MONDAY 16 JUNE - The R-Word

The R-Word
I am white. And I’m proud to say it. Why shouldn’t I be? I don’t baulk at the thought of filling in the “race” column on a form any more than I do the “gender” or “marital status” column. Its simply part of who I am, something that sets me apart as an individual and defines something of who I am, the same way as being female, brunette, and a law student sets me apart from many other people. Why then, do some people still get so touchy at the mention of words such as “black”, or “white”? Or refuse to fill in a race on forms, stating that in the new Rainbow Nation everyone is equal and having to fill in such a column is prejudicial and offensive to them? Race has practically become a swear-word (unless used in the context of F1 or the J&B Met.)

Wake up, South Africa – Apartheid died a long time ago. Sure some people (of all ethnicities) are still stuck in that time, and some are still justifiably hurting over what happened, but the vast majority of South Africans no longer view one’s race as a means of deciding one’s status or worth as a human being. Seeing people of all races occupying a multitude of different positions, from car mechanic to State President, and noting that one’s race does not affect one’s ability to do well (or not to) at such jobs, its hard to believe that anyone who wasn’t born into Apartheid can still harbor such outdated ideas and beliefs. And yet, people get remarkably touchy when defining their race becomes an issue.

A good example of this is that tired old chestnut that seems to rear its head every so often in UCT student conversation – the apparent “segregation” of UCT students socially. We’re a racially integrated campus, and yet if you observe students in a social setting, you notice that white people hang out with white people, black people with black people, coloured people with coloured people, and so on. Why is this a problem though? In my experience at UCT (bearing in mind I come from a Northern Suburbs predominantly white conservative neighbourhood) you learn very quickly, (no matter how you grew up) to open your eyes and your mind, and race actually ceases to become an issue. You don’t look at the skin colour of the people around you as much as their manner, style and generally whether you do or don’t have something in common - which is pretty much the way you would analyse a stranger of your own race. That said, it’s quite natural that some segregation on a cultural basis would take place – people who have grown up in a similar environment tend to have similar social behaviours, and since we are attracted to people with whom we perceive we have something in common, it’s only natural that there would be some degree of racial segregation among students.

However, that does not mean that students of different race groups shy away from each other on a negative basis such as prejudice, or hatred. It has everything to do with similarity on a personal basis – this explains why I am great friends with Themba and Nwabisa, but not with Sibusiso or Andile, why I often talk and socialize with Raihan, Junayd and Nadia, but can’t really identify with Fatima or Fawaaz . Those of us who are friends have similar upbringings, similar values and similar personalities, whereas the people I don’t get are just too far removed from who I am, not because of who they are in terms of skin colour, but because of who they are.

Why are we South Africans so afraid of the r-word? Your race is as intrinsically part of you as your culture, your name and your religion. Without it you wouldn’t be who you are! Anyone who has ever stood still for a moment in a cosmopolitan city such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, London, or New York and observed the panoply of people, each with a different skin colour, bearing, attitude and style, walk past will appreciate how empty the world would be if there was no such thing as race and we were all variations on the same old theme. We should celebrate our diversity and be able to appreciate it without being afraid of causing offence or being thought bigoted or racist – I am fortunate to be in a circle of friends where jokes about “whiteys” (usually directed at me) are taken in good humour, (as is a reply such as “nigga, please!”) and we can comfortably express our differences knowing that we think no less of one another for it.

This, I believe, is what Nelson Mandela truly meant when he spoke of a “Rainbow Nation” in a New South Africa – not a country where, because of the horrendous wrongs of the past, people are afraid to celebrate the uniqueness bestowed upon them by their race, but where everyone can be themselves knowing that we are no longer burdened by the shadow of what was, where we can express our differences, ask our questions, make a few jokes and accept each other without inferring or conferring prejudice, malice, or bigotry. Our motto is “Unity through Diversity” – if we have no diversity, we cannot even attempt to be the multicultural, multiracial democratic nation that the leaders of the past foresaw.

At the end of the day, what should be holding us together – in unity – is our citizenship, the privilege of belonging to this country, South Africa. The diversity is what we ourselves provide, in all our creeds and colours, black, white, brown, whatever…. We’re all different, and we should be proud of that. What binds us together is the fact that as South Africans, our destinies are inextricably linked, no matter what we look like, where we come from, how we dress or talk or conduct ourselves. And that is unity through diversity.