I learnt of Mmusi Maimane’s letter to his white compatriots from the Daily Friend article, Mmusi Maimane and the illusion of race. From its very first line, ‘Dear white South Africans’, Maimane’s open reflection has a religious gravity that is tiresomely common in the country’s public debate.
For the most part, the piece is a paternalistic admonition to whites, who are politely reprimanded for not having done enough for the masses of black citizens that still suffer. The letter has the added problem of not telling its recipients what exactly they should do to be the better South Africans they are asked to become.
Which concrete deeds does Mmusi expect from white South Africans? That they demand higher taxes from their government? That they voluntarily relinquish part of their wealth and possessions in favour of the previously oppressed? Or will periodic acts of contrition suffice, in the style of former National Party police minister Adriaan Vlok, who famously washed the feet of his victims to seek redemption?
Hard to say, but let’s examine the idea that permeates Maimane’s epistle. In paragraph nine he uses the example of his white South African wife to illustrate the state of affairs his fellow citizens of European origin should do more to ameliorate.
‘… our union is an offence to black and white nationalists for different reasons. And each side will tell her a different narrative. On the left, she’s told she is the enemy, yet on the right she’s told she is being targeted and persecuted for simply having a white skin.
‘Both are of course untrue,’ says Maimane next, as if this was self-evident, which I think it is not.
Isn’t ‘the right’ correct
If, as seems to be the case, Mrs Maimane is considered ‘the enemy’ by ‘the left’ because she is the paler half in an interracial marriage, isn’t ‘the right’ correct when implying that ‘she is being targeted and persecuted for simply having a white skin’?
I don’t doubt there are a few white South Africans who do have a problem with a white woman marrying a black man. But those telling Mrs Maimane that she is targeted because of her race are actually right in the situation presented by her husband.
By seeing Mrs Maimane as ‘the enemy’ for being pale-skinned and having married a person of colour, those identified by Mmusi as ‘the left’ are clearly ‘nationalists’ and part of ‘the trend of division and fearmongering’ sabotaging the prospects of building ‘a tolerant and progressive new majority’.
But what about ‘the right’? Can those constituting ‘the right’ be portrayed as the other side of the same coin just because they denounce the abhorrent behaviour of ‘the left’ towards Mmusi’s partner?
Maimane’s choice of such a poor example is ironically in line with his subsequent attempt to tar all political parties with the same brush.
‘Bridge builders’
‘[I write this open letter] to the bridge builders who don’t see themselves in the divisive, racialised politics of today – whether on the side of the ANC and EFF, or the other side of the DA and the VF+,’ he tells us further down his homily.
Maimane’s categorisation of the country’s four leading forces in two separate and equally radical opposing blocs may serve his interest in positioning his One South Africa (OSA) movement in an immaculate ideological centre equidistant from the two extremes. Yet this is false and profoundly unfair.
I can’t think of a single instance of senior DA or VF+ leaders openly blaming a racial group for the woes of the country, as is the EFF position, and as high-ranking ANC cadres do often. Partly because they would probably have ended up in jail, as did much less influential white individuals for uttering their racial prejudice in public.
It can be argued that the parties that are perceived as white – which Maimane probably means when he refers to ‘the right’ – are, for historical reasons, subjected to higher standards when it comes to race rhetoric.
Words and actions
And still, no fair assessment can rely on judgements of intentions. Words and actions remain our single valid currency to inform opinions. And words and actions place the DA and VF+ far from the right end where Mmusi insists on throwing them.
Another major question comes up after reading the letter. Let’s, for the sake of argument, admit that the ANC and EFF and their DA and VF+ reflection on the other side of the spectrum are identically incendiary forces pulling the country apart.
Why is the letter addressed to a particular minority, which, although arguably superior in economic terms, is represented by a literally irrelevant fraction in the South African parliament?
Why call on just white South Africans to act, when decision-making power to improve education and create jobs is in the hands of a self-proclaimed black government?
The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR
If you like what you have just read, support the Daily Friend
Photo by Kelly Searle on Unsplash