From the dancing and singing, people are expressing their celebration of a life but also keep a spirit alive – a spirit of hope and reconciliation.Par for the course when an African American leader dies the mainstream media counts on us having collective, cultural amnesia as they whitewash (pun intended) how republicans really felt about Nelson Mandela, what he stood for, and why Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27years.
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.”I almost feel sorry for Ted Cruz who got trashed by his fan base for having the nerve to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela on face book. Bill O'Riellly and the other Lords of Loud won't make the same mistake.
While Senator Cruz appears to be taking the high road for once in his political life, his Facebook commenters would not let the Tea Party favorite get away with stepping out of their pure ideological line. Praising Mandela was a step too far for Cruz fans and the ugliness, historical inaccuracies, and racism in the comments on the post should serve as an illustration that the tea party as a serious political entity has jumped the shark.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
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