Mandela, et al., were up against a white Afrikaaner minority which was unbelievably cruel. The tales of torture and murder as told by the whites who perpetrated those crimes are as bad as are found anywhere. The Afrikaaners treated the blacks who didn't like apartheid as badly as people have ever been treated anywhere.

Blacks resisted, sometimes violently. The way it goes. No surprise. Mandela spent 29 years in the slam for something.

AFTER THAT STRUGGLE had resulted in a political settlement, Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu devised and instituted a plan for healing and forgiveness which is beyond anything else I've ever seen or hear of.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission would be ridiculed by most on this board. The response would be, "What are those people supposed to do, just forget all the blacks who were killed??!!"

It takes a "both-and" sort of spirit to understand that Commission. An "either-or" attitude will focus on one part, and throw away the rest of the issue. (Ever wonder what happens to the kids of the "either-or" folks? Either they are moral, or they aren't. No perspective, stealing a package of gum one time is as bad as robbing a bank, and the kid is condemned to fire and brimstone forever. "EITHER you are honest, OR you are not, and you are NOT!!" Poor kids.)

So, you're right, Mandela was violent. Much as I would be if my family were being killed. And when it was over, he was a party to one fantastic program.

Reminds me of Lincoln. He fought a very violent war, and when it was done wanted to bring the South back into the fold as gently as possible. Too bad he was killed.

Arf