How do you feel about Robert Mugabe and his contemporaries?

Question

At one time he was hailed as a hero, as a key figure who fought for Zimbabwe's independence from the British Empire, but now he is widely criticized as an oppressive despot. Since decolonization Zimbabwe has fallen from a net exporter of goods and services to an economic quagmire. How do you feel about him?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1709488.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe

Does his role in the liberation movement count for anything?

Answer 1

He's a thug who needs to go. (And this has nothing to do with the color of his skin.) Zimbabwe has turned from a country that was the breadbasket of Africa to a country that can't feed itself, that has 3 million refugees, 80% unemployment, and 1700% inflation. Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is barely half what it is in the developed world.

Unfortunately, Africa hasn't stepped up until now and demanded change in Zimbabwe. They're finally catching on, but you have to wonder if it's almost too little too late for way too many in Zimbabwe.

Answer 2

Mugabe is a thug of sorts. He has clung to his ideals while seeing that they cause famine when enacted. The fact that most youngsters can read is wonderful, but lessened by the fact that there won't be good jobs for them. Zimbabwe had been a productive place which should be full of opportunity for its people. I hope things get better soon, although I don't see how it can with another six years of Mugabe.

Answer 3

Individual freedom is the dream of our age. It's what our leaders promise to give us, it defines how we think of ourselves and, repeatedly, we have gone to war to impose freedom around the world. But if you step back and look at what freedom actually means for us today, it's a strange and limited kind of freedom.



Politicians promised to liberate us from the old dead hand of bureaucracy, but they have created an evermore controlling system of social management, driven by targets and numbers. Governments committed to freedom of choice have presided over a rise in inequality and a dramatic collapse in social mobility. And abroad, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the attempt to enforce freedom has led to bloody mayhem and the rise of an authoritarian anti-democratic Islamism. This, in turn, has helped inspire terrorist attacks in Britain. In response, the Government has dismantled long-standing laws designed to protect our freedom.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/noise/?id=trap

Answer 4

He's become an authoritarian figure in the mold he originally fought against. It's called an abuse of power. Let his countrymen handle him. He will soon find the gallows.

Answer 5

ever since rhodesia was sacked and "zimbabwe" was formed, i could not care less about it.

Answer 6

Dictators should be exterminated!
Hope it's soon...
Also, check out this source:

Answer 7

He is a wimp and a puss.