What sort of sentence is imposed on those like me?

Nelson Mandela, civil rights leader and former president of South Africa, died a few days ago and as I write this is lying in state in Pretoria.

Apartheid became national news during my undergrad college years, and was an especially animated conversation at Calvin College given the Dutch history in South Africa.

Unfortunately, the image that remains with me to this day is of Winnie Mandela (then Nelson's wife) who advocated violent resistance, including necklacing.

(“Necklacing” was placing an old tire around a person’s neck, filling it with gasoline, and setting it on fire. The South African Truth and Reconciliation commission found "Ms Winnie Madikizela Mandela politically and morally accountable for the gross violations of human rights". Source >)

I work hard to overcome this image. I can intellectually understand my own myopia, but I can’t remove the angry shadows that follow good people who rightly sought change and justice.

The passing of Neil Armstrong affected me more, and received far less attention. I was affected not because Armstrong was a greater man, but because my mind was molded by events to see him that way, and I still do and am grateful for the memory and star-flung wonder it still invokes.

Am I to blame for my dulled sensitivity to the trials of an entire race halfway around the world?

What sort of sentence is tacitly imposed by national consensus on those like me?

[2013-10-10]

c0