Ron’s Thoughts …

At the present time, South Africa is in turmoil because of what they are calling Xenophobia.

I see TV newsreels showing the crowds jeering, taunting and telling the foreigners to go home,(go home to the shambles of where they came from.)

I see pictures of young school-kids laughing and cheering because some unfortunate soul has been doused with petrol and set alight.

That is racial hatred, not xenophobic fear.

The dictionary definitions are.

Xenophobia – a fear of things foreign.

Racism – a hatred of of other groups of people.

The thugs, looters, rapists and murderers who are busy causing this mayhem in my beloved country are racists of the worst degree, far worse than anything that Apartheid ever dished up.

There is a widespread misconception that only whites are racist.

That is not true. Blacks are rabid racists.

The history of genocide in so many African countries is proof of that.

Some good games of rugby and cricket yesterday.

A good game of bowls this morning.

The smell of a roast cooking in the oven.

A glass or two of wine.

The dog, (and me), lying in the sun.

Some old-time love songs playing in the background.

Man, Man, Man, “The Marvellous Presence of Being.”

In the late 1950′s and early 1960′s  I was in military uniform doing national service.

We, as soldiers, were called out to help the police to quell unrest and rioting by the blacks against the “Pass Laws” whereby they needed permits to be in white areas. (Was that really any different to immigration laws practised by all countries to select and limit the number of incoming foreigners ?)

I saw at first hand how the so-called”tsotsies” (thugs and criminals) intimidated, brutalised, raped and murdered anyone who opposed them. 

Now, 50-years later, the army is being called out to help the police to quell xenophobic violence, looting and murder by South African blacks against an invasion of millions of illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and many other African countries.

There is a common thread here. It is the supposed “liberation struggle”against Apartheid, Colonialism, illegal immigrants taking up scarce jobs, etc. but is actually just violence of blacks upon blacks. Witness Darfur,Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, and many others.

Thank God we had Mandela to guide us through a very difficult transition period.

Mbeki certainly hasn’t followed suit. He is just another Mugabe.

Hopefully Zuma will have the wisdom to guide us forward, otherwise we are in deep trouble.

On 18′th April I wrote, “Go Sharks Go. I am betting on you to win the rugby Super-14.”

Later, I changed my colours and pulled for my home team the Stormers.

After yesterday’s games, the Stormers are out on an aggregate count-down and the Sharks are through to the semi’s to be played next Saturday.

I apologise for being so fickle but now I am a Sharks fan again so, “Go Sharks Go.”

Both semi’s will be played next Saturday morning and once again I will be glued to my TV.

On 1′st May I tipped the Ragastan Royals to win the 20-Twenty cricket extravaganza in India.

It seems that I got that one right.  

There are so many problems in the world, war in Iran, war in Israel, cyclones in America, typhoons in Burma, earthquakes in China, riots because of rising food prices, inflation because of the cost of oil, global warming that may destroy our earth, genocide in many African countries, xenophobia in South Africa by people who profess to have fought a “liberation struggle”,et al.

Too much for me.

I prefer to find an escape in sports.

This morning, the Blues beat the Hurricanes in a Super-14 rugby match. Well done.

That means that, in their final playoff before the semi’s, the Blues move up to second spot while the Hurricanes drop down to six’th spot.

Not good enough guys.

It all now depends on how the South African teams perform tomorrow.

If the Stormers win, (they will), by 4-points they will go through to the semi’s but not certain whether it will be a home or away game.

If they win by 5-points, (they will), it will be a home semi and 50 000 people at the Newlands ground plus 3 000 000 Tv viewers will cheer them home.

If the Sharks win, also by a big margin, we will have two South African teams facing off two down-under teams.

Wow, good stuff. I will be glued to the TV tomorrow  

Today, Mothers Day, we went for a grand meal at the “Lord Charles” to celebrate our mothers, young and old.

All 5-star stuff, but the point that caught my attention was my little 10-year old grand’daughter who, for the first time ever, really got stuck into the food and actually ate too much.

No great merit in that but welcome to the world of opulence and I sincerely hope that you do not think that this is normal.

It is certainly not normal and if you can appreciate that and give something back then, hopefully, you will have learned something.

If Mugabe had won the Zimbabwe presidential elections, he would have said so by now, and with much fanfare.

His silence is an admission of defeat.

Holding back results is obviously a ploy to thwart the democratic process and to hang on to power and privilege, no matter if the country burns.

That brings me to Mbeki and his “Quiet Diplomacy”

He is just another Mugabe in disguise. Witness how he tried to hang on to power by running for ANC president at the last Polokwane congress.

How many more African presidents will we have to suffer who, once gaining political power, will desperately hang on to it forever after, no matter how many might die in the process.

I am once again watching 20-Twenty cricket on TV..

My buddy says, this is not cricket, it is a circus.

Actually, I agree with him.

Never mind, we must go with the flow and I feel compelled to pick my favourite team.

It is difficult to pick a team because they are so mixed.

What I can do is to pick individuals who, historically, are winners and so I will pick the Ragastan Royals to win because the team includes Shane Warne and Graham Smith.