terrorist for many years and now he's a hero - go figure !!

Answer 5

Former colonial powers are to blame for much of what is going on all over the continent of modern day Africa.