Mirror Miglactic

By Phetane Rapetswane

The winds of change have been sweeping across Rhodes University, and most of these winds of change have often been met with stiff resistance. Some of these changes include a new SRC body, with all the top three members of the leading student body all coming from the radical political group Sasco. Changes also include the name change of the Union to the Bantu Steven Biko, Cradock House in Nelson Mandela Hall to Adelaide Tambo House, as well as the university launching aggressive anti-drinking campaigns. Although most of these changes, like all the change in the world have been met with hostility and anger, some people have embraced the new changes and accepted, while others remain bitter and opposed to change, but this however is life- just take a look at the uproar that a change in the format of the new facebook brought, you’d swear the end of the world was approaching or something.
This long winded lead brings me to the Rhodes name change debate, which is a topic always sure to raise heated arguments and opinions. The mere thought of Rhodes changing its name has snapped even the most chilled or drunk Rhodent into taking action, and signing petitions or joining Facebook groups, where they can reminisce about how good the name is and how expensive a name change is, and how silly all other name change alternatives would be. These people of course are of course normally white people, although a couple of Rich Blacks have in my opinion ignorantly joined the white people in standing up for what is a clearly unjust name, as Cecil John Rhodes was after all a brutal tyrant who murdered and plundered African people’s resources, in pursuit of his own self interest. In my opinion he is no different to Hitler, but it is strange how the mere mention of Hitler makes people like Rhodents(Rich whites) in particular put themselves on a moral pedestal and call the guy a tyrant with whom they will not associate themselves with, however they are happy to associate themselves with Rhodes. Why people have this attitude is beyond me, and smacks of double standards, unless of course people think a Jewish life is more valuable than that of an African and that the murdering of Africans was perfectly fine as they were not ‘civilised’ enough.
When Mandela brought peace to South Africa in 1994, black South Africans were promised change and any change that has been done to ‘Africanise’ South Africa like affirmative action or name changes have been met with uproar and protest as some white people feel we are ruining their ‘country’. As Professor Pityana said it is important to challenge this image of Rhodes being a little bubble of Affluence and incorporate it into the rest of or Rhini and make sure that no one feels left out or excluded due to the socially constructed image of Rhodes only being for whites and rich black coconuts.
Change is never easy to accept, especially when you are not in control of that change, but ignorance is no excuse for standing in the way of change, and the sooner people get of their pedestal’s and realise that this is Africa and that no African in their right mind would accept anything to do with Cecil Rhodes as prestigious, just as no German would associate Hitler with prestige the sooner things in not only Rhodes but whole county will change.

Here is a trackback of some of the ignorant statements made in defence of this tyrant
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37806285209