Mandela's reputation and 'greatness' come from his actions upon being released from jail. The breakdown of apartheid in South Africa was an extremely tense and potentially violent situation. The entire country could have descended into a bloody civil war. Mandela stood as a leader who never professed any desire for what would have been a 'justified' revenge. He constantly promoted forgiveness, reconciliation and a need to look to the future to build a new South Africa. This is why he is a great man. He rebuilt a nation in the most difficult of circumstances. There were blacks who wanted revenge, while their were whites who wanted to use violence to hold on to what had, unfairly, always been theirs. A simple look at the violence that affects a very similar nation, Zimbabwe, will give you a realistic comparison and assessment of what Mandela achieved.
Yes, Mandela was a terrorist, in the 1960s. He served something like 30 years in jail for his crimes, that is why he was allowed to go free. It was also recognised, somewhat sensibly, that he was no ordinary criminal. The situation Mandela found himself in in the 60s was an outrage and an offence against all of humanity. His frustrations were entirely understandable. As for comparing him with Martin Luther King, well, that just tells you what a courageous man King was. If we're all to be compared to him, we'll all lose out.
I'm in two minds as to whether to ignore your mentioning of Saddam Hussein, I don't see how it is relevant and you've done yourself a massive discredit by including it.
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DBloodnok
17 years ago
Idiotic OP due to the hyperbole of the Saddam comparision, excellent post from 00Mike26 which perfectly sums up my opinion.
"Someone has been tampering with Hank's memories."
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sarwig
17 years ago
I'd love to see you come to South Africa and start telling people that Mandela a terrorist.
Believe it or not, words don't always have as big an impact as you would think. In any case, where was he going to get a chance to somehow be allowed to broadcast a message to the whole of South Africa?
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chucky278
17 years ago
nelso mandela was the greatest man that ever lived....im a white young south african afrikaans guy living in england, i have read his autobiography and his goodbye bafana and since readint hose books...can only look at mandela with awe.what he and the black people of south africa endured is absolutely disgraceful......had i been a black man in the 60s and 70s i wouldnt have just targeted the government with umkhonto we sizwe...i would have done terrible things in order to get my way...if there is anyone there that could honestly say they would do just what nelson did then they are liars....in that situation we all would have acted in a much more harsh and rash manner....as a white afrikaner even i can admit that i had been a black individual at that time...i would have killed white racist police...i might even have organised mass terrorist plots to kill white civilians....just so that u no my dad was a policeman in the 80s in Cape Town.
does that put into perspective exactly what an incredible person this is? just for the non south africans there who might not quite understand how brutal apartheid really was.
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lemb1983
17 years ago
bush is a terrorist too though!
as crass as it is to quote velvet goldmine in such a circumstance...
"Time, places, people... They're all speeding up. So to cope with this evolutionary paranoia, strange people are chosen, who through their art can move progress more quickly"
Mandella is a hero. Both sides of every war commit murder and torture and destroy in order to achieve what they want, and very rarely is the war anything to do with what is right. In Mandella's case, his cause was just and he dealt with it better than 99.9% of the rest of the world could ever have done or even imagined.
He gave hope to a world of people imbittered by the horrors of oppression, and he changed the world.
Today, all i've done is walk to the shop and buy a chocolate bar... I think he deserves all the praise we give him, and more
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ALILMEB
17 years ago
I'm sorry I have my own opinion- mandela was a terroist and doesnt deserve the praise- and I don't rele wanan hear tryin be black and everything. Racism doesnt just happen white to black blacks can be racist to whites, and latinos and everything else. I just compare sadaam purely because he was a terrorist in his own right and was put to death- and I personally don't believe in the detah sentence and I dont think it solves anything but all I was saying was madela was a terrorist and so was sadaam so how comes different treatments?!!
Mandela would've been a great man if he had acted in the same way as ghandi!!!
Now ghandi!!! He was a great man!
Not a man who could only convey his feelings through violence.
If I met mandela today I would treat just as I would anyone else- with kindness and respect, bt I would not treat him in a different and special way as I do not feel he deserves it
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Joker-26
16 years ago
If Ghandi had authorised guerrilla force against the British, then India would've had independence and freedom way before the late 1940s. The ANCs bombing tactics worked because they helped to wear down the security forces and drain the economy (although the Angolan war was more harmful to the SA economy overall). So yes, mandela could've opted for non-violence but if he had, the apartheid regime would have lasted longer and terrorised far more people. Also, the transition to democracy went relatively smoothly all things considered.
Mandela could've ordered his men to use far more violence than they actually did and in the late 80s, Mandela negotiated to have multi-party elections, including the white extremists who'd oppressed blacks for so long. Talk about forgiving & loving your enemy. It proved that Mandela was a true freedom fighter, prepared to use violence against a ruthless regime but also compassionate enough to forgive and reconcile with his people's oppressors.
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dariusmystery
16 years ago
*If Ghandi had authorized guerrilla force against the British, then India would've had independence and freedom way before the late 1940s*
As an Indian, I find your comment idiotic. Please refrain from such baseless comparisons. First of all, spell his name right. It's Gandhi. Secondly, don't comment about history of countries you haven't a clue about. The reason Gandhi went to non violence or satyagraha, was because not only was it the right thing to do morally, violence did not work either. Read up about the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, which is severely downplayed by the British, but is to date considered a failed revolution of Indians versus the colonial Raj.
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lemb1983
16 years ago
you should NEVER be sorry for having your own opinions
the fact that you have them is a wonderful thing and although i may not agree with you i would die for your right to have them (to paraphrase another great)
and Mandella would rather see you hate him and than have your voice be silenced.
to compare mandella and sadam is hard though, and not fair on either really... sadam killed alot more people and condemned free thought although he did bring peace and unity to the country (in a manner of speaking)... mandella was fighting for the right to be heard, and to be freely allowed to express his opinions, and for people of all colours to be equal... mandellas cause was a lot more admirable at least, whether you consider him a terrorist or not!
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KingKhara
16 years ago
Ok well maybe saddam cant be compared to mandela....but what about yasser arafat?! the west considered him as a terrorist, then when he wanted to make peace, he became a hero and got a nobel prize, and then when peace wasnt instored he rebecame a terrorist! the palestinians see him as a hero and liberator fighting for their land and everyone else sees him (or used to see him as a terrorist) whats the difference between the two men?!
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timberlady1
16 years ago
You cannot compare these two men. Mandela, once out of prison and a statesman worked for reconciliation. Arafat as the leader of the PLO and then President of the Palestinian Authority had never given up terror .
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MrSuave56
13 years ago
That's for your succint points on Mandela vs Arafat,timberlady1. So posters
on this site should we A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM,by Mandela.A very good autobio
from a great leader.
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penborelli123
13 years ago
He was not a terrorist I don't think they had a choice given the circumstances. You should be better informed before you make such comments. I agree Long Walk To Freedom helped me to understand a lot of things better.
As mandela says "Knowledge is power"
Ps I am a white south african.
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