Why do South Africans believe they live in a democracy?

Question

Their government (including the president) is comprised of many Soviet trained thugs. The ANC government came to power with the blood of men, women and children on its hands.
Apartheid has been reinstituted - this time called BEE - and now favors blacks. South African politicians (as far up as the deputy president) are constantly on trial for offenses ranging from fraud to rape. And always being acquitted.
All those innocent people on trial - go figure.
The infrastructure, built by the previous government, has crumbled and now Johannesburg is one of the most dangerous cities on Earth. The world famous Carlton Hotel has been deserted for years.
Rape, murder and other violent crime are out of control and the corrupt, inept police force does nothing about it.
The currency is worth nothing, the so-called government is more concerned with enriching themselves and the average South African is no better off than they were under apartheid.

Moreover, the population, as well as the government, is happy to live in denial, and blame the agony of the present on 'the legacy of apartheid'
Please. That ended thirteen years ago and BILLIONS of dollars of foreign aid have been poured into the country.
They've still managed to f*ck it up.

This is a democracy?

librarian - you are indicative of big-mouthed Americans that have no clue of how the world actually works outside the States.
Babies are not raped on a regular basis in the USA. There is no AIDS epidemic here.
Instances of police brutality are few and far between. Politicians do not rape HIV positive women here.
Oh, and New York was rated the safest big city in the country (and one of the safest worldwide) last year.
Get a clue or keep your mouth shut.

librarian - I have seldom read such sensationalist, denialist, DISHONEST drivel
Even attempting to compare crime stats in the USA with the barbarism and savagery playing out on the streets of South Africa is cynical enough to make you worthy only of contempt.
America has crime -yes- but per capita South Africa's crime is comparable to a war zone. And the nature of that crime is barbaric and random, just as the consistency of that crime betrays the complete ineffectiveness
of their BEE (look it up) police force, many of whom are corrupt and violent - criminals themselves.
I notice on some of those links you posted you had to dig as far back as 2000 to find dirt on American police civil rights violations. Proves my point - instances of police brutality/corruption are few and far between in the USA.
The nature of the violence, corruption and decay in South Africa is EVERYDAY and preys on a much smaller population.

The other thing about the drivel you posted that stands out is its predictability.
Like others that have no reasoning ability, you want to live hundreds of years ago and exhume the historical carcasses of Native Americans and black slaves, even though slavery was abolished more than a century ago.
Whilst we're on the subject of slavery, America might well have practised that abhorrent system many years ago, but let's not forget that the USA was also the first country to abolish slavery, and indeed fought a civil war over some of those very same issues.
Native Americans were primitive savages that refused to adapt, and like all other cultures in history that refused to do so, they fell by the wayside.
The difference is that in the USA they were not annhilated, as is the pattern of history,
they were given land and their historical grievances are addressed even today.

So, my advice to you is to live in the 21st century. It's 2007 now.

mapompana and innocentia - The two of you are examples of what passes for intelligent discourse in the 'New South Africa.'
The only reason the two of you have any kind of employment is because you have black skins. With your levels of intellect, you MIGHT be able to find employment as housekeepers or parking attendants here in the States. Send me your CV's.

Jade 21 - such language! I'm not really a prick, more of an as*hole.

Innocentia - oh, and baby, I'll stop Emailing you if you stop Emailing me. If I told you once, I told you a 1000 times, I'm NOT going to sleep with you, no matter how many times you ask.

Answer 1

I am totally amazed that someone is comparing the situation in South Africa to America!!! I moved to the UK 5 years ago from South Africa due to the crime. I was one of the lucky one who was able to get out and show my son that living in fear is NOT NORMAL. Simple things like getting out of your car to open your gate was done with fear. I had to teach my 3yr old son how to open the gates FAST and run to the top of the drive just in case I got carjacked because believe me if I got out of the car they would not only take the car but also the child in it, as has happened many many times. Horrific crimes are committed every minute of every day against blacks as well as whites and very few criminals are every brought to justice. My best friend was shot dead in her car - was anyone ever caught - NO!! Every single person I knew in SA has been a victim of some kind of crime. I was personally caught in the middle of a shoot out at 5.30pm on the way home from work. I have family still there and I worry for them every day. Until the president admits that crime is problem nothing will get done. The police force is under funded as it is in many countries but not to the extent that it is there. Crimes are not being responded to because there are no vehicles for the police to use. And yet the Zulu King has how many new mercedes???? I could go on and on!!

Answer 2

Your view is a little skewed of whats happening,
Yes the crime is bad, I have been victim of violent crime, stabbed and shot. Many of my friends black and white have been victims 1 is paralyzed due to a gunshot to the head for what 10 Rands thats not even enough to buy a pack of smokes. I dont agree with apartheid it was wrong but are we going to carry on with this hate forever which will eventually destroy us.Everyone calling others racial names is uneducated and just plain low class.
Also i dont belive that you can blame a whole race for mistakes that the next generation had nothing to do with, its people with that mindset that keep this racial stigma going.
Corruption well the proof is in the pudding, Carte Blanche uncovered so much corruption in the housing projects its not even funny. Telecomunication Monopoly is a big reason why South Africa isnt getting foreign investment, so our probems are big and can only be solved if everyone finally comes together and works at it.
So lets all stand together as a true rainbow nation and work together for for a better country.

Answer 3

Because maybe the world tells us we do. They told us we did not have a democracy before the ANC so please will some one let us into the secret of a democracy. I agree with u on most things
Brad but i must say that Johannesburg is once again picking up and its becoming a decent place again. Slowly very slowly.

Answer 4

Hi Stevieboy!!!
libriarian, Soccacraze, Diezel and Mapompana... one thing i've realized about Brad is that he is a psychotic sophist, who has actually convinced himself of all the bullcr@p he spews in this forum...he is a waste of time and energy and just likes to make peoples blood boil.he thinks he's gone to live in heaven now, he's been gone since 96 and for some reason has some telepathic view of South Africa. And of course the rest of us here are blind and unaware of everything...warzone...i mean hello. i burst into laughter when i heard that we're practically living in a warzone. yeah, i wake up every morning and wear my bullet proof vest and carry my gun...(puleeze!) Brad you are ridiculous, old and bitter...and as i often say, your poor heart needs to stop pumping all that break fluid honey, its not good for your health...nor your brain. i mean i'm sitting in my office, a lovely breeze is coming through my office window, right here in Sandton...life is peacefully going on. and the last time i heard a gun shot...last night, on dstv... (a movie). Looking forward to a lovely stroll lunchtime to Discovery to get me something yummy!!! and to think about the picnic my fiance and i had yesterday, undisturbed at a park in Lombardy...where i heard no gun shots.

PS: by the way, stop mailing me you psycho!!!

Answer 5

To the librarian: I admire your passion. I am also an American and I agree, we have many problems. However, to compare American's problems to those of countries in Africa, borders on irresponsible. The problems that we face as a nation are mostly trivial in comparison to those of African governments. Please, until you have lived in the townships and slums of Africa, do not attempt to make these comparisons. Recently one famous American rapper who visited the South African townships illustrated my point saying, "This place makes the ghettos in America look like Beverly Hills."

Answer 6

There is the word Democracy....as we all know it....
But lets Add another word or two to the Dictionary Solely invented
by the ANC

Democrazy or Demockery.....Take your pick...Update Time Boys!!!

Democrazy or Demockery.....
democracy // n. (pl. -ies)
1 a a system of government without the whole population, usu. through corrupted elected representatives. b a state so governed. c any crime organization governed without democratic principles.
2 an egalitarian and non tolerant form of society.
In a Nutshell.......

Answer 7

I believe democracy is when people actually vote for their leaders, which your previous goverment failed to implement(which you never mentioned!)
You go on as if the U.S. is this paradise and ANC officials are corrupt whereas you forget that the american goverment spent billions on the so called war on terror but failed to get aid to the vicitims of Hurricane Katrina after the whole ordeal!
The slumps and the shacks you see in S.A. are not new to the country and they have always been there but your precious apartheid failed to do anything about them(they never cared about the black people living there!)
You never got to see it because you were sheltered in your cocoon and like many other white south africans you were enjoying the benefits of apartheid(so why complain about BEE?)
Why don't you migrate like the rest of your buddies to a place where white men still rule and get the hell out S.A.!
This is a democracy and i know this cause when a stupid f*#k like you calls me kaffir, I moer the **** out him!
YOU BLOODY RACIST!!!!!!

Answer 8

The same reason Americans think they live in a democracy!!!
First off, Ive visited South Africa and have traveled to Europe, other parts of Africa, and many other places-all countries have their issues!! And you mean to tell me that America didn't come to power w/ the blood of Native Americans, Black (Africans),immigrants (Irish etc)? Slaves were raped, killed, and beaten. (sorry it parallels to what you pointed out-"The ANC gov't came to power w/ the blood of men, women...
and America didn't????? Get a history book and read!!

We have all of the same issues, lying politicians (who never go to trial) ex:weapons of mass destruction-when we really wanted oil. Rape, murder, crime, embezzlement of officials, police officers and CEO's of companies are daily occurences. Our cities are dangerous (NY, DC, Detroit, LA, St. Louis, etc) Our police shoot and kill unarmed people. (NY city cops who killed an unarmed man and the police officers who violated an African immigrant w/ a pole) and our dollar isn't fairing up to the EURO!! So I rather be a big-mouthed american and tell the truth because our news, newspapers and politicians aren't telling it all. Katrina showed the world alot about America---it doesn't care for all of it's citizens even though we pledge allegiance, pay our taxes, and vote-but we live in a democracy!!

I think you need to check your facts and stop being in denial
the US has problems too!
Ive worked and lived in several major cities -and I know that
terrible crimes happen everyday.

CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm
AIDS cases soaring
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3318-2005Feb6.html
Man convicted of raping a 9 month old
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/13/Hillsborough/Man_convicted_of_rapi.shtml
Cops and brutality
New Orleans
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/18/nopd.shooting/index.html
NY
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15889445/
NY
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/06/16/nypd.civil.rights/index.html
NY
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/02/02/diallo.trial.02/index.html

And America is building and enriching itself while the homeless
and mentally ill run the streets!! No difference

update**********************

Im not saying that crime doesn't exist in South Africa or that
crime is rampant -my point is that Americans think they live in a democracy-just like he is asking why do S. Africans think they are living in a democracy-Americans think the same. I only put the stats out after he emailed me a psycho email/and said that crime is low in America and children don't get raped in America. they say crime is down in my city but when I see (on the news) people getting killed over a pizza, a designer winter coat, or athlethic shoes. And children shot in schools and at the mall.

Answer 9

Yes, yes, yes, we get it!!!You HATE South Africa!!

I don't care!!!You are just starting a endless and useless fight. We could all say US is like this and SA is like that, but what is the point????

Stay where you are and forget about SA. You dont live here anymore, so what's the problem????

You are such an ignorant prick!Stop bitching about it!

Answer 10

Because they have been told by the new regime that they live in a democracy so, they believe it. They are funny that way you see. They also believe that anyone who speaks up that is not part of this new regime is a racist.