Tension on the coil

Have we now become South Africa?

The Zimmerman trial is almost over and our rightist Afrikaners are chomping at the bit for race riots. (See here, here, and here) John Amato may phrase the issue as a question: Why Are Conservatives Hoping For Racial Violence If Zimmerman is Acquitted? And Lauren Williams presented it as fear instead of hope: Zimmerman Verdict: Why Is the Right Worried About Race Riots?

While I am not an expert on South Africa, I have been reading as much as I can on the history of that republic. And the hypothesis I have found so far seems to be that race relations in the Cape are what America's would be without at least some acceptance by the majority of principles of equality, individual rights, and fairness. Good Americans feel guilty over injustice, it is our tradition that justice should be served. Prejudice should be suppressed and however imperfect, the justice system has safeguards that a real police state would laugh at. South Africa has always been minority white, but unity has rarely been the case among whites. And anyone that could cheer on Zimmerman's acquittal renders himself an American Boer, outside the civilized society.

When prejudiced people are making the laws and the prejudice is apparent in legislation, things get sticky to say the least. "Stand your ground" was just a disaster waiting to happen. Along with the other crazy gun laws that dilute the state's monopoly on violence, Florida's special dispensation to the NRA and racists represented a return to the good ole' days (sarcasm font) of the state looking the other way while lynch mobs roamed the land. The difference between the two racist states of South Africa and the Confederacy lies in the motivation of violence. Afrikaners could never fully relax and not fear a final racial showdown. All of the charged rhetoric and race-baiting from right-wing media seems to be laying the groundwork for that final showdown in America.

I make no prediction about the verdict and highly doubt there will be rioting or any violence from the African-American community. There will be protests for sure if Zimmerman walks, and rightfully so. There will be petitions to change the law that triggered the fat bastard's thrill-kill crusade. And barring that, there will be increased motivation for everyone to get out the vote next year. The media will continue to be awful, especially the right-wing noise machine which has peddled the fear story for all it is worth. And that seems to be the point, up or down, look at what they have gotten away with!

Worst case scenario for democracy and the continuance of the republic: Zimmerman not guilty, riots do break out, and instead of the police or national guard restoring order vigilante gangs respond. In that case, the streets will run red. Such is the case when the monopoly on violence is lost.