Not Quite Africa?
22-30 January 2005
............
During my first trip
to South Africa in 1984
at the height of apartheid
which was invisible to me
walking the streets of Jo’burg
South Africa struck me as
more like America
than anyplace else.
Europe is so tense, in comparison,
communicating less openly
and
South Africa and America share
ebullience, aggressive business cultures, and
comparable racial compositions (though not proportions)
so I felt quite at home here.
It’s still true.
and I still do.
So much so that
Rik and I decided for the first time
to vacation in Cape Town this week
We needed sun
and good prices
and my friend Ingrid
had tips on where to go.
The “free” KLM ticket (on miles)
topped it off.
with a non-stop flight to Cape Town
across the great African continent
hours of brown Sahara.
An Inspiration!
and certainly
not a disappointment.
Rik has never been to Africa
so I had to tell him gently
that he wasn’t going to be in Africa
Now.
The guidebooks say
that most tourists here
remain in the former “white” areas
And that’s very true.
Our guest house
hugs the edge of the towering Tafelberg mountain
which is lighted magnificently
as only a truly rich country
could or would.
Such opulence!
I can’t deny
that we are enjoying it
Especially when mixed with
excursions to visit
extraordinary scenery
and eat wonderful foods
and visit spectacular vineyards
and drink wonderful wines.
One cannot forget
that this wealth lies atop
the vast poverty beneath
our feet
I have to reflect
on why it took so long
for South Africa’s fascists
to realize
as they did in the American South
forty years earlier
that legal restrictions on the poor
are not needed
because the laws of economics and tradition
are much stronger.
In fact, did they do anything much different
than white power structures do elsewhere
by other means?
Was the world being hypocritical
by attacking them for
crossing the line into
legalized racism?
No.
The terrible crimes of the Nationalist fascists
who brutally terrorized the non-whites
for decades
will not
............
During my first trip
to South Africa in 1984
at the height of apartheid
which was invisible to me
walking the streets of Jo’burg
South Africa struck me as
more like America
than anyplace else.
Europe is so tense, in comparison,
communicating less openly
and
South Africa and America share
ebullience, aggressive business cultures, and
comparable racial compositions (though not proportions)
so I felt quite at home here.
It’s still true.
and I still do.
So much so that
Rik and I decided for the first time
to vacation in Cape Town this week
We needed sun
and good prices
and my friend Ingrid
had tips on where to go.
The “free” KLM ticket (on miles)
topped it off.
with a non-stop flight to Cape Town
across the great African continent
hours of brown Sahara.
An Inspiration!
and certainly
not a disappointment.
Rik has never been to Africa
so I had to tell him gently
that he wasn’t going to be in Africa
Now.
The guidebooks say
that most tourists here
remain in the former “white” areas
And that’s very true.
Our guest house
hugs the edge of the towering Tafelberg mountain
which is lighted magnificently
as only a truly rich country
could or would.
Such opulence!
I can’t deny
that we are enjoying it
Especially when mixed with
excursions to visit
extraordinary scenery
and eat wonderful foods
and visit spectacular vineyards
and drink wonderful wines.
One cannot forget
that this wealth lies atop
the vast poverty beneath
our feet
I have to reflect
on why it took so long
for South Africa’s fascists
to realize
as they did in the American South
forty years earlier
that legal restrictions on the poor
are not needed
because the laws of economics and tradition
are much stronger.
In fact, did they do anything much different
than white power structures do elsewhere
by other means?
Was the world being hypocritical
by attacking them for
crossing the line into
legalized racism?
No.
The terrible crimes of the Nationalist fascists
who brutally terrorized the non-whites
for decades
will not
posted by Unknown at 6:13 PM
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