[w00pla]

> If you're a white American male,

I am not a white American male. I am a young white South African.

> Grow up and take responsibility for your own situation.

This is a bullshit argument. You say that people who are discriminated against are responsible for their own situation. WTF?

If a white person cannot gain entrance into a university (because he is white) or he cannot get a job (government mandated quotas in the private industry and basically a moratorium in the public sector). Here is a simple example: I did really well in my school matric exam (in the top 3 in a province). I applied for over 30 bursaries for which I did not receive a response for an engineering degree. The same companies gave lots of bursaries to black people who cannot complete the degree in 4 years. In other words, they do an extra year of “pre-parationary classes” and then do a 5 year engineering degree (which is usually six). So people spend 6-7 years on a 4 year degree! (I passed mine in 4 years with an 88% average).

Luckily my parents dug deep and I could go to university (with difficulty). If they were just a little poorer, I would have been fucked (and would probably be doing manual labour or something).

By the way, afterwards I studied received a much more competitive and prestigious bursary to study further overseas. So apparently I was not good enough for SA universities but elite university in a foreign country is OK. That is what I am doing now.

What you should also bear in mind is that it is usually white people of lower socio-economic status that is the hardest hit. Not everyone can be an engineer, etc... Discriminatory policies create a lot of poverty among them and create a continual poverty trap. It also seems that there is a lot of hate (among both black and white people) for poor white people. It is even common to use slurs against them (e.g. white trash).

[jbooth]

Seriously. You follow up "white people don't have it so bad" with "I'm a white south african and I've had it so bad"? Is irony dead?

[w00pla]

Really? You know that my parents were piss poor, and it is just through luck (and hard work) that I've achieved anything in life.

But yeah. I was recently insulted by an American person (apparently referring to someone you just met as “[Racial expletive] are the worst people in the world” is okay as far as white South Africans go). Apparently my mere existence as a white South African is offensive to some. Two months ago someone said that my first language did not exist. WTF? 6 million people speak it, I am pretty sure that it is a real language.

What would you have white South Africans do? A third immigrated and almost a third is in squatter camps. The third that is rich doesn’t really help the rest that is dirt poor. Should we just organise a mass suicide like a sect or something? Would that be acceptable to you?

[jbooth]

Well, your parents being poor isn't a racial matter. If you were black, you'd catch more crap in most countries. In most countries on earth (and I believe this is true in south africa as well), it's just plain easier to be white. So good for you for achieving whatever you have in life and overcoming whatever obstacles you've overcome, but the world's racial intolerance of white people isn't one of those obstacles.

[w00pla]

> In most countries on earth (and I believe this is true in south africa as well), it's just plain easier to be white.

This is your naivety speaking. A poor white person in South Africa is fucked. Here is why: - It is impossible to get any type of government job (includes military, government owned institutions such as Transnet, Eskom, Telkom, etc…). - White people are not eligible for any scholarships or bursaries (government or otherwise). - Entrance into university is determined by racial quotas. For a white person going to a fancy private school, it is possible – but not for a poor white person that has to go to a government school. - It is very difficult for a young white person to get a job in the private industry. Because companies have quotas, they have to preferentially hire black people. White people with scare skills can get a job – but for manual labour, it is easy to preferentially higher a black person. - Rich White and black people look down on poor white people. - Many middle income white people received “severance packages” to make space for black people (both private and government jobs). This is basically their pension as a lump sum. Many had to start business in order to survive – some made it, some were screwed. Starting your life from square 1 when you are 50 is not easy.

> So good for you for achieving whatever you have in life and overcoming whatever obstacles you've overcome,

Nice sarcasm. The point I tried to make was that, if just one little thing went different in my life, I would have been fucked.

> but the world's racial intolerance of white people isn't one of those obstacles.

You assume that the world is exactly like where you are from. The problem is that SA is a black majority country with a black government. So their intolerance towards white people is much greater (than for instance the USA government).

The difference between rich and skilled white people and poor white people is that skilled white people still have a skill that is needed (so they are not as expendable as poor white people).

I also guess that you would not view a leading figure in the ruling government (and probably next president) encouraging genocide of white people.

---

I’ve recently come to the conclusion that hate for white people in South Africa – especially Afrikaans people is pretty high in the USA. It seems that the consensus is that white people do not belong in Africa and if they are poor it is either their fault or they deserve it.

The problem is that the poor are a lot less socially mobile and it is impossible for them to immigrate. They are simply stuck between a hostile government and bad economic situation.

[jbooth]

Well, I did qualify with "I believe" on South Africa. You'd obviously know better than I would about what it's like there, but most of what I've read indicates that there isn't a ton of discrimination against white people, especially considering recent history. Sure, there has been upheaval there -- upheaval from a ridiculously racist apartheid system. Trying to claim that whites have it worse seems pretty tough to me, how do you quantify 60 years of institutionalized racism? The whole truth and reconciliation thing seems to have gone about as well as anything ever, considering the alternatives.

Zimbabwe, you'd have a definite point. There's an example of bonafide economic discrimination against white people.

[w00pla]

> but most of what I've read indicates that there isn't a ton of discrimination against white people, especially considering recent history.

Then you read interesting material. There is quite a bit discrimination against white people. If the second most powerful person in the ANC calls for genocide against white people, don’t you think that there is no discrimination?

I’ve given you numerous examples. Here is one more: for any empowerment scheme, companies are forced to sell stock. A white person cannot buy it – yet a black person can. Here is another: A white person cannot get a loan at the Land Bank. Yet the former deputy president could get a multimillion rand loan for a new car - even though he is not a farmer.

Most people in the West take quite a bit of joy out of poor white people in South Africa. I was surprised at the level of hate among American citizens for white people. Just as you are cheerleaders for Mugabe during the 80ies and 90ies, you are now a cheerleader for the ANC government.

> Trying to claim that whites have it worse seems pretty tough to me, how do you quantify 60 years of institutionalized racism?

Yet the current government is worse than Apartheid. Let’s compare the fate of black Africans now and during Apartheid.

The Mbeki government refused to give ARVs to HIV positive people. Most white people wanted the government to do that. The policy by the black Thabo Mbeki government cost the lives of at least 365,000 people (mostly black). It seems that for USA citizens, black people killing black people are OK! (I did not even year call for sanctions for a thing that was clearly genocide).

The petty Mbeki government also refused Nevaripine to HIV positive mothers. A few pills (costing less than $1) could have prevented many AIDS infections among newborns. You know that it was white South Africans who fought tooth and nail to force the government to do that?

Here is a NYTimes article you can read: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/world/africa/26aids.html

Life expectancy fell almost 1 year for each year after 1994. Life expectancy among all South Africans dropped 14.32 years from 1995 to 2009.

That is the black government that did it. Here we use 1995 stats for 1994 since a new statistical regime was instituted. http://jae.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/16/5/813 2003 Broad def. Unemployment: 29.4% 2003 Broad def. Unemployment: 42.7% 1995 Narrow def. Unemployment: 17.0% 2003 Narrow def. Unemployment 30%

Unemployment increased from 2003 to 2010 too! In the 60ies and 70ies (the heyday of Apartheid before sanctions) unemployment among all populations was between 4.5% and 6.5%.

Real income also decreased significantly (1995 to 2003 period): Agricultural work: 11.9% decline in real earnings Domestic work: 19.1% decline in real earnings Informal work: 82.5% decline in real earnings.

The education system also collapsed. Three leading authorities on education (one of them Steve Biko’s wife) said that the quality of schooling significantly decreased since the end of Apartheid.

The current president of South Africa (Jacob Zuma) said that the previous minister of education (under the black Mbeki government) were worse than Apartheid (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3045&#3...):

> "Asmal is a man who believes he knows everything. What he did was worse than what the apartheid regime did to our education system," he was quoted as saying.

> The whole truth and reconciliation thing seems to have gone about as well as anything ever, considering the alternatives.

No it hasn’t – except for ANC fat cats. The country is in serious risk of destabilising. Recent “service delivery” and anti-Zimbabwean riots have shown that. How much do you think the poverty can increase before South Africa destabilises?

> Zimbabwe, you'd have a definite point. There's an example of bonafide economic discrimination against white people.

You know that South Africa is ten years (maybe 15) behind Zimbabwe?

Everything that happened in Zimbabwe is happening in South Africa now. [There have been calls to take white people’s farms]( http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-04-09-the-militant-pacifist), calls to nationalise the mines (this will happen in 5 years). [The ANC’s number two man has called for white farmers]( http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20100310041938251C30...) to be killed (the murder rate for white farmers is already 6 times the national average – i.e. 300 per 100,000 per year).

Btw, I have not even talked about the fact that violent deaths tripled since the end of Apartheid.