It is a very extensive topic,
@anustart76, that I cannot really do justice to in a brief manner, but Nelson Mandela is not necessarily the heroic figure history marks him out to be. Nor is Post-Apartheid South Africa anything Americans should want.
Mandela was an advocate for terrorism against National Front-led South Africa, breaking with the African National Congress (ANC) in 1961, & founding uMkhonto we Sizwe, as a paramilitary group (
Archive) with the explicit goal of using violent resistance, to topple Apartheid. Mandela was also an avowed Marxist.
Mandela offered praise to the likes of Fidel Castro, due to his support for various African independence movements, despite how poorly Afro-Cubans were treated in the socialist paradise (
Archive).
While still professing a desire to stand against "black domination" as much as "white domination" (
Archive), this did not stop Mandela from involvement in, & pleading guilty to committing violent acts, including to being part of a plot to attack a South African Air Force base via car bombing, which killed civilians (
Archive).
While most in the West know him for his extended stay in prison & non-violent approach towards the end of Apartheid, he is not the saintly figure most imagine him to be.
Then, we come to the "Rainbow Nation" concept Mandela hoped to implement upon the fall of Apartheid, & his election in 1994 (
Archive). The problem encountered was best exemplified by the Truth & Reconciliation Committee. It attempted to both offer Black Africans healing by exposing Apartheid injustice, & White Africans the protection of not being charged with any crimes outside of those already marked for prosecution. This ended up angering the more militant Blacks, as they saw it as perpetrators escaping justice, while White Africans that were involved in the military/security forces simply chose not to participate (
Archive). Likewise, we are seeing a push for a similar committee in the United States to address black grievances, & became en vogue during the George Floyd riots of 2020 (
Archive).
& once he retires from the presidency, Mandela left control of the country to a string of successors that alternated between venal, incompetent, or actively targeting the White minority for punishment. Jacob Zuma would sing the song, 'Kill the Boer', as late at 2010 (
Archive). "Boer" being a term for Afrikaners (Dutch-descended Whites), as well as a more general term for White farmers. This came alongside a precipitous rise in attacks on White farmers (
Archive), the song being judged as not a hate crime by The Justice Court, which adjudicates on these matters for post-Apartheid South Africa (
Archive), & the removal of statues from the colonial period because they were "racist" (
Archive).
This happens in the backdrop of Zimbabwe's massive re-appropriations of farmland from Whites & transfers them to Blacks. This leads the former Rhodesia to go from the breadbasket of Africa to a famine-ridden basketcase (
Archive).
Despite this, both the ANC, & Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), came to support limited land seizures to redistribute farmland to Blacks (
Archive).
Combined with affirmative action, via what is called The Employment Equity Act, prioritises race over competence, & furthers grievances by Blacks against "White males" (
Archive) via emphasis on replacing Whites in particular industries where they dominate.
This is alleged to be leading to serious degredation in South African power generation, for example, which now faces regular brown & blackouts (
Archive), despite plans to host the BRICS summit this August .
Bit of a ramble, but I had some alarm bells ring when Vivek made the statement, but I imagine it is from ignorance, more than anything. Hope this helps to explain a little more as to why
@Retink Retunk & I note this as a potential negative.
