{"id":37548,"date":"2013-12-16T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=37548"},"modified":"2015-05-05T22:20:12","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T21:20:12","slug":"aloha-nelson-mandela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/12\/aloha-nelson-mandela\/","title":{"rendered":"Aloha Nelson Mandela!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn the desire to celebrate Nelson Mandela\u2019s life \u2014 an iconic figure who triumphed over South Africa\u2019s brutal apartheid regime \u2014 it\u2019s tempting to homogenize his views into something everyone can support. This is not, however, an accurate representation of the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cMandela was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and he did not seek \u2014 or obtain \u2014 universal approval. Before and after his release from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform…<\/p>\n

“As the world remembers Mandela, here are some of the things (edited for space) he believed that many will gloss over.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mandela blasted the Iraq War and American imperialism.<\/strong> \u201cAll that (America) wants is Iraqi oil,\u201d he said… He saw the Iraq War as a greater problem of American imperialism around the world. \u201cIf there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don\u2019t care,\u201d he said.<\/li>\n
  2. Mandela called freedom from poverty a \u201cfundamental human right.\u201d<\/strong> Mandela considered poverty one of the greatest evils in the world, and spoke out against inequality everywhere. \u201cMassive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times \u2014 times in which the world boasts breathtaking advances in science, technology, industry and wealth accumulation \u2014 that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils,\u201d he said<\/a>…<\/li>\n
  3. Mandela criticized the \u201cWar on Terror\u201d and the labeling of individuals as terrorists without due process.<\/strong> On the U.S. terrorist watch list until 2008 himself, Mandela was an outspoken critic of (the U.S.) war on terror. He warned against rushing to label terrorists without due process… and basic tenets of the rule of law.<\/li>\n
  4. Mandela called out racism in America.<\/strong> On a trip to New York City in 1990, Mandela made a point of visiting Harlem and praising African Americans\u2019 struggles<\/a> against \u201cthe injustices of racist discrimination and economic equality.\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. Mandela embraced some of America\u2019s biggest political enemies.<\/strong> Mandela incited shock and anger in many American communities<\/a> for refusing to denounce Cuban dictator Fidel Castro or Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who had lent their support to Mandela against South African apartheid…<\/li>\n
  6. Mandela was a die-hard supporter of labor unions.<\/strong> Mandela visited<\/a> the Detroit auto workers union when touring the U.S., immediately claiming kinship with them. \u201cSisters and brothers, friends and comrades, the man who is speaking is not a stranger here,\u201d he said. \u201cThe man who is speaking is a member of the UAW. I am your flesh and blood.'” The above is from an article by By Aviva Shen and Judd Legum<\/b> originally published at <\/em>ThinkProgress<\/i><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    QUOTES FROM NELSON MANDELA:<\/b><\/p>\n

    \u201cIt is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

    \u201cWe know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

    \u201cWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

    TAKE ACTION: <\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

    It has been reported that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency played a key role in Nelson Mandela’s capture in 1962, leading to his 27 years behind bars. The CIA reportedly tipped off South African authorities as to Mandela’s exact whereabouts, etc. Call for the release of all U.S. government files relevant to Mandela\u2019s capture.<\/a> The public deserves to know the full truth even if more than 50 years late, and South Africa and the Mandela family deserve an apology from the U.S.<\/p>\n

    GROUND THE DRONES!\u00a0 SAY NO TO WAR!<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n