Was Nelson Mandela a Terrorist?

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and after the collapse of apartheid he championed a policy of forgiveness and reconciliation, even for those who committed the worst abuses against black citizens of South Africa.

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I have always disagreed with this. What does it teach our children? That it is ok to oppress people. If you win you are king. If you lose you are king. There are no consequences to doing bad things to whole races of people.

I would have gone the civil war route. For me, justice is more important than peace. Those monsters were many times worse than thieves, and yet we don't just let thieves get away with it. We punish people for much less offenses. My next door neighbor got a fine for putting leaves behind his back yard. My partner's ex is serving a 10 year sentence for possession of child porn. But if you commit acts of violence against entire races of people and ruin countless lives, all is forgiven at the end.I think I'll run for office and put all Mexicans in concentration camps now.

Ok, I'll put the Mexicans in concentration camps. After their numbers have dwindled down to about 50% of their previous size, I'll do the right thing and release them.I'm aware of the incentive to get the evil people to stop doing evil things.That said, the russians didn't rape and pillage Germany enough. They should have leveled it and turn it into an agricultural backwatered place. And rape a few more Germans on the way out.I know I sound like an extremist. And that's ok. I just refuse to accept that you can be thrown into jail for shoplifting but if you rob the livelihood of millions of people then it's all good.Edit.I listened to a speech made by a former apartheid official. He said something like Mandella was a great man. I was screaming into the radio for him to shut the hell up.And why does this website run like shit at times?Edited by yenmor, : No reason given.

You are speaking from hindsight. If you apply the same logic with a different situation, say with the nazis... you can fill in the blanks.What's important is we deter evil doers in the future. Mandela may have saved a lot of lives, but he practically invited evil people to keep doing what they do without fear of consequences.I'm sorry, I simply don't subscribe to Star Trek TNG way of dealing with evil doers.

Hippy attitude. Try saying that to the nazis.

You got me figured out. I think like a criminal.

Here's my take on this. When I read your posts and jar's and others' on here, I see the same thought process as the tea party rhetoric that we see. Same coin, different sides. Basically speaking, you can't stand others who disagree with you. At some point, you've come to a certain conclusion about something, and god forbids if anyone disagrees with it.Regarding reconciliation and forgiveness, I simply refuse to accept that great evil has no consequences. I don't believe in god or heaven or hell. I fear for what comes in the unforeseeable future every time an evil doer is reassured by people like you that they can do all the evil they want to without any consequence at all if they lose.That's my stance. Yours is one of liberal hippy forgive and forget. Since it's the popular thing to say and believe nowadays, I'm not surprised you're so bold with your words.

What? No accusations of criminality or other tea party rhetoric? I'm shocked.

I have never said anything about retribution or more killings.This is exactly what I was talking about when I pointed out that some people on here are like tea partiers. Same coin, different sides. Just because I don't subscribe to one extreme doesn't mean I subscribe to the other. I've found that tea party rhetoricists (I officially copyright this word) have trouble not thinking in terms of extremes. Either Obama is a republican or he is the devil reincarnate, and he ain't a republican.Edited by yenmor, : No reason given.

If the ones responsible for apartheid had any sense of moral like they claimed after the fact, then they would have agreed to step down and stand trial. Accomplishes should have had their wealth and properties confiscated and stand trial.I don't have all the answers. I don't know everything. I simply refuse to accept their ultimatum of either forgive and forget or civil war.Again, I was listening to a speech made by a former apartheid official. He was praising Mandela. Us Asians have the saying that we don't need your crocodile tears. Don't know if American culture have something similar. Had that bastard been trying to give his speech in front of me, I would have told him to shut the fuck up. If he had indeed regretted his former stance and actions, he would have stood trial instead of giving an ultimatum of clemency or else.Again, I don't believe in god or the easter bunny. Don't tell me justice will be served in the afterlife.

Do you or do you not deny that our sense of morals have progressed over the generations and is continuing to progress?My point is what may have been acceptable a couple generations ago are not acceptable in the last century.This is the reason why people shouldn't subscribe to moral teachings from the bible. Those savages killed every man, woman, and child in Jericho and other cities. Nowadays, we hold people to a much higher standard than biblical times.

Which insults would it be? That I either agree with the majority or I'm a criminal?

It's an observation. It's no secret that I don't agree with the majority here. Somehow, this translated to me being a criminal. Sound familiar?

Actually, I haven't backed down from anything. The problem with trying to squeeze a position down to a single sentence is that anything at all can sound silly. I've been working out in the field. It's not easy composing a post with a tablet.Try to think of it this way. Imagine what would have happened had the allied gave into every demand by Hitler. Give us Czech or else. Give us Poland or else. Give us all your Jews or else.By the time Mandela had gotten out, the political atmosphere was clearly in his favor. The pro-apartheid officials knew they were on the wrong side of history. So, they gave Mandela an ultimatum. Forgive and forget or else.No, I'm not advocating having them all shot or hung after Mandela won the election. No, I'm not advocating going out of their way to bring about a long and bloody civil war. I'm convinced there was a place somewhere in the middle. Turn political power over to the people. Have trials. Anything. I don't care. Anything but how it actually went.Like I said before. Thieves and fraudsters suffer a lot more consequences than the people behind apartheid.

Simple. Call their bluff.Added by edit.So, now you're going back and nitpick everything I say. Typical tactic of the immature.Let me explain further.I don't believe it would have exploded into a civil war. By the time Mandela was released, the tides have already turned against the apartheid officials. They gave him an ultimatum of granting blanket clemency. He should have said no and offered something else. Like standing trial and such.Why is it that you keep thinking like tea partiers? why do you keep insisting on the extremes as the only possibilities? Either blanket clemency or ling bloody war. Are you so immature as to being incapable of thinking somewhere in between?Edit.Don't answer that. College students rarely ever give up. Never mind.Edited by yenmor, : No reason given.Edited by yenmor, : No reason given.