Apartheid in a nutshell

CONTENTS

1. Afrikaans

2. Apartheid in South Africa

3. American Society

4. Trump's Apartheid

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1. AFRIKAANS

Afrikaans is the only language in the world, ever, that has a birth date.

The British were forcing English onto the white people of South Africa.

This led to a deep hatred of everything English among the people.

On 14 August 1875, eight South Africans,

all of Huguenot (French Protestant) descent,

came together in the town of Paarl

in the current Western Cape region of South Africa.

They founded an organization called

"Die Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners" (Society of Real Afrikaners),

with the sole purpose of giving birth to a new language. (1)

(The numbers in brackets refer to the footnotes as further reading at the end of the article).

From 15 January 1876 the society published a journal in Afrikaans called

"Die Afrikaanse Patriot"

as well as a number of books, including grammars, dictionaries, religious material and histories. Die Afrikaanse Patriot was succeeded in 1905 by today's Paarl newspaper.

On 8 May 1925, Afrikaans was recognized by the South African government as a real and official South African language, rather than simply a slang version of Dutch proper.

In Afrikaans, the word "apart" is identical in meaning to its English counterpart "apart" defined as,

"said of two or more people(s) or things that are separated by a distance."

In Afrikaans, the suffix "-heid" is used to transform adjectives into nouns.

For example: "gesond" (healthy) becomes "gesondheid" (health).

Apartheid, in this context, then means,

"the state in which two or more people(s) are kept separate." (2)

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2. APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA

What were the main reasons for such a separation of peoples in South Africa?

a) Poverty

The "Arm Blanke Vraagstuk" (poor white problem),

was first noted at a Dutch Reformed Church Synod in 1886.

(Then, and to this day, 80% of white South Africans belong to this denomination).

This situation dominated South African society in the first decades of the twentieth century.

The causes for this social phenomenon are unclear.

Many blamed the inadequate education system, massive urbanization at the time, as well as low mining wages.

Some blamed external events such as the Rinderpest virus (Cattle plague) of the 1890's, which all but decimated the cattle stocks country wide.

Others blamed it on the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902).

b) Political gain

Hendrik F. Verwoerd, (born Sept. 8, 1901 in Amsterdam, Netherlands),

as prime minister (1958–66), rigorously developed and applied the policy of Apartheid.

Apartheid was the political mechanism used by his and later governments at the time to ensure that the wealth and prosperity generated in the country would be utilized for the benefit of the white minority only.

We all know that a certain amount of money is able to ensure one a relatively high standard of living. This includes affordable housing, convenient transport, a high quality education for our children, affordable health care, etc. In other words, those items that are universally accepted as reasonable expectations in our modern day and age.

The minority was unwilling to lower their expectations, and even worse, share their wealth and affluence in uplifting the vast numbers of people among them.

For them Apartheid was a safe haven in which they were able to live

"the good life" irrespective of what was happening in the world around them. (3)

c) Religion

One should not underestimate the role of religion, and more specifically the influence of the Dutch Reformed Church as contributing factors which led to the establishment and entrenchment of the policy of Apartheid in the South African society.

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SOUTH AFRICA

Have Have-not

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The amounts of natural resources found in this relatively small country is unsurpassed anywhere in the world.

Gold: South Africa produced 30% of the yearly world gold output in1993.

Diamonds: The South African diamond industry is among the world’s largest. (14 million carats in 2003).

Platinum: South Africa is the world’s largest producer of platinum ( about 70%).

Chromium: 100% of the world's total production in 2005,

Coal: Immense known deposits lie mostly at easily mined depths,

Uranium: South Africa has the second-largest reserves in the world.

In the hands of ingenious and hard-working Europeans, and assisted by discriminatory laws giving them substantial advantages, the situation in the Apartheid era resulted in an ultra-prosperous economy and enormous levels of wealth for the white minority.

The minority argued that they have earned their wealth by, taking risks, working hard, and being frugal. They point out that is they who are creating jobs for the Have-nots and sustaining the economic success of the country. They see no reason why they should share their good fortune with the majority who do not have the same entrepreneurial ambitions and Calvinistic work ethic.

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South Africa is the only country in the modern era where Apartheid blatantly and brutally became the official policy of the government of the day.

In 1948, a government consisting exclusively of Europeans came to power,

and they immediately proceeded to draft and implement the Apartheid laws.

As mentioned above, the main aim was to ensure that an overwhelming portion of the wealth generated in the country was spent on improving the living conditions of the white minority, while allocating tuppence on uplifting and developing the living conditions and opportunities of the other races.

However, it was not this phenomenon that caught the attention of the world.

Instead, it was the racial segregation,

often called "Klein Apartheid" (Small Apartheid)

that eventually led to change.

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3. AMERICAN SOCIETY

HISTORY

In 1620, a total of 102 Pilgrims,

yearning to be freed from the bondage applied on them by the Church of England,

choose to board the Mayflower and embarked on an epic journey to a new homeland.

And so the history of the Europeans in North America started

Over the years since then, millions, from all over the globe, followed them.

IRELAND

GERMANY

SCOTLAND

AFRICA

CHINA

According to the 2010 census,

the Chinese American population numbered approximately 3.8 million.

In 2010, half of Chinese-born people living in the United States resided in the states of California and New York.

SOUTH AFRICA

HISPANIC / LATINO

While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably,

"Hispanic" is a different term that refers to native speakers of Spanish, or have Spanish-speaking ancestry, while "Latino" is more frequently used to refer generally to anyone of Latin American origin or ancestry. .

The demographics of Hispanic and Latino Americans depict a population that is the second-largest ethnic group in the United States.

According to newly released U.S. Census Bureau population estimates,

the U.S. Hispanic population reached a record 60.6 million in 2019,

up 930,000 over the previous year and up from 50.7 million in 2010.

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All these immigrants resulted in the United States of America becoming one of the most diverse societies in the world, and often described as

"a nation of immigrants" by politicians, academics, and the media.

The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

(4)

Conservative European Americans took note of all the above changes happening in their country and became worried.

Conservative Europeans without a college degree worried that their blue-collar jobs will be taken from them by the incoming immigrants who are prepared to work harder for less.

They worried that Spanish would become an official language.

They worried that the shifting demographics would marginalize them into a minority group.

They worried that liberal courts would change the laws of the land in terms of the way of living that they held dear. Abortion, LGBTQ rights (especially in the military), open borders, etc.

But most of all, they worried about this thing called "socialism."

They worried that they would have to share their tax dollars to be used to provide improved housing, education, health care, and working conditions to the masses of Have-nots.

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4. TRUMP

Enters Donald J. Trump.

On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign by descending an escalator in the atrium of Trump Tower, cheered on by his family, staff, and tourists plucked off the street.

Your quintessential "Have" European with a yearning for the ultimate position of power. He realized that if he promised the conservative European middle class that he had a way to protect them from the "Have-Nots", they would vote him into that position.

So he promised them American Apartheid.

He called it, "Make America Great Again"

An European Utopia. Trumptopia.

They liked the idea, believed him,

and handed him an Oval Office.

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 2017, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

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Two of Trump's campaign promises were highly popular among the conservative Europeans.

Building a 2,000 mile long wall on the southern border,

and promising that Mexico would pay for it.

Promising to eradicate whatever legacy President Obama had established.

Trump and his conservative base deeply resent the fact that a man of color had occupied the White House.

To this day, they are doing all they can to erase whatever President Obama achieved or took part in.

Obamacare

The Iran Nuclear Deal

The Paris Climate Accord

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Transgender people in the military

Normalizing relations with Cuba

Trade deals with China

Abortion rights, sensible gun control

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca)

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6 January 2021

Joe Biden won the presidential election on 3 November 2020.

Donald Trump does not accept his loss, and incited a mob to storm the capitol building to stop the counting of the Electorial College votes.

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20 January 2021

Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President.

Kamala Harris is the first women to be Vice president.

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but

When a Democratic President is elected,

60% of Americans celebrate.

and

the country moves toward

democratic norms.

When a Republican President is elected,

40% of Americans celebrate

and

Apartheid

is alive and well in the USA.

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Click here to see the page

"America is Great"

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Footnotes

A small VOC (Dutch East India Company) expedition under the command of Jan van Riebeeck reached Table Bay on 6 April 1652, and the Dutch ruled that part of the world until in 1805, the British inherited the Cape as a prize during the Napoleonic Wars. British sovereignty of the area was recognized at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, with the Dutch accepting a payment of 6 million pounds for the colony.

As one of their first tasks the British outlawed the use of the Dutch language in 1806 with the view of converting the European settlers to the British language and culture. A number of Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the Cape Colony trekked inland, first in small groups. Eventually, in the 1830s, large numbers of Boers migrated in what came to be known as the Great Trek.

Among the initial reasons for their leaving the Cape colony were the English language rule. Religion was a very important aspect of the settlers culture and the bible and church services were in Dutch.

Similarly, schools, justice and trade up to the arrival of the British, were all managed in the Dutch language.

The language law caused friction, distrust and dissatisfaction. This resulted in a profound hatred of English and prompted the eight Afrikaners to establish the "Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners.

Following the defeat of the Boers in the Anglo-Boer or South African War (1899–1902), the Union of South Africa was created as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire on 31 May 1910. The South Africa Act 1909, amalgamated the four previously separate British colonies: Cape Colony, Colony of Natal, Transvaal Colony, and Orange River Colony. The country became a fully sovereign nation state within the British Empire, in 1934 following the enactment of the Status of the Union Act. The monarchy came to an end on 31 May 1961, replaced by a republic as the consequence of a 1960 referendum, which legitimized the country becoming the Republic of South Africa.

Apartheid had already been well established under the British. Racial segregation, sanctioned by law, was widely practiced in South Africa before 1948. Substantial diamond deposits were discovered in the Kimberley area in 1866. This, together with the discovery of gold in February 1886 at a farm called Langlaagte on the Witwatersrand, precipitated a diamond and gold rush by prospectors and fortune seekers from all over the world. Millions of blacks flocked to the cities as migrant workers in the mines. Poor whites, angered by the ties General Smuts had to the British, ensured that the National Party, gained office in 1948. The new National Party government under the leadership of Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd (1901-1966), who was incidentally born in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, extended the policy exponentially to permeate all aspects of society and gave it the name Apartheid.

3. Here one could become philosophical and argue that capitalism will inevitably lead to some form of economic apartheid. Even Jesus acknowledged that the poor will always be in our midst. All the major religions are in agreement that hard work should be rewarded, and all agree that greed should not be tolerated.

In the case of South Africa, however, the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), to which 80% of white South Africans belonged, supported the Apartheid regime to such an extent that the DRC was called "the National Party on its knees."

4. During the Apartheid era in South Africa, president Obama would be racially classified as a "Coloured" person (an ethnic group composed primarily of persons of mixed race). As one of the minority groups in South Africa they are now colloquially and fondly known as "The Colourds,"

The vast majority of the Coloured community are found in and around Cape Town. However, the non-white population of the more rural areas of the Northern Cape Province are almost exclusively made up of Coloured people.

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Apartheid in the USA