Response 5- Forced or coersive change
Jacob once asked the question, “Is it ever okay to force change? Is coercion ever justified?” For many ethical questions, I feel that it is not. But when it comes to human rights violations, sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.
In the case of racism, a classic example that I bring up is that of South Africa. Here is a drastically horrific situation where racist ideologies created a system of Apartheid that will take generations to heal from. Images were sent around the world about the atrocities that were occurring in South Africa, and the global response was decisive and clear. This was unacceptable and inhuman behavior. Still many in the white ruling class had substantial investments in keeping things as they were and made no moves to change course. So a global divestment (boycott) campaign began to hit those who benefited the most from Apartheid right where it hurt the most…in their profits. Political leaders complained that they were losing their autonomy to determine what course they wanted to take. There were cries that the government should be allowed the space to determine how they wanted to address the issue, ignoring that their own corruptive incompetence had allowed the situation to reach its nadir.
In the end, a public vote was conducted to determine the future of South Africa. Roughly 40 percent of the white voting population wanted to keep things as they were. That is almost half of the ruling class. Without that forced change, it is highly unlikely that things would have bettered for any of the oppressed in that land. Indeed, many of the same problems of extreme poverty, joblessness and crime exist. It has been almost 10 years since the fall of Apartheid, but those sentiments of the dissenters continue to shape their society. Still, you would be hard pressed to find a person of color in South Africa that would wish things back to the way they were. Sometimes, the pill is a bitter one, but when human lives and dignity are at stake, drastic measures must be done.
In the case of racism, a classic example that I bring up is that of South Africa. Here is a drastically horrific situation where racist ideologies created a system of Apartheid that will take generations to heal from. Images were sent around the world about the atrocities that were occurring in South Africa, and the global response was decisive and clear. This was unacceptable and inhuman behavior. Still many in the white ruling class had substantial investments in keeping things as they were and made no moves to change course. So a global divestment (boycott) campaign began to hit those who benefited the most from Apartheid right where it hurt the most…in their profits. Political leaders complained that they were losing their autonomy to determine what course they wanted to take. There were cries that the government should be allowed the space to determine how they wanted to address the issue, ignoring that their own corruptive incompetence had allowed the situation to reach its nadir.
In the end, a public vote was conducted to determine the future of South Africa. Roughly 40 percent of the white voting population wanted to keep things as they were. That is almost half of the ruling class. Without that forced change, it is highly unlikely that things would have bettered for any of the oppressed in that land. Indeed, many of the same problems of extreme poverty, joblessness and crime exist. It has been almost 10 years since the fall of Apartheid, but those sentiments of the dissenters continue to shape their society. Still, you would be hard pressed to find a person of color in South Africa that would wish things back to the way they were. Sometimes, the pill is a bitter one, but when human lives and dignity are at stake, drastic measures must be done.
posted by R. Kiah Morris at 3:47 PM
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