Re: We are living through a time of fear – not just of the virus, but of each other Archived Message
Posted by margo on March 23, 2021, 3:31 pm, in reply to "Re: We are living through a time of fear – not just of the virus, but of each other "
Seen this movie before in apartheid SA where "Fear forced us to turn inwards to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Fear refused to understand or identify with the concerns of others." The white people of South Africa turned inwards to protect themselves (there was even a word for it: "laager", which means fearfully circling the wagons and living only in the safe inner circle). Fear was rampant - reinforced by government statements, media and peer pressure. It was the kind of life-and-death fear (dangerous blacks will kill you unless you follow our guidelines) that rendered white people unable to "understand or identify with the concerns of others". Pick up the psychology books to understand this phenomenon: people make the mistake to think this sort of thing only happened under the Nazis and the white South Africans - in fact it's so easy (even comforting) to slide into this sort of mindset. I'd argue that Israelis and Americans are deep in this ratinalising groupthink and they bring to mind white South Africans (circa 1960 - 1990 and deep in denial) in so many ways. "The source of our fear can be endlessly manipulated: black men, feminists, Jews, hippies, travellers, loony lefties, libertarians". Apartheid South Africa was all about identity politics, and divide-and-conquer. Blacks were all lumped together as 'dangerous' and whites were divided into "Afrikaans-speakers"; "English speakers"; "Jews", "hippies", "communists", "socialists", "student troublemakers"; "nutters" and so on. Under the apartheid government: - state of emergency country-wide lockdowns were switched on and off, over the years; - public protests were banned and/or heavily policed; - at times, specific people in specific areas were under "house arrest"; - at times, people could not stand and talk with more than one or two people in public places; The scariest development in UK is this new Bill that places no limits on crimes security forces can commit (incl murder and rape) if it's for the greater good. Does this mean undercover cops can infiltrate groups and protests and commit any number of crimes, with impunity? South African apartheid enforcers certainly did this: it was so dark and damaging and the after-effects still lurk today.
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