The following is a response to a remark posted on another post on my blog. The original post cited different blog posts about the situation in Zimbabwe immediately before the run-off election in which ZANU-PF was widely intimidating the MDC, leading Tsvangirai to with draw from the election.

To view the original post, (click here).

David Benariel’s comment was:

Blacks have proven, time and again, they can’t handle themselves – much less government responsibilities. Why remain in denial? Furthermore, Southern Africa is part of the biblical inheritance of White Israelites. It’s in chaos and confusion now because it’s in an unnatural state with Blacks misruling.
May White Israelites repent that Southern Africa can be restored to sanity, peace and prosperity, saved from racist Black Marxists who curse every color and creed.

I hesitate to even write about race issues since I am not African, and am in fact a member of the “race” which has most consistently and effectively translated its racism into action over the last few centuries (although which certainly does not have a monopoly on racism). If anyone has any reactions or comments on my reply it would certainly be appreciated as part of a discussion.

The following is my answer to Benariel’s comment:

Mr. Ben Ariel,

I can only say that I struggle with the proper approach to your comments.On the one hand I think I should angrily and sternly denounce you, and on the other, I think I should rationally defeat your points, and another part of me says I should pray for your deluded soul…

It is widely perceived in the world, of course, that some African countries are suffering from worse problems than other parts of the world. That said, they have no monopoly on difficulties, as we are all prone to human error and weakness. I could probably spend a great deal of time reciting a litany of woes which originate from the First World, or developed countries, the most obvious being our massive contribution to the environmental problems the earth is now (or will soon be) suffering from, the US invasion of Iraq, and the legacy of colonialism. I could write more, but that’s not the point. The point is: no part of humanity has escaped human failure and weakness. Perhaps during World War II, many other countries could have written- “just look at the Europeans- they can’t handle themselves”. In fact it reminds me of a quote from Gandhi, when asked what he thought of European civilization, he allegedly said “I think it would be a good idea.”

The point is, while there are many difficulties facing the African continent now, I think this should not be used as evidence of Africans’ innate inability to govern themselves. When we look at an individual person, or a group of people, we must always consider the concrete specifics of where they are coming from. It seems to me that Africa suffered from the most severe colonialism of all the colonized nations in the world. It also has some specific characteristics that may cause some of its political problems- for example, many African nations have a large number of ethnic groups which find themselves in conflict with each other for dominance. Others who are more expert in African affairs could no doubt add other specifics.

It also seems to me that Africa is generally “off the map” for many other countries of the world in terms of priorities for diplomacy and foreign policy. I have often recently reflected on how little media coverage is given to African conflicts compared to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

In short, I think that a little patience, faith, and assistance (although there can be a debate about what kind of assistance is appropriate) is what is necessary.

As for your argument that parts of Africa are Biblically ordained, I would question whether this is anywhere in the Bible, except in some obscure minority interpretation. Anyway, even if it were in the Bible, I’m not the kind of person who takes any holy book to be the literal word of God/ Goddess/ the Great Spirit anyway, so this kind of argument does not impress me.

Your arguments are obviously racist, so some reply to that theme may be necessary. There are obviously differences between different groups of people, and some people have tried to use these differences to prove the superiority of one group over another. I reflect that as humans, recently in our history, we are often arrogant and think that we can know everything. In fact, I doubt whether we can ever know enough to determine the superiority of one group over another- all our interpretations will be incomplete and will be based on some subjective and incomplete criteria.

Ultimately we must ask: what approach will lead us to the most harmonious and peaceful world? From my perspective, since I think that as humans we are unable to determine who is better or worse, and we will only stir anger and hatred by making such allegations, wouldn’t it be better to just assume from the beginning that we are equal, although with enriching differences? To state another way, I think it is better to start from the assumption that we as humans are equal.

To conclude, a few comments about you: If I were African, I would perhaps be angered by your comments, as just another of a long series of insults in life from other groups. But since I am not, and since I am not particularly inclined to anger, I can say that I only pity you. I pity you because you are clearly living in a state of delusion which is in fact a prison for you, preventing you from having a greater understanding and appreciation of life. Perhaps as well you have some hidden personal motive of anger which is leading you to continue to make these assertions. I pity you because you are espousing something which is a lost cause and which is being marginalized from human discourse.

I recommend you to search your soul, to pray, to use your heart, to struggle for realization, to overcome the illusions which are containing you. If you are lucky, you will escape from them in this lifetime. Don’t use your brain on this one: it will just lead you back to the same senseless arguments. Struggle for understanding and realization which transcends logic, and perhaps you will still find it before your last breath.