From Rhodesia To South Africa
In a post last week (Remembering Rhodesia), I shared an X thread by Will Tanner about the history of Rhodesia, and what it tells us about today. Below I share a follow up thread by him about post-Apartheid South Africa, and how America is following in its foot steps.
Before we get to that, two quick updates:
- In Friday's post, I mentioned a contrarian bet on on China. You can read about that trade here.
- I wanted to thank you for making Portfolio Armor's hedging app the #3 app finance app in the App Store.
Now on to Will Tanner's thread.
First, as a reminder, South Africa embraced apartheid after WWII, and continued with white-minority government until the early 1990s
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
At that point, it opted for "liberal democracy," and the black majority elected Mandela, a communist convicted for helping blow up a church pic.twitter.com/w4gOEgzKvm
As in Mugabe's Zimbabwe, some held out hope that the former terrorist would be something of a moderate and not repay the indignities of apartheid with more terrorism
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
To some extent, those hopes proved more fulfilled in South Africa than Zimbabwe, and Mandela didn't resort to… pic.twitter.com/gU02slqNdx
The particular issue with South Africa is anarcho-tyranny: to a large extent criminals like zama zama gangs, farm attackers, and basic thugs can get away with brutal murder, with the state sometimes even assisting, while those who defend themselves face lawfare
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
SA is less bad on… pic.twitter.com/PrkxDReKaL
These farm attacks, as a reminder, are absolutely horrific. Here's just one of the stories @k9_reaper has shared: pic.twitter.com/ZcfpeCHne5
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
And while the farm attacks are horrible, they're not all that the South African population suffers. There are also riots that involve burning buildings, murders, theft, and the like. Here's footage of a riot that @k9_reaper shared in August of 2023 pic.twitter.com/a5i59lRygR
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
Naturally, the crime has caused a need for safety, so those South Africans who can afford it live in modern day castles. Here, for example, is video from @k9_reaper of a home protected by concrete walls, iron beams, barbed wire, light beams, and alarms: pic.twitter.com/QUpEQavIU7
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
The DEI situation has created an immense competence crisis, and now even basic heavy industry like steel-making can't survive pic.twitter.com/YqCh0IraLR
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
For one, DEI is an obvious millstone in America, as shown by the resistance that even liberal to moderate business leaders and investors like @elonmusk and @BillAckman are putting up to it pic.twitter.com/spcsadgMbv
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
The same is true of college admissions, with whites and Asians heavily discriminated against even in the very upper slice of academic scores: pic.twitter.com/WQQxJjuRje
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
Take, for example, the constant chaos at airports. Flights are routinely late, scheduled incorrectly, canceled, or otherwise problematic
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
That wasn't the case even a decade or two ago, but now it's hard to take a single flight without facing an issue of some sort pic.twitter.com/lsvzvCDB3D
And then there's crime
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
Yes, America isn't at the rate of crime it was in the 70s, when Black Panthers were assaulting people in the streets, leftist terror groups were carrying out regular bombings, and muggings and other sorts of petty, violent crime were through the roof pic.twitter.com/ZJWVNhlIEe
Meanwhile, those who try to stand up to it face lawfare from a government that sides with violent criminals over law-abiding citizens pic.twitter.com/mkDLpGLEUC
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
So, America is heading the direction of South Africa.
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
Though we aren't in the same abysmal state as of yet, we are in a very dangerous situation where we can see the cliff ahead - South Africa-style chaos - but run toward it at full speed regardless
A competent, self-confident…
The full text of that post is,
So, America is heading the direction of South Africa.
Though we aren't in the same abysmal state as of yet, we are in a very dangerous situation where we can see the cliff ahead - South Africa-style chaos - but run toward it at full speed regardless
A competent, self-confident society would change course before it's too late. But, like South Africa, we might just commit civilizational suicide instead
Tanner concludes his thread on a hopeful note:
And learn here how you can stand up to this discriminatory regime in a legal, reasonable way that helps bring merit back to the workplace: https://t.co/uZkhCBvg08
— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) July 27, 2024
If you'd like to stay in touch
You can follow Will Tanner on X here, and his American Tribune here.
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