The BBC is making a real meal of Mandela's death. No surprise there then.

[cunning fergus]

A book 'claims' ??

He may well have used the communist party of South Africa, but I dont believe he was a communist. By any stretch.
Wouldnt blame him though, as Reagan at the time, called him a communist, and a terrorist, as did our own beloved
woman prime minister...
At least the communists supported the ANC against a ridiculous regime.

If that's your belief then you are entitled to it.............in factual terms there is compelling evidence to prove he was in the Communist Party.

His motives are not entirely in that respect are not clear, I grant you that, however he would regularly refer to Fidrel Castro as "comrade" and as a statesman he was evidently sympathetic to communist states.

Frankly I don't see that as an issue, its not unusual for groups that use extreme violence to be associated with extreme politics, extreme religion or extreme views..............that's the game.

 

[keaton]

Frankly I don't see that as an issue, its not unusual for groups that use extreme violence to be associated with extreme politics, extreme religion or extreme views..............that's the game.

Don't all governments believe in extreme voilence? You can't get more extreme than killing people

 

[daveinprague]

And, according to Tony Blair, the first thing he always asked him, was 'How is the queen'...but I dont think he was a royalist particularly.
I would imagine he saw Castro as another Freedom Fighter, and as somebody who had been through the same struggle.
The communist party of SA, and other Communist states DID step up to provide support, when, I think it was lacking elsewhere.

viva Joe Slovo

 

[symyjym]

If that's your belief then you are entitled to it.............in factual terms there is compelling evidence to prove he was in the Communist Party.

His motives are not entirely in that respect are not clear, I grant you that, however he would regularly refer to Fidrel Castro as "comrade" and as a statesman he was evidently sympathetic to communist states.

Frankly I don't see that as an issue, its not unusual for groups that use extreme violence to be associated with extreme politics, extreme religion or extreme views..............that's the game.

Yep just look at New Labour and Blair.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

And, according to Tony Blair, the first thing he always asked him, was 'How is the queen'...but I dont think he was a royalist particularly.
I would imagine he saw Castro as another Freedom Fighter, and as somebody who had been through the same struggle.
The communist part of SA, and others stepped up to provide support, when, I think it was lacking elsewhere.

viva Joe Slovo

mmmmm, associated with bombings and killings, right up your street of support dave
regards
DR

 

[daveinprague]

Not sure that a halfwits opinion was called for DR, but you go girl.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Not sure that a halfwits opinion was called for DR, but you go girl.

just making a point dave
regards
DR

 

[daveinprague]

So was I

 

[joeinbrighton]

I wonder if on the day of JFK's assassination, there were complaints that the BBC did not devote enough air time to news of the deaths of Aldous Huxley and C.S. Lewis on the same day.

Regardless of Nelson Mandela's death, it would be naïve to expect the reporting of it not to dominate broadcasts considering the impact and reach of the man and his achievements.

 

[Rich Suvner]

trending for the next week, then it'll be like "who is that?".

is that really what you believe?

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

so was i

you could say the same about the IRA to some extent in what they achieved ,obviously not in the same vein as Mandela
regards
DR

 

[KZNSeagull]

mmmmm, associated with bombings and killings, right up your street of support dave
regards
DR

The point about Mandela is that he could have pushed SA into a civil war. He chose the difficult option of reconciliation rather. What he did before that is not particularly relevant to his greatness as a statesman. When push came to shove, he chose the peaceful path. There have been many difficulties since then, and there will continue to be problems, but they are nothing compared to what might have been.

 

[Simster]

you could say the same about the IRA to some extent in what they achieved ,obviously not in the same vein as Mandela
regards
DR

You couldn't really. In the 1960s, Irish Catholics were undoubtedly repressed, but to nothing like the same extent as the RSA blacks. After the early 1970s, the PIRA were simply playing their part in a tit-for-tat escalating street war, and seemed to have forgotten their raison d'etre.

The wider question that Mandela's life posed was whether violence against innocent civilians could ever be justified...

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

The point about Mandela is that he could have pushed SA into a civil war. He chose the difficult option of reconciliation rather. What he did before that is not particularly relevant to his greatness as a statesman. When push came to shove, he chose the peaceful path. There have been many difficulties since then, and there will continue to be problems, but they are nothing compared to what might have been.

it has to be relevant otherwise he wouldn't have been in the position he was in after release from prison surely ,that's the point i'm making
regards
DR

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

You couldn't really. In the 1960s, Irish Catholics were undoubtedly repressed, but to nothing like the same extent as the RSA blacks. After the early 1970s, the PIRA were simply playing their part in a tit-for-tat escalating street war, and seemed to have forgotten their raison d'etre.

The wider question that Mandela's life posed was whether violence against innocent civilians could ever be justified...

then you had Rhodesia and Mr smith
regards
DR

 

[KZNSeagull]

it has to be relevant otherwise he wouldn't have been in the position he was in after release from prison surely ,that's the point i'm making
regards
DR

He was the leader of the ANC, whether he was in prison or not, whether he was involved in violence or not.

What I am saying is that he had the perfect opportunity to start a major civil war directly after the assassination of Chris Hani, but he chose not to go down that route. Violence was not what he wanted - he had to resort to violence in the 60's and 70's because his political voice had been cut off. He had no other option at that time.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Nothing is worse than seeing your facebook

Your Facebook Your Facebook your Facebook

You worried how your Facebook looks FFS
You're serious aren't you?

 

[Husty]

Will any of NSC's closet racists have the guts to voice their opinions during Saturdays (presumed) minute of silence?

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Nothing is worse than seeing your facebook being flooded with Mandela quotes by idiots who'd have no clue what he did, why he's special or anything. These major events turn into a bandwagon which will soon be forgotten about by next week.

Great man, there's no denial what he managed to achieve; but it'll be trending for the next week, then it'll be like "who is that?".

Just like nobody these days has the faintest idea who Mahatma Gandhi is. Nelson Mandela's fame - if that is the right word - will certainly outstrip that of most if not all of his world-leader contemporaries.

 

[joeinbrighton]

Just like nobody these days has the faintest idea who Mahatma Gandhi is. Nelson Mandela's fame - if that is the right word - will certainly outstrip that of most if not all of his world-leader contemporaries.

It's the old Che Guevara principle. Plenty of people wear T-shirts adorning his image, how many actually know who he was? And more to the point, does it really matter?