very old black man who used to be a terrorist dies

[Cynical Ninja]

Nelson Mandela is dead, he was 95 and was very sick for a long time so no need for shock.

He was the first black president of South Africa and the first former terrorist president of South Africa. F W De Klerk was awarded the Nobel peace prize alongside Mandela and did anyone give a shit when he died?

No and De Klerk was never a terrorist. Mandela was no Rosa Parks at best he was a Black Panther who ended up in a position of power and his wife was a homicidal maniac.

The blacks in South Africa still call him “madiba” his terrorist name.

Was Apartheid wrong? Yes was terrorism the answer? No.

[Cynical Ninja]

Obama is now saying how wonderful Mandela was in a press conference.

Did he mention F W De Klerk who was jointly awarded the Nobel peace prize with Mandela in 1993? Nope!

It was all about Mandela which it fucking wasn't at any point. It was a deal between white and black for peace. Like I said is Apartheid wrong? Yes definitely! Should we celebrate an ex-terrorist? No!

[crash]

So he was part of a group that whacked a few racist fuckers that were oppressing his people...meh. The big countries of the world do that every day.

The world will still consider him a greater man than you on his worst day, deliverance, than you'll ever be on your best.

[Donovan]

So he was part of a group that whacked a few racist fuckers that were oppressing his people...meh. The big countries of the world do that every day.

The world will still consider him a greater man than you on his worst day, deliverance, than you'll ever be on your best.

QFT

[aussiefriend]

I don't know which Nelson Mandela you are talking about CN, but the one that I know, spoke of love, peace, tolerance and learning to getting along with your fellow man. I have just this morning been listening to some of his remarkable words and he truly was an inspiration. Maybe he started off politically active with whatever tools he had available, but his path clearly transcended into something special and liberating. #RIP

[QueenBee]

I am with Aussie. I have been watching CNN. Had an interview with De Klerck who spoke very highly and respectfully of him. Seemed to consider him a good man and great leader, despite their differences.

[sally]

I wouldn't go as far as to say he was a great man, great men don't contribute to the deaths of children. But like Crash said he's no worse than the rest of the leaders of the world.

[Duchess]

So...what's the difference between a freedom fighter & a terrorist?

[crash]

Which side you're on..

[Duchess]

I've been fuckin' with people by asking why they are revering a terrorist. They get pissed.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan didn't waiver in their beliefs that Nelson Mandela and his ANC were terrorists.

Condoleezza Rice, George Bush and Dick Cheney, on the other hand, didn't believe he was a terrorist (or it was in their best interests to remove him from the terrorist list and support his anti-apartheid movement in tandem with increasing public intolerance of racial discrimination).

Sometimes things look very different through different sets of eyes, or even the same set of eyes in hindsight. Mandela was a controversial man, no doubt, same as most people who affect major change on a large scale.

Anyway, CN, if you think Mandela was just a terrorist, would you consider Oprah a terrorist sympathizer and supporter? She stayed at his home for a while years before he was removed from the US's Terrorist List. He was a mentor to her, and inspired her to open her South African school for girls.

[Duchess]

I did some reading about him last night after seeing OP refer to him as a terrorist. That's when I discovered he had been on the terrorist watch list until 2008. Much of what I read was news to me. I really never knew how unfavorably he was looked upon by some high profile people.

[HairOfTheDog]

I did some reading about him last night after seeing OP refer to him as a terrorist. That's when I discovered he had been on the terrorist watch list until 2008. Much of what I read was news to me. I really never knew how unfavorably he was looked upon by some high profile people.

Oh, yeah.

Plenty of western leaders loved the hell out of the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, Ferdinand Marcos...as long as they were furthering our best interests in their countries and collaborating against mutual enemies with us behind the scenes.

But, when their own people rose against them and started publicly making substantiated allegations of widespread abuse which gained attention in the global media and weakened their leaderhships, they became "tyrants" or "terrorists". Of course, those western leaders who'd supported them had no idea about their former allies' domestic policies. No idea.

Mandela went from terrorist to hero for some of those same western countries and leaders as the philosophies and practices of apartheid, Mandela's object of protest, became the subject of greater global awareness and opposition.

[Maggot]