Opinion / Columnist
The Dangers of Refusing to allow Culture to evolve
20 Jul 2013 at 05:59hrs | Views
These past two weeks the main underlying topic around Black issues in North America has been Culture and perspective.
Whilst the United States had the Trayvon Martin issue, Toronto was commemorating the Danzig shootings where two Black-Canadian gangs had an altercation at a block party last year, this was considered the worst gangland style shooting Toronto had ever seen. In South Africa people where breathlessly hoping that Nelson Mandela would make his 95th birthday on the 18th of July, whilst in Harare the city council had just passed a motion asking the people to consider cremating their loved ones instead of burying them, in order to accommodate for the population influx currently occurring within Harare. Death and burial to the less-informed, is a hotly divisive topic when it comes to cultural issues within Africa.
The reason why culture remains the underlying theme within all these issues is simple. Within North America; Black-Americans are slowly discussing about taking control of their culture; after realizing that one man, in this case President Barack Obama could not change a 237 year old institutionalized system of racial bias. On the other hand within Southern Africa the average Joe has no idea of the tsunami of Westernized capitalist destruction that is about to hit them, because they haven't dealt or come to terms with their own culture issues in a modern world.
Zimbabwe blacks and North American blacks, two different cultures nevertheless the same race, on two different continents being influenced by the same system in different ways. As people celebrated Nelson Mandela's birthday this week very few media outlets where quick to point out that this man had formerly been listed as a terrorist during his time with Umkhonto weSizwe, a group that believed in strategic bombings in order to achieve change. What happened to cause this man to suddenly become a darling of Western culture? Does it have anything to do, with him having given up on ever defeating such an entrenched system and instead working within it? Racism is only an idea that can be likened to a seed, what keeps this seed growing is its institutions, organizations, policies, education and taxation.
Within Harare right now a hot topic is whether or not the city council should pass by-laws only permitting cremation, this issue has cultural undertones which hit home to all Zimbabweans, all the way into Diaspora homes when Zimbabwean families have to make a decision whether to ship a loved one back home as a corpse or as ashes due to cost, without forsaking the cultural significance. The countless debates held at kitchen tables all over the Diaspora, regarding cultural issues often fail to highlight the elephant in the room which is Westernization and its offspring Capitalism. Whether you live in Africa or the rest of the world, Capitalism sponsored by Westernization runs the world.
According to George Friedman author of "The Next Decade" the United States refuses to acknowledge that it is an empire yet the facts speak for themselves. According to him "When American economic culture touches other countries, those affected have the choice of adapting or being submerged, the definition of free-trade simply means an international system that permits the vast American economy entering; to most if not the whole world". In other words if your society has not yet fixed its own cultural systems before the tide of Westernization hits you, you are basically screwed. The Trayvon Martin issues will now; be your own issues because you ignored your own heritage when it came to building a system for your community.
Paraphrasing Steve Biko, once the Zimbabwean disregards his own "Zimbabwean Sensitivities", he or she is opening up; or at least prone to incorporating any other culture's sensitivities and beliefs to fill up that vacuum or void in their lives. Within North America black people are very sensitive about how white people address them, this is important especially in a web-world where all the racism and bias has migrated to the institutions and capital systems. What of Africans who only know systems given to them by Western culture?
Back in the day, when colonialism was a fad, photo-shopping out a people's culture was a given. At least half of Zimbabwean culture is based on conjecture and what colonialists thought was appropriate. According to Steve Biko "The logic behind white domination was to prepare the black man for the subservient role....that black man; on the bus or the train would join the chorus condemning the white man yet his heart would yearn for all the comforts of white society and only drive him to blame himself for not having been "educated" enough to warrant such a luxury. Celebrated achievements by Caucasians in the fields of science for which he only barely understood would serve to make him rather convinced to the futility of resistance and throw away any hope of change". With the failure of Barack Obama's "Hope for Change", African-Americans are slowly realizing that the American-system is the true problem which cannot be changed by an influx of black people within it.
The irony of all these issues is the fact that it was Madiba's birthday this week celebrating his 95th year. Before Robben Island Nelson Mandela was against the system, people like Steve Biko were birthed from his era, creating the idea of black consciousness. From a Zimbabwean view black consciousness can be simply defined as: "The ability of the Zimbabwean Consciousness to break away from the past Zimbabwean attitudes of the liberation struggle and to set a new style of self-reliance and dignity for Zimbabweans as a psychological attitude leading to new initiatives. At the heart of this kind of thinking is the realization by Zimbabweans that the most potent weapon in the hands of globalization is the mind of a Zimbabwean".
Beware of change; those not prepared for it are often swept away in its filth. To the elders within Zimbabwe obstinately sticking to values they refuse to revise or accommodate in a globalized world, I assure you that other cultures have died from the lack of adaption; the great behemoth of Westernization is coming. Finding a balance within our own culture and consciousness will help our future generations more than figuring out our burial rites.
As shown by the Trayvon Martin issue, in a global world no matter how much you have allies and loyal friends, you can never understand a person's skin color unless you have worn it.
Tsungai Chipato is a Journalist and blogger within Toronto Canada Contact @: mugaradzakasungwa@gmail.com
Whilst the United States had the Trayvon Martin issue, Toronto was commemorating the Danzig shootings where two Black-Canadian gangs had an altercation at a block party last year, this was considered the worst gangland style shooting Toronto had ever seen. In South Africa people where breathlessly hoping that Nelson Mandela would make his 95th birthday on the 18th of July, whilst in Harare the city council had just passed a motion asking the people to consider cremating their loved ones instead of burying them, in order to accommodate for the population influx currently occurring within Harare. Death and burial to the less-informed, is a hotly divisive topic when it comes to cultural issues within Africa.
The reason why culture remains the underlying theme within all these issues is simple. Within North America; Black-Americans are slowly discussing about taking control of their culture; after realizing that one man, in this case President Barack Obama could not change a 237 year old institutionalized system of racial bias. On the other hand within Southern Africa the average Joe has no idea of the tsunami of Westernized capitalist destruction that is about to hit them, because they haven't dealt or come to terms with their own culture issues in a modern world.
Zimbabwe blacks and North American blacks, two different cultures nevertheless the same race, on two different continents being influenced by the same system in different ways. As people celebrated Nelson Mandela's birthday this week very few media outlets where quick to point out that this man had formerly been listed as a terrorist during his time with Umkhonto weSizwe, a group that believed in strategic bombings in order to achieve change. What happened to cause this man to suddenly become a darling of Western culture? Does it have anything to do, with him having given up on ever defeating such an entrenched system and instead working within it? Racism is only an idea that can be likened to a seed, what keeps this seed growing is its institutions, organizations, policies, education and taxation.
Within Harare right now a hot topic is whether or not the city council should pass by-laws only permitting cremation, this issue has cultural undertones which hit home to all Zimbabweans, all the way into Diaspora homes when Zimbabwean families have to make a decision whether to ship a loved one back home as a corpse or as ashes due to cost, without forsaking the cultural significance. The countless debates held at kitchen tables all over the Diaspora, regarding cultural issues often fail to highlight the elephant in the room which is Westernization and its offspring Capitalism. Whether you live in Africa or the rest of the world, Capitalism sponsored by Westernization runs the world.
According to George Friedman author of "The Next Decade" the United States refuses to acknowledge that it is an empire yet the facts speak for themselves. According to him "When American economic culture touches other countries, those affected have the choice of adapting or being submerged, the definition of free-trade simply means an international system that permits the vast American economy entering; to most if not the whole world". In other words if your society has not yet fixed its own cultural systems before the tide of Westernization hits you, you are basically screwed. The Trayvon Martin issues will now; be your own issues because you ignored your own heritage when it came to building a system for your community.
Back in the day, when colonialism was a fad, photo-shopping out a people's culture was a given. At least half of Zimbabwean culture is based on conjecture and what colonialists thought was appropriate. According to Steve Biko "The logic behind white domination was to prepare the black man for the subservient role....that black man; on the bus or the train would join the chorus condemning the white man yet his heart would yearn for all the comforts of white society and only drive him to blame himself for not having been "educated" enough to warrant such a luxury. Celebrated achievements by Caucasians in the fields of science for which he only barely understood would serve to make him rather convinced to the futility of resistance and throw away any hope of change". With the failure of Barack Obama's "Hope for Change", African-Americans are slowly realizing that the American-system is the true problem which cannot be changed by an influx of black people within it.
The irony of all these issues is the fact that it was Madiba's birthday this week celebrating his 95th year. Before Robben Island Nelson Mandela was against the system, people like Steve Biko were birthed from his era, creating the idea of black consciousness. From a Zimbabwean view black consciousness can be simply defined as: "The ability of the Zimbabwean Consciousness to break away from the past Zimbabwean attitudes of the liberation struggle and to set a new style of self-reliance and dignity for Zimbabweans as a psychological attitude leading to new initiatives. At the heart of this kind of thinking is the realization by Zimbabweans that the most potent weapon in the hands of globalization is the mind of a Zimbabwean".
Beware of change; those not prepared for it are often swept away in its filth. To the elders within Zimbabwe obstinately sticking to values they refuse to revise or accommodate in a globalized world, I assure you that other cultures have died from the lack of adaption; the great behemoth of Westernization is coming. Finding a balance within our own culture and consciousness will help our future generations more than figuring out our burial rites.
As shown by the Trayvon Martin issue, in a global world no matter how much you have allies and loyal friends, you can never understand a person's skin color unless you have worn it.
Tsungai Chipato is a Journalist and blogger within Toronto Canada Contact @: mugaradzakasungwa@gmail.com
Source - Tsungai Chipato
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
