Julius Malema. Photo: YouTube
I wish to comment on two articles, one about Julius Malema and African unity and the other about African Americans in the U.S. military.
Mr. Julius Malema dares to expose the shortcomings of the ANC regime which has basically replaced Whites faces in government with African faces a danger which the Black intellectual Steve Biko, who was later murdered by the apartheid regime, warned could happen.
Prosperity hasn’t trickled down to the people who sacrificed much to make a change. The ruling elite of course is uncomfortable with Malema’s continuing revolt against the status quo and even Cyril Ramaphosa the billionaire new president has invited him to return to the ANC.
Unfortunately this trend is general among African leaders who once advocated revolution but once in office dared not to challenge the international financial and banking order. In fact once in power these former revolutionaries had no problem supporting the U.S. no-fly zone over Iraq and the subsequent invasion.
These same former revolutionaries had no hesitation in supporting a no-fly zone over Libya even after seeing how this was used against Saddam Hussein. What could they possibly be thinking other than not having friction with the former colonial powers?
Did they only want political offices without any benefit for the masses but enormous economic benefits for themselves like Mr. Ramaphosa? For anyone who favored decolonization and African nationalism the current state of African affairs is dismal. Julius Malema will hopefully force the real issues to the forefront of the national agendas.
With respect to Black soldiers in the U.S. military; these soldiers have been used and abused in every action that the U.S military has engaged in. They have never fought for their own agenda but were, and are, simply a black clog in a white machine.
Black soldiers have repeatedly hoped that by risking their lives in the national defense they would be recognized as worthy of full citizenship rights. This hope has never materialized.
Black soldiers fought against the British, fought in many Indian wars, the Mexican War of 1846, Spanish-American War, World War I and II, Korean War, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq, and on and on.
Where are the benefits of full citizenship after all these involvements for over 200 years of fighting?
Many Black people see Colin Powell as a role model but he only went around the world fighting for White Supremacy and U.S. domination. Will he or any Black veterans fight against the terror that local police inflict upon our communities or do they only go to war when the White man tells them to?