As I was getting a little older and observing more of this segregation going on all around me I began to notice some rather peculiar inconsistencies.
Most of the "help" around houses and in the garden was racially classified as Black, this included mine labor, farm labor, domestic servants, nannies and the like. In other parts of the country the labor farce came from the other racial classifications of Coloured, Asian or Indian. So although apartheid policies dictated segregation and separate development in predefined "homelands" and "townships", it could not escape the fact that blue collar work needed to be done and "mixing" was fine under those circumstances.
Pass laws limited how non-European persons could travel and where they could live but these things were suspended in cases of work needing to be done.
These inconsistencies were brought about by necessity. Persons classified as Black, Coloured, Asian or Indian therefore still ended up working and rubbing shoulders with people designated White living in exclusively White areas.
This mixing could consequently not be limited simply to work.
These employees, if they were provided with a meal we presented it, for the most part, in an enamel tin cup and enamel tin plate. This way it was easy to distinguish which were the "whites only" cutlery and utensils and which were for others.
That never made much sense to me when I saw this at friends houses because the cutlery and utensils were washed in the same basin by the same black hands that had in many cases prepared the meal but that were not allowed to eat off the same plate or drink out of the same cup.
This was not the only inconsistency... but in many cases the non-European person that was not allowed to ride the same bus, sit on the same park bench, or go to the same beach as your European or White children was in many instances the nanny or domestic servant that raised, cared for, cooked and cleaned up after those children.
At the time it didn't seem that too many people took the time to think about how inconsistent this was.
It was simply the way things were done, in the more conservative parts of the country, and had probably been going on for a couple of generations, to the point where the more conservative households didn't give it any further thought.
What truly interested about these practices is that they were probably inherited all the way back from the British empires class system and how it discriminated against those considered to be of lower rank during colonial times.
Completely according to you, really inherited, so to speak at the genetic level. In our time, these inequalities still exist, the European race does not want to recognize that there are no more colonies.
Careful with generalisations, its where this exact form of racism stems from.
a very interesting story!
Good post
@mdmorshed
আপনি একটি মহান মানুষ .. এবং মহান উর পোস্ট
আমি আপত্তি এবং আপনার পোস্ট মন্তব্য।
প্লাস আপ আপত্তি এবং আমার মন্তব্য উত্তর ..
ধন্যবাদ
You are really funny
Thank You and welcome my world
and you want to my good😒friends..............
Utterly agree @magnata Europeans should already accept the rest of the world as other colonies.
i am from India. i was thinking that the magnitude of the problem is reduced to a great extent. sure.. it still exists. but i feel not as bad as a decade back. what do you think?? good post. to be taken seriously.
As a fellow South African I can say that yes it is a lot better, but what angers me is that when you visit someones house and you still see the domestic worker being given food and water out of a separate plate and cup. Even the food given is usually either old or completely stale. This sickens me and I regulary speak out against this.
The biggest irony of the whole thing is that when these entitled people go to a restaurant to sit down and eat they share the same cutlery previously used by people that they deem subservient.
I'm glad you feel better now is a good indication that the evolution of human beings is good promotion.i would like desapereciera this problem completely.
thank you. i fully support your ideas. i am following you. i will also do the best i can from my side.
Yes racism is one of the main problem in the world..Even now some people show the same attitude towards the lower people.. I don't know when they all r going to end.. Thanks for sharing such a great post @gavvet
Racism should disappear completely, simply we are all human beings we are all the same.
This post really “took me back...” The inconsistency’s really we’re terrible. How I loved my Nanny, Gladys. I’m very thankful for parents that expected us to treat her with the highest form of respect. Our Nanny ate off the same plates, washed her clothing in the family washing machine and gave us hugs on birthdays or when we fell... Mom always remembered her kids birthdays and loaded her up with sweeties and gifts for her kids around Christmas... and how we missed her when she was on leave!
Apartheid was repugnant. But one of the more interesting facts about the Afrikaner community in South Africa is that for people to whom "racializing" other "Non-Whites" became the norm, Afrikaner DNA has a larger amount of Non-White haplogroups than practically any other 'European' descent group in the world.
I think categorizing racism in South Africa as something only the Afrikaners did is shortsighted. The biggest racists during "apartheid" and today where actually the English South African whites. The Afrikaners have always been a lot more integrated, especially in the rural areas, with the local African population. Most Afrikaners from the farms and rural areas had best friends growing up that were from other races and speak African languages fluently.
Racism was/is a lot more prevalent in the suburbs where it comes down to a class issue more than a race issue.
That is a fact... when the first dutch settlers of over 100 men arrived there were only about 20 dutch women, the rest took local wives from the indigenous populations.
Afrikaans was the result of this intermingling with dutch and other languages.
I'm pretty sure discrimination of the Other is just a specialized form of selfishness. We see it everywhere from common daily racism to nationalism to immigration policies. "It's mine, and I'll share it with x, but I won't share it with y."
Group identity is a lie.
i wouldnt call it inconsistent, but just stupid. or even more accurate / primitive.
whole that idea about enslaving people was primitive.
one has to climb many stairs down in evolution to accept slavery as something necessary, acceptable, normal. as a sign of superiority, or as extra profit, which was the case.
thing is / its same with racism
Very interesting post. Many people who contribute and are hire to provide help to ease the flow of work and or family responsibilities were/are often times are undervalued. Back during slavery "wet nurses" were does who would breastfeed other womens children were also minorities/slaves. Again, under appreciated and discriminated. Discrimination is a very vicious cycle we have moved towards a better direction is previous decades but there can always be more improvement. Best wishes to you, - @gavvet.
Very interesting comment about wet nurses see gavin agree. You have my vote too, did not realize the trail missed half the normal voters while voting for your comment.
all form of liberty limitation mostly when it was abusive measure was only temporary. but the cost in pain and lives is all the time inacceptable.
The dream os freedom is stronger than any dictator.
I was born in 1991 so I never truly experienced Apartheid at its worst so great article. I do remember the tin cutlery though...
Sadly the country is not in the best shape at the moment.
I grew up in the UK and I remember seeing pictures on TV about the brutality dished out by Botha's henchmen. As a child I couldn't understand how Africans were not allowed to walk where they wanted in their own homeland.
Then as I grew up I discovered how the British regime, namely the Thatcher family, supported that disgusting regime. It made me (and still makes me) sick to my stomach.
Hopefully the further we move away from those times in history, the more we can grow as a society to prevent such blatant injustice happening again.
Cg
Hi @gavvet. The apartheid is still happening here in South Africa But they are not seeing it that way. The south African white differentiate themselves from blacks( let me say some of them). A South African India man spoke with me the other time and he said he and his friends were not allow to enter into a pub because they were blacks.
I wonder when this things are going to stop for the future sake.
I think racism has evolved to something more than white vs black, especially in South Africa. At my workplace the Tswana's do not want to mingle with the Pedi's for instance, both these groups are black Africans, but because they are descendant from different tribes they refuse to mingle.
If blacks are doing these things to each other then there is nothing to be said if it is from black to white or vice-versa
This post really “took me back...” The inconsistency’s really we’re terrible. How I loved my Nanny, Gladys. I’m very thankful for parents that expected us to treat her with the highest form of respect. Our Nanny ate off the same plates, washed her clothing in the family washing machine and gave us hugs on birthdays or when we fell... Mom always remembered her kids birthdays and loaded her up with sweeties and gifts for her kids around Christmas... and how we missed her when she was on leave!
This is the basis of the "superiority complex" IMHO
All that comes from Monarchs & oligarchs who (for whatever reasons) believe and have convinced us (the mass population) that 'they' belong on a "throne", as if they are the best "hunters & gatherers" or "providers" or "caretakers" or something.
The solutions are simple IMHO
But first TRUTH must be outed, corruption brought into the light and dealt with. And in doing so the "awakening" will happen naturally.
The Good news is :
HODL your hat & coat & crypto , it is happening! (it just takes a little time!)
Segregation still exist in the world, many countries still hold this. However i do not want to mention names so as to maintain a peaceful steemit community.
However segregation can only be purged in the heart because racism of the heart and mind still exists.
The racial segregation has nothing to do with the logic, it is only a demonstration who has the power to humiliate, vex and feel powerful. Segregation only makes some people believe that they are superior or better than others because of the color of their skin. There are many types of racial, political, and cultural segregation among others. But they are all the same, it is the false conception that they are better than others.
The racism and The discrimination ishuge problem around the world. Its were really terrible. Both of problems started against considered to be of lower rank humans during colonial times. race is a powerful idea and an enduring concept, invented by society. Cannot change this concept peoples to be require. But it was, because British empires class including Europe high class countries couldn`t need to stop racism & segregation. In addition, religious racism is tied to basic life values of social conformity and respect for tradition.Humans failed to find that racial tolerance arises from humanitarian values, consistent with the idea , in fact devidation was black & white condition between high class peoples.This would be political problem currently. Need to resolve solution. Mixing could consequently not be limited simply to work between each others. Absolutely great discussion @gavet.
Resteemed.
This post requires more than a few words. I read it last night and thought about it all day today. There is so much more here than just history. Slavery has existed in all societies since the beginning of time, it still exists today.
No matter how we try to interpret it we are all slaves to someone or something. As far as apartheid goes, It is unfortunate that a persons skin color is more persuasive than his integrity and honor.
it's remind my past!! truly interested about these practices is that they were probably inherited all the way back from the British empires class system and how it discriminated against those considered to be of lower rank during colonial times.
I think Racism is dangerous weapon in the world. Its terrible more than war. I have saw some of white peoples racially told as Black to under peoples. Worst disaster. Why they didn`t try to resolve these massive prob? Anyone can stay live on the planet under the countries civil condition bcoz it would be human rights. Mixing acceptable. But it will be under best leadership. If not will be biggest problem.
Completely impossible for me to even imagine walking for five minutes through a society like that. I would have ended up in jail faster than my vomit touching the ground.
A terrible truth, which I feel is still just as active topic as before, only now a few more people are more aware of it. The presence of racism is still here, people can claim it is not, but it just is.
I felt embarressed last week when I was on the airport in my home countey and literally the only person who was taken out of line was a black girl. Like, really???
The only guys that were not allowed to enter the bar were the Marrocan guys. Like, really??
And the whole 'black pete' discussion in Holland which these Dutchies are so stubborn in...boahhhhh terrible.
But a lot of white people just dont realize and acknowledge that this still is happening. They just dont (want to) see it, and think everything is peachy.
And yes, this is coming from an ashamed white girl's mouth.
Excellent post and is true despite all the years that have passed since the colonial era as such and supposedly that all people now have the same rights parace a falsehood because despite the fact that many years have passed this is still the case denigration towards non-pure white people that racism should no longer exist
Original perspective. Perhaps for the whites in apartheid these tin cups and plates were necessary props to demonstrate the lesserness of the non-whites within the household, reinforcing the 'them and us' and somehow offsetting the inevitable intimacy of having 'them' living in their home and raising their children. So when physical segregation wasn't possible, symbolic segregation stepped in to keep the ideology constant.
boils down to independency of thought.
do you accept what you are given without question?
to become free, self deciding individual you must examine all you beliefs, including those that were given to you concrete.
The world is more fluid than most believe, your beliefs appear to be true, but if you change them, and the world changes around you, what have you learned?
at first you see victims and oppressors, but later you see to groups that dismiss their true power, thinks he can takes, and the other agrees to give. it may appear that there is no choice, but collectively it is a choice we have made, and when more stop agreeing with it, things will change.
Good write up. I am from Nigeria but I feel the issue of class system is in-built in man. Black/White apart, even within the same colour, tribe and locality; the class system exists. This reminds me of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Once a man can fulfill his basic needs, his taste evolves. From crawling, he wants to walk, from walking to flying and from flying to something else including dominating and ruling over other humans. If all humans were to be of the same race, colour et al, there would still a class system
These things seem to be from another time and world... but when observerving behaviour and listening careful to opinions of very conservative people, no matter where, you will often find the roots for racism. Living and working in Dominican republic I noticed that sometimes capitalism with its dependencies can hold slavery alive. Hire and fire from hotel jobs from one day to the next... and its very difficult to find a new job for those black people fired by the spanish Hotel managers... I worked there as a photographer and was shocked how the old slavery relationship was still shining through todays society. The lighter your skin, the better your chances...
Clearly, racism is still prevalent today. What do you think is going on with these white supremacist movements out in the United States and then now more recently in Poland?
Coming from a minority, I've been discriminated against quite a few times as well. One time I was teaching at a school in Houston, Texas where the Principal was a racist. She gave me a lot of trouble, but luckily I was part of a teacher's union and one of their representatives helped me get out of that mess and I was put on administrative leave. That basically meant that I didn't have to report to work for the rest of the school year, but I still got paid.
Ahh those Brits are gone.
Hi @gavvet,
I am kind of new here, can someone really tell me how to get steempower here? I think there is no fun without the steempower here, right?
Regards,
@alihassanmalik
make good comments
What is a definition of racism? Is it if whites despise other races or it can be also when other races despise whites?
good question
Insightful post @gavvet! As @DavidIcke says... Racism is the ultimate ignorance in that it relates 'self' to the body instead of the Consciousness - Awareness - animating and experiencing through the body. It is like judging a man by his spacesuit instead of the person inside it.
Such a great read! Very Interesting, never thought of it that way. Eating the food the "help" have cooked and using different plates and cups really makes no sense what so ever.
Things are always more complex and nuanced than we would like to think. Not being from SA, I thought it was as simple as black and white and the colors in between. Thanks for this info. It went a long way in clearing up my ignorance.
Weve heard many stories like this here in Australia too. Everywhere the British went
I'm against racism! it is the false conception that they are better than others.Thanks for sharing such a great post @gavvet
👏👏👏
Yes racism exists and it is shame for us..bcoz we are the reason for it!!!!!!!!
Great
good post @gavvet
if you follow me.i will follow you
I simply like your article, great content and presentation @gavvet !!
you should visit my blog it includes pictures of beautiful places in my country you'll love it.
@hatimbenya
You are a great man ..and great ur post
I upvote and comment ur post.
Pls u upvote and reply my comment ..
Thanks .
Good post , thankfully things are getting better..I have upvoted and re steemed ...please upvote and resteem me
I have upvoted and re steemed ...please upvote and resteem me
Great job my bro.i salute you boss.you are realy great man on steemit.resteemed
If you really wanted to do that, then why wouldn't you do that? Instead you do this. It makes no sense.
easier to talk than to do
Great post my friend well done thank you for sharing it. loving to your blog.
upvoted
Gelas mama papa