White Liberals Cannot See Truth in Africa
By Ayinde
rastafaritimes@yahoo.com
March 23, 2007
Most White liberals and their media (including websites) are useless when it comes to evaluating issues from a Black point of view. They are not only useless when African nations and leaders have to be defended against the aggression of the US and Europe, but some go a step further and are more dangerous by how they spread the racist lies of the West. I guess they only view racism as when someone stands in a crowded place and shouts the "N" word.
I did not expect them to be able to evaluate issues from an African point of view, especially as most of them could not even get it right on Venezuela during the coup attempt in 2002.
For all the distrust they have of their governments, they are more than ready to believe those same governments when they attack African leaders and nations.
A prime example, Haiti. Most of the antiwar and anti-Bush media were quiet on that issue. They did not see the US, France and Canada having a major role in illegally forcing the first democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide out of office and into exile. (Read: The Ouster of Democracy by Gary Younge, March 2004)
White liberals who just did not get it can read articles on the Haitian Coup at africaspeaks.com. Some Whites understood the issues in part, but they were not so moved as to sustain a campaign for the return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as the legitimate, democratically elected president of Haiti, who commands the support of the majority of Haitians along with wide support from Black Africans abroad.
Next on the list is Zimbabwe.
The US and Britain have been involved in an effort to oust the democratically elected leader of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, ever since he turned away from the intangible and unjust IMF and World Bank policies and started reclaiming illegally obtained land from White settlers for redistribution to Black Zimbaweans. They were not against Mugabe for reports of human rights abuses, as in the past, when such reports surfaced, they were still praising Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe as a model country in Africa. For more information, although long, this article is worth reading: Zimbabwe Under Siege by Gregory Elich. There is a comprehensive list of additional articles for further reading on raceandhistory.com.
Next on the list is Somalia.
The US and Ethiopia illegally invaded Somalia and ousted the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which had popular support. The ICU brought a measure of stability to Somalia for the first time in sixteen years.
In the article "A New War in Africa" Gwynne Dyer explains:
This is a war founded on a misconception and driven by paranoid fantasies.
The misconception was the US government's belief that the Islamic Courts, local religious authorities backed by merchants in Mogadishu who wanted someone to curb the warlords, punish thieves, and enforce contracts, were just a cover for al-Qaeda.
So the US instead backed the warlords who were making Somalis' lives a misery.
American support is the kiss of death in Somalia, so the warlords were finally dislodged in Mogadishu last June by an uprising led by the UIC and supported by most of the population.
Visit africaspeaks.com for more on the crisis in Somalia.
Although some Whites do take the time to examine issues from an African point of view, they are too few and far between. If you doubt me, simply check your favorite antiwar, anti-Bush, anti-imperialism websites and you will see the absence of pro-African commentaries on any or all of these issues. (Even the considerably rated Comedy Central's "Today Show" hosted by John Stewart lacks substance in dealing with African issues.)
To informed Africans, most of these so-called liberal Whites are not liberal at all. White Supremacy still comes first to them and has to be first addressed before they can see the truth from a Black perspective.
We understand the circumstances that keep many from researching issues properly and not easily breaking away from colonial institutions and neocolonial policies. Many are struggling with bread and butter issues on a daily basis and do not yet appreciate why they MUST make time for informing themselves.
Understanding the issues is also about addressing poverty. Those with the means and especially those involved in the media have no excuse for misleading many.
Martin Luther King saw the problem with White liberals and in his letter from the Birmingham jail he wrote:
...First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com
Visit: Zimbabwe Watch
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