Discrimination must be talked about to be overcome. The documentary, The Bloody Miracle is helpful in giving us insight into the reality of the past and shows us how discrimination is still so prevalent in our society.
My reaction to the documentary was utter surprise and sadness. I was unaware of the severity of the pre-election so it left me shocked. I felt sorrowful for everyone who lost their lives or was affected. It is saddening to know that there were so many lives lost and the majority would not be recognized or acknowledged individually. The documentary, however, did leave me with hope that this country, can overcome such difficulties. Certain scenes, such as the bombings, will stick with me because of how gruesome it was. If the “third force” had succeeded, South Africa might have had worse discrimination. They would have caused severe damage to the country, which was already at a fragile stage and this could have led to South Africa falling apart beyond rescue. South Africa might have been stuck in poverty and there would still be conflict. This would mean the bond with other countries would be weakened.
In the past, discrimination was vast and people were oppressed. The impact was so bad that people had to fight for basic human rights. It deprived many South Africans of color of education, freedom, and opportunities. It made white people feel superior to others and this caused injustices. In the present, discrimination is a delicate topic. This causes small incidents to become bigger issues because of the repressed anger and hurt that discrimination causes. The generation after apartheid carries the anger of their parents, which leads to indirect feelings of anger and hurt. This causes an underlying separation between races. In the future, the ideal South Africa would be one that appreciates the constitution and does not discriminate against it since the rights are there but not acknowledged. In the future, there will be no underlying anger and discrimination. People will accept one another as they are. Every person would feel safe to be who they are.
Ways to deal with issues would be to talk about everything and to discuss any issue so everyone can process what happened and move past it. This ensures no grudges are held and everyone is okay after the issue is resolved. Another way would be educating everyone on our history. If a person is aware of how another person could feel, then it would be less likely to happen because there are times when discrimination happens unknowingly. This is because the person may not know what the other person has dealt with. Another solution would be to address discrimination when it happens and administer consequences so that it doesn’t happen again. This is especially good in schools because children learn from mistakes. Watching a documentary like this helps us because it shows us the past and what not to repeat. It helps things become demonetized so we can speak openly about our feelings and not have to feel like we have to silently suffer discrimination. It also shows the reality of the struggle and how serious it was so that people become more aware of their words. It shows people real humans and how they felt. This makes us more aware of others and their experiences and past.
The tweet is fair to a small because as seen in the documentary, the struggle for the “third force” to get their own state caused such an uproar that it almost led to a civil war. This almost led to emigration which shows that they would be willing to leave their country for somewhere better. The documentary showed that the people who were unhappy did not want to accept change at all which shows that they had not embraced the country. People want to leave the country as soon as there is something wrong and this is mainly the “white” people.
Discrimination is still a serious issue but we are working towards a better South Africa. We, as the youth, can change a lot. Learning about the past is so important and it is a good start to a better South Africa. There is much hope for South Africa as a country and much has been done to better this country so with a little harder work, we will make this country a better place for everyone, no matter who they are.