overyourhead

A reader writes...
The text below is from Rob who posted a comment to my original item last week about racism in South Africa. I really didn't want to lose Rob's comments (my comments feature has been rather unreliable of late) as he makes some interesting, inciteful and personal points. Thanks Rob.

So you are in SA, I never knew. Hope you are having a fantastic time.
Unfortunately, I think it may be a bit true, but not on purpose if that makes sense. My biggest shock was coming to live in London and slowly discovering that I had way's of thinking that not even I knew existed. I was quite ashamed at first and then angry that I had been subjected to an upbringing that would allow for this to happen. I have found that quite a few white and black South African's are still quite racist and barring them leaving the country and learning to live in another part of the world, will be until the dying day.The rest of us try hard but there is always something in the back of our minds, either put there by the years we grew up, or suffering awful injustice. You show me a South African who say's he is no longer affected by what was drummed into him at school and army etc... and I will show you a liar. It's true that the South African's who lived as young adults through the changes from 1992 onwards are indeed a lost generation. Once we die out and our grand children are running the country, I believe that things will be a lot better, you will get the occasional bigot, like the few I have met since living in London, but hopefully the country will have caught up with the rest of the world mentally. But don't let this put you off, the ratio has changed dramatically to the positive in the last 10 years and will continue to do so. Personally, I was brought up liberal, but enjoyed all the trappings that white people enjoyed, so I know I am as guilty as the next person. I maintain that one of the reasons I am here is to live a life as a human, privilege is something that you should earn and not your right. My prayer is that, one day, everyone in SA will see things that way.

Amen.