This didn't happen to me, it happened to another volunteer yesterday, but it's funny, and I think it says a lot about how South Africa's racial history impacts its perception of the rest of the world.
South African: Ah, I'm sorry about your election.
(white) PCV: Why are you sorry?
South African: Well, you lost.
PCV: No no, we won.
South African: !
In a country where much voting and party-building happens on primarily racial lines, I suppose it's not surprising that many South Africans assume that racial struggles are taking place in the same manner in America; for many, it's inconceivable that so many white people would vote for a black man. Needless to say, most South Africans adore Obama, and for them, his victory isn't a victory against Bush or for Hope (or whatever you think the election was about), but a victory for blacks worldwide of the same character as the end of apartheid.
(Of course, if Obama were South African instead of American, he wouldn't be considered black but colored.)
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7 comments:
hi my names thomas ingram and i live in perry,georgia.my class(world history) at school got u as a person to study for the year and i just wanted to check u out.so what is your daily life like in africa.
hi my names thomas and i live in perry georgia.my class (world history)at school got u as a person to study for the year and i just wated to check u out.so what is your daily life like in africa. comment me on this blog because i made a mistake on the other comment
Did you win or lose?
Hi Thomas! It's great to have you and your class reading, and I look forward to writing more to you guys. I'll write your teacher an e-mail about what daily life here is like.
@Maria: Well, I definitely didn't lose in November. I did lose sometime last spring and am, as previously discussed, still bitter. I'm not sure I, personally, won last week though I suppose the country as a whole won. (I wrote a long rant here and then deleted it because even though it's fun to talk to you in a public forum there are limits to what I should say for Google-able consumption.)
Oh come on, what's a blog without inappropriate commentary?
@ Rob: You're already familiar with all of my rants, it wouldn't entertain you. How's life?
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