Another friend on a mailing list I am on replied to the comments that I
reprinted with permission here
, and I found those also thought-provoking and wanted to show them, with permission, as well.
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I have just read this entire article and while there are points that I
do agree with there are others that I cannot. I believe that you are
tarring both the entire Afrikaner race (nation?) and the entire police
force with the same brush. This is a gross generalisation and there are
of course many Afrikaners who do not hold the beliefs upheld by the old
Nationalists, as there are many police officers (including English
speaking whites, blacks, coloureds and Asians) who are merely trying to
uphold the law. I am sure there are more like those of the dog incident
but it is quite unfair to accuse the entire police force of being like
this. There are also many whites of English descent who are just as
racist as the more extreme Afrikaners and yet despise the Afrikaner,
sometimes referring to him as a "white kaffir".
As far as military service goes I had no experiences anything like those
you did. I was technically a volunteer as I was not a ZA citizen at the
time and believed that I had a duty to the country that had provided me
with my education and much else. I am not sorry that I served and while
I admit that we were used as tools by the government of the day I did
nothing of which I need be ashamed, nor did I witness others committing
anything that they should be ashamed of.
I know there were some members of our unit who were conscientious
objectors but as you pointed out, total refusal to serve merely invited
incarceration. It was however permissible to be a conscientious
objector on religious grounds and while such objectors still had to
serve they were utilised in non-combatant roles and depending on their
beliefs may not have even been required to undergo any training
involving weapons.
Taking this and the trials you were put through I have to ask myself if
you went about your resistance in the best possible way. Could it be
that rather than following whatever procedures (through welfare officers
for example) were in place, you adopted a "fuck you" attitude and tried
to buck military discipline? I have seen what can happen to a soldier
who does this and yes they can be put through some extremely harsh forms
of punishment but this could, I believe happen in any military force
that must take a large group of young men and turn them into effective
soldiers who will return alive from any war they must fight. You said
"We smoked a hell of a lot of dope" which again makes me think of
someone who doesn't want to conform to the rules and discipline laid
down. While I don't view dope use as total anathema (and have used it
myself) it is illegal and has (along with alcohol and other drugs) very
little place in a military organisation. Could any of your charges be
related to the use of dope or your (perhaps) undisciplined behaviour
while stoned?
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These get my attention because I don't think people in the US think about South Africa anymore. We figure everything is all straightened out now, nice and tidy, so why should it any longer merit any thought.
The whole subject comes up because of a
current outcry over a videotape made two years ago showing some police officers quite enjoying training their dogs by having them attack suspected illegal immigrants in a most brutal manner.
