Real threat to SA is not rainbowism, but blaming one race for all the country’s ills
Mamphela Ramphele takes issue with my assertion in a recent article that rainbowism is resilient despite the efforts of some. She even makes the extraordinary claim that ‘Rainbowism is dangerous to the future of South Africa’.
If we define rainbowism as an ideology that envisages a South Africa in which all this country’s people, no matter their race, get along and work together towards a common, prosperous future, it is difficult to see how rainbowism can be considered dangerous.
Dr Ramphele’s main issue appears to be that it seems she believes I do not think racism exists, or that it is not a problem. Of course racism exists in South Africa, but it is not the problem many people think it is. Similarly, for example, one can argue that global terrorism is on the decline (which it is) but still accept that terrorism occurs (as we saw recently in Nairobi).
Dr Ramphele points to the recent incident at Schweizer-Reneke and alleged discrimination in Model C schools as evidence of deep-seated white racism.
However, we do not have all the facts about what happened in Schweizer-Reneke. It is not clear that any racism took place, with at least one black parent coming to the defence of the teachers.