Nelson Mandela and juvenile conservatism
By Chidike Okeem
CALIFORNIA, December 13, 2013 — Nelson Mandela, one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century, died last week at the ripe old age of 95. While the vast majority of the world mourns the death of this legendary figure, American conservatives have largely found themselves attempting to trash Mandela’s prolific legacy.
Many conservatives continue to point out that Mandela aligned with communists. They observe that Mandela, at one point in his lengthy and complex public life, advocated violence as a means of achieving the goal of liberating South African blacks, who lived miserably under the dictatorial thumb of white supremacist apartheid rule.