Truth, Reconciliation, and the Price of Racial Forgiveness
Facing the Past: How Far Has South Africa Come in the Pursuit of Racial Justice?
Is it possible to forgive racism? There is no answer to a question that is so simple, yet appears to be so nuanced. Can anything be truly forgiven? With the ideal of forgiveness being core to the identity of post-apartheid South Africa, it is still a question that strikes deep at our core.
Renaldo Gouws was expelled from his party due to racist remarks in a video 15 years ago. This has been oversimplified to the idea of right and wrong when there is a deeper question. Without a doubt, racism is clear-cut and obvious. There ought not to be a world where we support or encourage the suppression of individuals' identity. But the word “apology” was embedded deep in the defense of Renaldo Gouws.
After his election as a member of parliament, the video expose dropped on IOL. They resurfaced a video where he repeatedly called South Africans by derogatory racial slurs. However, he had been prosecuted for the action prior. He apologized and improved his actions. He did everything in his power to get rid of the wrongdoing. But was this enough?
With many on social media calling for the Democratic Alliance to take action, the idea of remorse seemed non-existent. While many came to his defense, explaining he apologized prior, others continued to call for quick and effective consequences. This was not always welcomed by the DA, even though it resulted in suspension sometime later. But the turning point was in the apology. The one he provided at the end sparked some stir amongst one of the media outlets.
“The terms used were NEVER meant to insult or belittle anyone and if hearing those words now is hurtful to you, then I profusely apologize.” Gouws provided a degree of subjectiveness, referring to “if,” which aimed to address those who felt affected by the video and make them appear as a minority, rather than recognizing the impact of the words and his ignorance in using them.
Whether it is perceived as deflecting responsibility is subjective. But now that it has reached its complete conclusion, there is still an element of the issue that is not fully resolved. Whether to be put on X or media responding, it has an unsettling element that is firm within our history, where races seem further divided than ever. Another facade of unity is known as the Government of National Unity.
The IOL article, written by the editor, states: “White people go through as they age — infancy, childhood, puberty, racism, adult racism, (caught out and exposed for racism), reformed racist.” It generalizes and assigns blame to a race rather than recognizing the individual’s wrongdoing.
In a society 30 years free of apartheid, existing among born-free South Africans, the vision of a rainbow nation seems covered by large crowds. Furthermore, with the Truth and Reconciliation Council being a moment in history, it asks if we truly ever reconciled as a country and whether or not the apologies held then would hold today.
Amongst the Renaldo Gouws case lies multiple politicians who have had a history of stealing from the state and allowing citizens to live undignified lives. Yet, they remain in positions of office and enjoy their lives while people are denied their basic services. In the worst case, we have politicians who celebrate their rehabilitation from a life of crime, but those celebrations rarely lead to the prioritization of their own citizens.
There is no way to truly convey or evaluate if an apology is effective or valid. But we ought to be careful about the conclusions we reach upon individuals' actions. A racist politician is a racist politician and not a collective white issue. Nor is a corrupt statesman a corrupt statesman and not a product of the system or a collective black issue.
I liked the essay, a lot. I will say, in a South African context, I think it’s always important to remember that forgiveness cannot and will never happen when it comes to something like Apartheid and racial injustice, in general, especially because black people continue to suffer, immensely. The TRC both as a commission and act failed to recognise the severity of what happened to black people during the dark days of Apartheid. It focused on individuals rather than the system at large. AZAPO taking the state to the CC was a clear example of that. And the fact that the state won the case is a clear example of post-apartheid South Africa’s shortcomings in relation to democratic processes, institutions, rights and change.
For me, the AZAPO case is clear example of how black people in SA are not only continuously gaslit about our experiences but also an example of how we’re always cornered into forgiving racist people and policies in the name of a new united rainbow nation. And this forgiveness always has a sinister way of encouraging black people to forget the past, especially in the post-Apartheid era. This is precisely the problem.
Black people continue to suffer at the hands of a system that hasn’t changed many of its stripes. Until the system itself changes for the advancement of black people in all areas our lives, especially economically. I dont think forgiveness should be granted to people who clearly see nothing wrong with what they have done and to some extent-continue to do. If anything, I think the fact that some white South Africans are still okay with being racist until it’s called out, is a clear sign that A LOT of work still needs to be done. In your essay you highlighted the subjectiveness of Gouws apology, and from what I was reading, that was not an apology. There was zero accountability in that statement. He was merely acknowledging what he said and how his words may have been received by others.
I don’t think apologies matter if black people continue to suffer in a post-apartheid South Africa. Moreover, for an example, nobody expects Jewish people to forgive Nazis for the Holocaust, and rightfully so. What happened during the Holocaust was horrific (I use this as an example to illustrate my main point not to compare struggles or forms of oppression). So why expect black people to do the same. What happened in the dark days of Apartheid and even before Apartheid, permeates every facet of black existence in South Africa. 30 years into democracy and the lives of many young black people mirror those of their ancestors. Young black South Africans live lives riddled with crime, debt, lack of education, unemployment and a lack of basic necessities and assets. This must never be forgotten. Conversations about forgiveness in countries where colonialism has permanently damaged a people seem pointless to me. It is not black people’s responsibility to hold racist people accountable-that’s not fair. Forgiveness, although a beautiful idea cannot be spoken about if not followed by accountability and actual change in the lives of black people. If anything it becomes a dangerous weapon used to sooth the guilt of the oppressor for the atrocities committed against the system’s victims. Unless change comes, we must never forget. And even when change arrives we must never forget.
But that’s just my two cents. Beautiful writing by the way✨.