The Lasting Affect of Imperialism

A few days ago while sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, I was listening to a report on the increased amount of gang- style rapes in South Africa, by NPR. These rapes have nothing to do with gangs in the way that we in the west associate with gangs, the word was simply being used to describe the group or gathering of boys and men that come together to carry out these heinous acts. The top of the story focused on how a famous South African soccer player and activist, Eudy Simelane, was gang raped and murdered outside of Johannesburg because she was openly homosexual. Men there have taken it upon themselves to attempt to "cure" lesbians through rape, to insert masculinity between two women where there is none. On the flip side, young boys and men gang up on young girls and women who have spurned them or who they have drugged up and rape to prove their masculinity or to punish the victim. A reporter spoke to a group of South African men at a bar and they spoke candidly about how it is alright for them to carry on in this manner because most women do not report it, the woman has agreed to sleep with one of the men in the group, and due to the fact that many of the women are under the influence of alcohol and drugs given to them by the rapist, they do not oppose what is happening to them because they do not know what is happening to them. The government is looking into ways to improve communications between the community and law enforcement which is usually unsympathetic to women and girls who cry rape to make it more comfortable for women and girls who have been raped to come forward. A rape survivor and activist said that it is very important that young men and boys are taught in the home that rape is unacceptable and are allowed to express feelings of more than just anger to prevent the continuation of increased rapes. It was also noted that Apartheid was greatly at fault for creating many of the sexually abused men that project on to the women and girls today and even that developed some of the younger offenders of today. These men were never allowed to be men because they were always treated and referred to as "boy" by their white counterparts, so this is their way of asserting themselves now.
Imperialism and it's forced subjugation have left scars and many open wounds on South Africa that are so parallel to scars that African Americans have been trying to heal for centuries. Hopefully with the continued usage of fresh eyes on the developing situations we can finally find a solution and seriously begin to heal.

Until next time...