Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That
Most People Won’t Talk About
"Six Things Nelson Mandela
Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About"
In
the desire to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life — an iconic figure who triumphed
over South
Africa’s brutal apartheid regime — it’s tempting to homogenize his
views into something everyone can support. This is not, however, an accurate
representation of the man.
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| Credit: AP |
Mandela
was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and
he did not seek — or obtain — universal approval. Before and after his release
from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform.
As one commentator put it shortly after the
announcement of the freedom fighter’s death, “Mandela will never, ever be your
minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something
he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to
take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”
As
the world remembers Mandela, here are some of the things he believed that many
will gloss over.
