Signs of racism
IS IT more offensive to make a joke out of the fake signer at Mandela’s memorial service or to spin the story with false assertions about the mental state of the person involved, including claims that he was suffering from an acute schizophrenic breakdown (tosh, since his behaviour was far too organised)?
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama’s people and the South African government claim the imposter did not compromise security.
The story, for me, exhibits inverse racism, where standards we might expect in the West are allowed to be severely compromised in Africa: it is almost as racist as apartheid was to be so patronising.
Neil Sinclair
Clarence Street