pearnon: I'm afraid your impression of the man is rose-tinted by the Western media's deification of him. Mandela was the farthest thing from a saint, and managed to absolutely ruin South Africa.
Lin545: Any details? Thanks!
What I mean, is that he was not only rose-tinted by West, but [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela#/media/File:1988_CPA_5971.jpg]also by USSR[/url].
Indeed. He was much lauded by the USSR, because, at the time, Africa was a battlefield by proxy of the Cold War, wherein nations - little more than tribal conglomerates, really - were the playthings of rival world superpowers. South Africa, at the time, one of the most prosperous nations in the world, with one of the highest standards of living, almost utopian healthcare, armed forced second to scant few, and friggin'
nuclear weapons, was a most appetizing target.
Mandela was the figurehead of the ol' hammer and sickle in that global game of chess, groomed, armed and guided by the Communists. He was a nominal and literal terrorist, who never disavowed or reneged the violent acts and atrocities (murder, torture, bombings, sabotage) of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the terrorist organization that was the military wing of the Marxist African National Congress, the former of which he was the co-founder and commander of.
He got arrested, but managed to be an even more insidious tool in prison, as he was lauded as a martyr of sorts by the rest of the world, which then besieged South Africa and crippled it with sanctions. Once freed, Mandela basked in the adulation and worship of celebrities and dignitaries, and only had to sit back and enjoy the subsequent economic boom that resulted from the lifting of the aforementioned sanctions. Only to then slowly but surely lead his country into the utter shithole it currently finds itself in.
