20 December 1986: Is South Africa an Unhappy Country?

5:40 PM, Carlton Heights Hotel, Cape Town

This trip to the Cape certainly has had its ups and downs.  Lately it seems that the downs have been more frequent than the ups.  I’m not sure why I even came down here except that there is nothing to do in Gaborone, Botswana during the Christmas holidays.  Most everyone there seems to go away on vacation.  There’s plenty to do down here, especially in Cape Town, but it’s not all that much fun doing it by myself.

Frankly, I don’t know why I’m even continuing with this travel writing project.  I’m beginning to have my doubts as to whether anyone back in the U.S. is all that interested in my experiences or if they really give a shit about what’s going on in South Africa.  It’s hard to write to an audience when you don’t think they care about the subject.  Travelling around like this without friends or a specific work assignment is really beginning to suck.  All these months of being nice to people, many of whom I don’t particularly like, is getting old.  It’s a wonder I haven’t cracked up or become an alcoholic.  I must be a masochist.  Perhaps I should call one of the numerous escort services listed in today’s paper and ask to have a dominatrix  sent over who will give me a good spanking (well no, I really haven’t become that kinky). 

These South African prisoners certainly have plenty of reasons to feel sorry for themselves.  By comparison, I have nothing to complain about.  Photo source: https://www.scoopnest.com/user/globeandmail/530519792747565058-moment-in-time-nov-6-1962-un-calls-for-apartheid-boycott-in-south-africa

Enough of this bitching.  I should write about something more important like the current situation in South Africa.  On the surface, it still appears very peaceful as long as one stays out of the black townships.  And it’s generally unsafe for a “honky” like me to go into the townships whether there is trouble or not.  But, in a subtle way, I sense some changes since June when the latest State of Emergency went into effect.  And now, the government has introduced very severe clampdowns on press freedoms and anti-government political assemblies.  That’s the big political picture – but what about the more personal level?

I get the impression that white people are feeling the impact of what’s going on now more than six months ago.  I get the feeling that they’ve given up trying to convince an American like me that South Africa is really OK as it is.  Also, I think they are more suspicious of me now.  Not that there is any overt hostility.  I just seem to be getting more small talk from South Africans.  There are fewer questions about why I am here or what I think about South Africa.  A few people open up in private, but I hear fewer political discussions in public than I did at first. I suspect that people are nervous about the possibility that a plain-clothes security force guy might be listening to the conversation at the next table.  It’s not worth getting thrown into detention for making a “subversive statement” in the course of a public conversation.  As for the people who are pro-government or to the right of the government, I suspect most of their conversations are in Afrikaans which does me fuck-all good.  There are, of course, many English-speaking whites who are pro-government, but I suspect they do not want to be labeled racists by more liberal patrons in their local tavern.  Thus, while I was getting really sick of listening to the old racist and defensive crap from white South Africans, I don’t hear much of anything of substance from them now unless I know them.  I guess all those Rotary Club contacts were an advantage in that respect but I’ve dropped out of Rotary since starting my teaching job in Botswana.

Below the surface, South Africa is not a happy place.  Every time I cross the border from friendly, up-beat Botswana into South Africa, I feel the presence of a dark cloud enveloping me in fatalistic pessimism.  The government seemed to be slowly moving in the direction of reform when I first got here.  Thus, people seemed to feel that the situation would eventually sort itself out.  But lately, reform has stalled.  The government is talking tougher than it has in recent years, essentially telling the rest of the world to go bugger themselves.  The recently-imposed U.S. sanctions aren’t being felt yet, but some people are beginning to worry about their ultimate impact.  The townships seem relatively quiet for now, but the restrictions on the press make it hard to tell exactly what is going on.  Only a Pollyanna could not be worried about the future of South Africa and what life will be like here in five, ten, or twenty-five years.

Will South Africa have a violent revolution or will the government and army’s might manage to keep the lid on unrest indefinitely?  Township riots, a few terrorist bombings, foreign sanctions and disinvestment, and public opinion among the non-white and liberal white populations are not going to bring down this government.  An armed revolution will not work even with the combined support of the African Frontline States.  The South African Defense Force (SADF) would make mincemeat out of an open revolt in a matter of days.  An invasion by NATO allies and the British Commonwealth could probably defeat the SADF using conventional (non-nuclear) forces but that simply is not going to happen unless the government here were to undertake a wholesale slaughter of non-white South Africans (which is also not going to happen).  And such a Normandy-style invasion at the southern tip of Africa would be a logistical nightmare, cost thousands, if not millions, of lives, and lay waste to the treasuries of the participants.  Yet, how long can roughly 3 million conservative South African whites maintain autocratic control over 30 million people who do not agree with them?  Look at history, fer chrissake!

Regarding the people I stayed with during my first week here in Cape Town, they are part of the same Emissary group that I stayed with in Harare, Zimbabwe back in June.  It’s a spiritual group with several centers in southern Africa, Canada, and the U.S.  Their headquarters is a ranch outside of Loveland, Colorado. 

Their politics are interesting.  They are taking a positive approach to South Africa’s problems by attempting to build bridges between people at a personal level.  For example, they have gatherings every Thursday which bring together people of various races to talk about what’s going on in their lives.  I didn’t have a chance to attend one of these meetings, but they sound more personal than political; more like group therapy or consciousness-raising.  Basically good stuff, and I suppose change on a personal level in this society is every bit as important as political change.  The Emissary folks reason that one can’t do much to change the system in this society but personal change is not only possible but necessary if the political system is ever going to change.

This theme was followed in a talk I attended which was given by Rupert and Tessa Maskill, two of the residents who have just returned from eight months in Great Britain.  All well and good but I was a bit disappointed in some of the comments Rupert made in during talk:  the usual stuff I’ve been hearing from white South Africans since my arrival eight months ago.  You know – the rest of the world doesn’t understand South Africa and the U.S. has its share of problems when it comes to race.  Certainly true but I get sick of the excuses.  As I later told Jeffrey Newman, the person I got to know best in the community, I didn’t have to pay R3.00 to hear that sort of defensive crap.  I could listen to it for free in an Afrikaner bar in the Orange Free State.  Jeffrey defended Rupert saying the comments were made from a thorough appreciation of South Africa’s shortcomings and a desire to move beyond all that.  But such comments hit me wrong because they always sound like a convenient way of downplaying South Africa’s guilt by pointing out the faults of other countries.  This seems to be a favorite white South African game and I’ve grown very tired of it.     

I found the Emissary folks to be nice people, but a week of them was about all I could take (maybe they said the same about me!)  They are supposedly a “new age” spiritual group but I got the impression that their religious philosophy is somewhat “old age” Christian.  They deny this but mention the “Lord” a lot in their mealtime blessings (done while holding hands in a circle, of course) as well as frequently using “thee” and “thou”.  What really turned me off was a video-taped talk from their “Big Kahuna” in Canada, an older guy named Martin Exeter.  He spoke of the importance of the “whole” (meaning the group or humanity or the common good) over the individual.  I suppose it was a matter of interpretation, but it smacked of suppressing one’s individual needs, goals, and interests for the good of the group.  These people live communally and they seem to do just that.  They appear to be happy.  I wouldn’t classify them as cult followers, but it’s just not my scene.   

I wish the Emissaries all the best with their approach to spirituality, personal growth, and politics.  They will not be able to make much of an effect on the country’s political turmoil.  But if the turmoil is ever resolved, they will have made a contribution by getting people of different races to start communicating on a personal level.  That will certainly help this unhappy society heal its deep wounds.