Nelson Mandela has died

[H. Ross Peron]

RIP. One of the genuinely great men of our times.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

The world's most beloved man who turned his back on terrorism.

[freefair]

Dunno about Reagan but Thatcher strongly disliked Apartheid and focused her efforts on constructive engagement (the carrot approach) with the NP government in order to bring about the peaceful end of apartheid without letting Soviet Communist influence permeate and extend itself or violent terrorism succeed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9997714/Margaret-Thatchers-vital-role-in-ending-apartheid.html
http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/secret-1985-letter-from-thatcher-pw-botha-urges-release-of-mandela.htm#.UqEDEJRlVsY.twitter
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=368488&sn=Detail
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22069896

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Mandela did engage in armed struggle, cofounding Umkhonto we Sizwe which was at one time labelled a terrorist organization by the US government.  One side's freedom fighter is often the other side's terrorist.  He wasn't the most violent of terrorists, but I have to wonder what he might have become had he not been caught and left to rot in jail. It's fairly easy to choose the course of peace when no other options are allowed you. It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge all this, tho it could have been done in a less trollish manner.

[freefair]

In fairness it was probably Justified Terrorism.

[DC Al Fine]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Mandela did engage in armed struggle, cofounding Umkhonto we Sizwe which was at one time labelled a terrorist organization by the US government.  One side's freedom fighter is often the other side's terrorist.  He wasn't the most violent of terrorists, but I have to wonder what he might have become had he not been caught and left to rot in jail. It's fairly easy to choose the course of peace when no other options are allowed you. It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge all this, tho it could have been done in a less trollish manner.

I think you can excuse an old man for the violence committed in his youth during a revolution. Mandela had every opportunity to turn into Mugabe. He did not, and in my opinion, he fully lived up to the ideals he expressed upon his release from prison.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Mandela did engage in armed struggle, cofounding Umkhonto we Sizwe which was at one time labelled a terrorist organization by the US government.  One side's freedom fighter is often the other side's terrorist.  He wasn't the most violent of terrorists, but I have to wonder what he might have become had he not been caught and left to rot in jail. It's fairly easy to choose the course of peace when no other options are allowed you. It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge all this, tho it could have been done in a less trollish manner.

I think you can excuse an old man for the violence committed in his youth during a revolution. Mandela had every opportunity to turn into Mugabe. He did not, and in my opinion, he fully lived up to the ideals he expressed upon his release from prison.

I agree with all that.  He was definitely a freedom fighter and there is nothing to indicate he ever considered armed struggle to be the first choice of how to respond to the evils of apartheid. While a bit of hagiography is to be expected at a time like this and even encouraged, he certainly wasn't perfect, so I don't think we should mind the warts on the frog prince being pointed out, so long as it is done in a reasonable manner.

[Vosem]

May he RIP; whatever he may have done in his youth, ultimately his contributions to South Africa, and to the world as a whole, in the 1990s-2000s far more than redeem anything prior to that.

[JerryArkansas]

God rest his soul.  We today lost one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

May he rest in peace. What he was able to do for South Africa was a long time coming, and it will be a long time before we see his like again.

[Zioneer]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Wat.


But seriously, I have a recommendation to y'all: stay away from any the FB statuses of any US politician who dares to honor Mandela; the comments are ridiculously terrible. Especially on Ted Cruz's status.

[Sbane]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Mandela did engage in armed struggle, cofounding Umkhonto we Sizwe which was at one time labelled a terrorist organization by the US government.  One side's freedom fighter is often the other side's terrorist.  He wasn't the most violent of terrorists, but I have to wonder what he might have become had he not been caught and left to rot in jail. It's fairly easy to choose the course of peace when no other options are allowed you. It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge all this, tho it could have been done in a less trollish manner.

Hmm, what time was that organization considered a terrorist organization by the US government?

[Famous Mortimer]

In fairness it was probably Justified Terrorism.

[Ban my account ffs!]

In fairness it was probably Justified Terrorism.

When your oppressors are terrorized, you're doing something right.

[Hifly]

Jacob Zuma's speech was very moving. Frankly, I was afraid it would have been another Nicholas Maduro speech that was overdramatic and self serving. Fortunately, Zuma kept it solemn and serious.

If you had seem the very beginning as he came on stage you would not say that. Totally unprofessional and distracting.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

He was a pretty terrible president but a heroic freedom fighter in the literal sense.

[H. Ross Peron]

I think its interesting to reflect that when Nelson Mandela was born, Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States, and that World War I was still raging on in the fields of France.

[opebo]

Delayed the catharsis where they kill or drive out the exploiter colonialists by at least a generation.

[Beezer]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Wat.


But seriously, I have a recommendation to y'all: stay away from any the FB statuses of any US politician who dares to honor Mandela; the comments are ridiculously terrible. Especially on Ted Cruz's status.

Damn...

Sen Cruz, you need to study your history. He was a glorified terrorist!

Nelson Mandela was a socialist terrorizer of white Africans, hated Capitalism and didn't think commoners had a right to private property, and thought government should control and distribute wealth...

He was a convicted terrorist and a leader in the Communist Party. . .good grief Ted!!!!!

He was a mass murdering communist. How is that a "defender of liberty"?

Nelson Mandela was a communist who murdered many people. He caused that capital of South Africa become a place where rate of rape was in first ten at whole world. I won't cry, because in history were many people who were real advocates of freedom.

You just lost my vote Ted. He was a communist.

[tik 🪀✨]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Wat.


But seriously, I have a recommendation to y'all: stay away from any the FB statuses of any US politician who dares to honor Mandela; the comments are ridiculously terrible. Especially on Ted Cruz's status.

Damn...

Sen Cruz, you need to study your history. He was a glorified terrorist!

Nelson Mandela was a socialist terrorizer of white Africans, hated Capitalism and didn't think commoners had a right to private property, and thought government should control and distribute wealth...

He was a convicted terrorist and a leader in the Communist Party. . .good grief Ted!!!!!

He was a mass murdering communist. How is that a "defender of liberty"?

Nelson Mandela was a communist who murdered many people. He caused that capital of South Africa become a place where rate of rape was in first ten at whole world. I won't cry, because in history were many people who were real advocates of freedom.

You just lost my vote Ted. He was a communist.

Some quotes don't deserve italics.

[Middle-aged Europe]

The world's most beloved terrorist.

Well, as far as the terrorist business is concerned, he was probably preferable to Eamon de Valera and Menachem Begin.

[RogueBeaver]

May he rest in peace. What he was able to do for South Africa was a long time coming, and it will be a long time before we see his like again.

This, and one of the greatest.

[GMantis]

RIP For all his faults, he succeeded in carrying out a peaceful transition to black rule without using the opportunity to take revenge upon the whites (especially considering his long stay in prison)
.
Also nice to see that the rumors of anti-white pogroms in the case of Mandela's death were just that.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

It's sad when someone dies and when it's someone of his achievements it's even harder. But he was a 95 year old man, who'd been sick for a LONG time. I thank him for what he did and think his reward is now his eternal rest.