The Farm Killings of South Africa

Looks like they are going the way of Zim. My cousin and her family are still hanging on there, cant understand how they manage

Apologist for fascism, and now, yes, a bit of racism, too

Fascinating rationale you employ.

Let us see:
Complaint about racist farm killings = apologia for racism.

And I think you will be hard pressed to ever find me writing any apologias for fascism. But I would hazard a guess that you have an exceptionally broad definition of fascism; I expect it amounts to “things for which I do not care”.

However, such are the constraints of your blinkered mind, and far be it for your humble and obedient servant to correct them.

Franco, whom you lionize, is regarded by a large number of historians as a fascist dictator.

“Hang Nelson Mandela” speaks for itself.

I am aware it is not politically correct to criticise the man who many regard as a secular saint, but Nelson Mandela was head of the armed wing of the ANC. He was a terrorist. No one would defend the excesses of apartheid but it does not justify the ethnic cleansing of the white race in South Africa. To argue it is racist to speak out against this is to condone genocide.

Jon,

Why do you suppose “many regard” Nelson Mandela “as a secular saint”?

Franco, whom you lionize, is regarded by a large number of historians as a fascist dictator.

A large number of historians may regard the Earth to be flat, but I will always call it round, for the evidence shows it to be.

Those who would determine their opinions by straw polls of historians are fools. Besides, any serious quality historian would not regard Franco as a fascist, nor would they regard (just for example) Pétain as one, for one very simple reason: they were not, in any proper sense of the word, fascists.

Of course, I have no doubt that many faults can be found in these men, as in any mere mortal (Nelson Mandela, for example, comes to mind), but fascism is not among them. Those who claim it is show themselves to have greater regard for common leftist ideology than a serious consideration of the facts.

KD, are you trying to say that anyone who was or is opposed to Nelson Mandela is a racist? After all, he had many black opponents, some were rivals in the opposition while others were supporters of the SA gov’t of the day. Some like Zulu Chief Buthelezi varied between those two camps.

Sir,

A “large number” of historians do not regard the Earth as flat.

By your young age, I can safely assume that you were not in Spain during Franco’s reign. Surely, then, your “opinion” of Franco is based not on firsthand knowledge or personal experience, but on what you have read and learned from books and teachers. This, of course, is normal. But in light of that fact, your response seems an attempt at being disingenuous.

I would venture to say that “most” historians regard Franco’s rule as a fascist dictatorship. Just what are the “facts” they disregard, sir?

One final question: What is your measure of a “serious quality historian”? One with whom you agree?

I wonder if any of your family members had been among the thousands who were killed or died during Franco’s rule (or were among the thousands of remaining desaparecidos — nobody knows where their bodies are) you would still be lionizing the General.

Well perhaps you would be so kind as to present us with the evidence for Franco’s alledged facism. That way, I can refute the charge.

What is your measure of a “serious quality historian”?

One who does not let their own personal beliefs or opinions obscure historical reality.

I wonder if any of your family members had been among the thousands who were killed or died during Franco’s rule (or were among the thousands of remaining desaparecidos — nobody knows where their bodies are) you would still be lionizing the General.

Because I am a Catholic, the thousands of innocent men and women who were needlessly slaughtered by the Republican regime were my family. The Republican government was a cabal of genocidal maniacs hell-bent on rape, murder, and destruction, and Franco’s revolt put an end to it, and for that we can all thank God.

Who are these ‘thousands’ of disappeared, by the way. Where are their names? How do we know these alledged disappeared actually existed? These are the questions a historian asks. We are told by some (and only some) that they exist. Very well, show us. I have an open mind.

Sir, you continue attempts at being disingenous.

I do not ask you to name the “thousands of innocent men and women who were needlessly slaughtered by the Republican regime.” I have no reason to doubt they existed. Nor do I have reason to doubt the existence of the thousands of innocent men and women who were slaughtered by Franco’s regime. I am not an apologist for the Spanish Republicans, any more than I ma an apologist for Franco’s fascists.

(A note: I find it curious that you say “needlessly slaughtered”, as if there was such a thing “needful” slaughter of innocent men and women.)

Go to any university library. The books refering to Franco’s rule as a fascist dictatorship are too numerous to mention. Are these authors all blinded by “leftist ideology”?

Mr. Cusack, I too have an open mind. That’s why I read and to a great degree enjoy your blog.

Go to any university library. The books refering to Franco’s rule as a fascist dictatorship are too numerous to mention. Are these authors all blinded by “leftist ideology”?

There is a popular misconception that Franco was a fascist. This popular misconception derives from th fact that leftist historians have labelled him so.

I would argue that an author who has labelled Franco a fascist must be at least one of three things:
A) Blinded by leftist ideology
B) Have failed to investigate the matter and thus discover Franco was not a fascist
or
C) Has a definition of fascism which is broad enough to include Franco

Were I a betting man, I’d bet the preponderance lay with B and C. Regarding C especially, ‘fascism’ is a word which is bandied about these days in ridiculous flights of fancy, e.g. President Bush’s recent referral to Islamist plotters as ‘Islamofacists’. Al-Qaeda have little or nothing to do with fascism as properly conceived and anyone who uses the term Islamofacists either means it merely as a derogatory comment or else is simply deceived.

I have been to university (and other) libraries and read books about Franco, not written by supporters, but by historians who have clarified that Franco was not a Fascist in the proper sense of the term. The alledged fascism of Maréchal Pétain I and my classmates examined in full in a course we took on modern French history at St Andrews, and it was universally concluded that he was not a Fascist. I only mention Pétain because at the time I noted to myself that the same careful consideration when applied to Franco would draw one to a similar conclusion. Unfortunately, I do not have my notebook from that course and in all likelihood have binned it.

(A note: I find it curious that you say “needlessly slaughtered”, as if there was such a thing “needful” slaughter of innocent men and women.)

I concede the use of the word ‘needless’ was somewhat redundant, but I think the phrase ‘needless slaughter’ is one which is often used in English.

And it would perhaps help to clarify that of course there were Spanish Fascists (the Falangists) who did support Franco during the Civil War and some for the entirety of his rule. However, the Falangists were merely one of the many competing groups who vied for influence under Franco.

I believe Franco was a very simple dictator, and fairly un-ideological. He saw his country falling apart and he decided to put a stop to it. The Civil War was won at immense cost to Spain, and at its finish Franco vowed never to again raise his sword in violence unless it be in Spain’s defense. Hence, he managed to keep Spain out of the Second World War which followed shortly thereafter, much to his people’s benefit. Fascism played a comparitively minor role in it all, and it is completely inappropriate to describe Franco as a fascist.

You nonetheless point out that plenty of historians describe him as just so, and it’s a fair point. But I think you put too much faith in historians. Growing up I had always assumed the same thing, that Franco was a Fascist dictator, and the same for Pétain. In reality, history, even professional and academic history is rife with misconception. At best this is due to ignorance or lack of curiosity and at the worst moments it is due to ideology. (Taking the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for example, I think many simply think to themselves ‘Well it won us the war’ and then fail to consider these acts any further, which prevents them from seeing them as the grievous war crimes that they were).

It was only upon brushing the popular histories and misconceptions aside and actually investigating myself, comparing and contrasting the views of various historians that I was able to come to the proper conclusion. Sadly, since I no longer seem to have my notes, I cannot expand upon the topic further. Nonetheless, I think sometime before I die I ought to write a proper apologia explaining my admiration for Franco. To me, it would seem as silly as a Jew writing an explanation of why he opposes Hitler, but people seem to be some intrigued by it.

Like Jon said, no one can condone the excesses of apartheid. Two wrongs don’t make a right, violence begets violence, and racism can occur from any race towards another; no matter its source or target, it does not uphold the Lord’s teaching. There are innocent white farmers, and there are not-so-innocent white farmers. There are black politicians fighting against racism, and there are black politicians inciting it. What’s more, no matter your race, you cannot be blamed for the sins of your forefathers. Notwithstanding your obvious colonialist sympathies, Mr. Cusack, I do agree that this is only a question of racism insofar as it deals with one set of South Africans inciting racial hatred against another. By simply reporting on this, I don’t believe that it is right to call you a racist.

(As regards Franco, he was neither a leader to look up to nor a shining example of Catholicism! Effectively shutting down Basque and Catalan? Obviously the Holy Spirit wasn’t allowed to touch those speakers! The Masonic paranoia, the idolatry of self, receiving support from and supporting a regime that incited mass genocide…The unrecognised sainthood doesn’t help either.)

Back to the original topic at hand, I would suggest that anyone interested compare the documentaries White Farmers Black Land (Aldo Lee) and Farm Murders (Carte Blanche). There’s guilt on both sides.

Thank you, Andrew, for your extended and insightful response. My sincere appreciation.

I certainly would be interested in reading some of those books which clarify the (proposed) misconception that Franco was, himself, a fascist.

I most heartily agree with you that the word “fascism” is bandied about too easily (and thoughtlessly) by both the left and the right these days.

True, the phrase “needless slaughter” is not uncommon. I feel uncomfortable every time I read or hear it.

Thank you, as well, for the surprising remarks about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Have you ever read Thomas Merton’s poem “Original Child Bomb”?

Well said, TPG.

I will readily admit an emotional reaction to the “Hang Nelson Mandela” phrase.

Not long before I read Mr. Cusack’s commentary, I had read a quote from Winston Churchill, made in 1937, concerning the Palestinains:

“I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger, even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit, for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red indians of America, or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher grade race, a more worldly-wise race, to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.”

I’ve become increasingly sensitive to the insidious quality of racism. Suffice it to say, I have many unresolved personal issues with the subject stemming from my youth in Oklahoma and Texas.

A facinating essay on the twin subjects of violence and racism — “The Falls” by Eliot Weinberger — is on my desk again, after a year. Interesting reading.

My apologies to you, Andrew, for suggesting you are a racist.

Andrew,
To answer KD’s question re how
many family members were killed by Franco, your response should have been that most were killed by Queen Elizabeth, the 1st. A town in Cork called Cusacktown was removed from the face of the earth by her henchmen. I guess that was too far back to bring up. How could we compare Franco and Liz I??