There were two things the Apartheid government excelled at. One was the suppression of the black majority. The other was the indoctrination of the white population of everything anti-black. How we were led to believe that a black majority government would be a death knell in our lives. We were superior, we had civilisation on our side. A black government would reduce our country to some kind of barbarous landscape.
But if we look what did transpire over the past 20 years, the picture that is presented is vastly different to white fears pre 1994. A few examples serve to illustrate:
- There was no retribution. Apart from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where a few scapegoats were denied amnesty and served prison time, there was no Nuremburg style trials. Think of all the atrocities committed, and yet very, very little accountability took place. FW de Klerk even received a Nobel Peace Prize. Yet he was a major part of an evil regime. PW Botha’s family was offered a State Funeral. This was a president who ruled with an iron fist, during the most violent times of the apartheid years.
- Property rights were not tampered with. This meant that the white population held onto their houses, their businesses, their farms. And with the boom years that ensued after 1994, when the economy opened up, it was the white pockets that deepened drastically.
- The economy itself was left largely untouched. There was no nationalisation, no mass redistribution, no punitive wealth tax. Private initiative, which was mainly driven by the white population thanks to the financial and intellectual benefits inherited from the apartheid years, was left to flourish.
- Yes of course crime became a major factor. While every murder, every robbery, every rape is one too many, when you consider the anarchy that prevailed in the townships during the apartheid years due to the unjust laws and the resistance to apartheid, and add to that the poverty and deflated expectations that currently exist, one could have imagined that it would be much worse.
- Symbolically, the changes were not as drastic as what we feared. There was no large scale renaming of towns and street names. The major towns in this country are still called by their white names. When you watch the news on SABC the presenter does not say “Good Evening Comrades.” Even 16 December, a previously boer public holiday, remains in place. When a South African, irrespective of colour, achieves international success, the whole country celebrates. Just witness the recent jubilation when Rolene Strauss won Miss World.
- On an interpersonal level, the black population is always welcoming and accommodating of white people, despite the history. Think how they were treated in the past, and contrast that with how many smiles you get from them now, irrespective of the position they are in.
- There was no forced indigenisation of the culture. English remained the linga franca, african culture remained on the sidelines. (personally, I have regrets on this issue because language and culture can be an excellent tool to break down barriers.)
- There was no decimation of white heritage e.g. monuments, museums etc. The Voortrekker monument still looms large over PRETORIA.
- There was no widespread mayhem (e.g. forced takeover of properties, rape and abduction of white women etc.)
- There was no exodus of investors and capital fleeing the impending apocalypse.
So for the white population, as a demographic, life not only continued as normal, but probably got better. Their net wealth increased, the country became part of the world again, so artists and sport stars who previously boycotted Mzansi, now visited. The economy remained, by en large, in their hands. And the western way of life continued to dominate.
Of course there are the detractors that would say “look what shape we as a country are in today.” It is precisely for this reason that I write this blog. (That, and of course, the socio-human aspect of race relations.) Because whatever the real and/or perceived threats we as a South African nation are now facing, the white population needs to acknowledge that the fears that existed pre 1994, to a large extent, did not materialise. Then once we realise that, we can then stand together, as a united South African nation, to move this country forward. You may say that is a simplistic outlook, but when you compare the fears that existed of a black majority government with the on the ground reality of today, more of the psychological barriers that divide us will crumble, and you will realise that we have a lot to be thankful for.