Bramble
(.375 member)
24/12/07 11:57 AM
Re: Wilbur Smith, so eloquent

Well Nakihunter,

If you actually want an answer rather than making a rhetorical statement.

If you were to read the novels Smith actually features "Blacks" and I use that term advisedly and generically only for the purposes of this reply, as the central characters in many of his stories. Indeed it can be seen that the "whites" in his stories could not achieve the things that they do without the assistance of the native population. In fact Smith takes pains to point out the differences between the different cultural groups or "tribes" far more than most authors who set stories in this continent. In "Gold" the hero of the story is a Zulu, in several of his stories he bemoans the destruction of the lands occupied by the San and the impact on their way of life.
He is at times paternalistic in his attitude, but that is not unusual for a person of his age and background.

If you really want to look at the abuses of "Black" human rights in Africa then look to the governments that came to power after the removal of colonial rule. SA is the shining exception at the moment, but with Zuma in power in a couple of years time that may go down the toilet or end in civil war. Tens of millions of innocent men, women and children have been killed in pointless internecine conflict in Africa in the last 50 years.
"Black" dictators have lined their pockets at the expense of their populations. Disease is rife, hospitals almost non existent, corruption endemic and economies in ruins.
Central to the themes in Smiths works is the misuse of the land and natural resources to line the pockets of the few rather than make life better for the many. In " The Leopard hunts in Darkness" he points out that a well run farm in Zim that has provided work and shelter for many and food for very many more has been misused and now only barely supports a few homesteaders (Veterans). That much is clear from the starvation in Zim now.

Did Smith believe in majority rule. I cannot answer for him, but from his writing it appears not. That doesn’t make a person a racist. For on the other hand I don't believe in majority rule in the UK. Most of the population are morons and they are doing their best to destroy this country. Because the majority of this country are white that is not a racist statement.

You jumped down peoples throats in a recent humour post claiming that they had missed the real point in SA. Do you intend to do this whenever the subject of race is mentioned in the African context? If so then I would like to know your credentials for doing so. Smith lived through the transition from white/colonial rule to dictatorship, I have family living in Zambia now for 25 years and my history degree was handed to me personally in Plymouth in 1997 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. So throw you CV on the table old son and I might be more prepared to listen to what you have to say.

And on this occasion, please leave God out of the reply if you run out of anything constructive to say.



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