RIP Nelson Mandela

[fiza]

Truly sad news

[elsiegee40]

A truly remarkable man

[jamesreedersmith]

He was and will always be an inspiration to many many people.

RIP.

[tech_guy]

A huge loss for the world. RIP. The world has lost a father. Edited December 5, 2013 by tech_guy

[hawc]

Yes, very very sad news. RIP. Just had a text from my school to say their will be a special assembly.

[3s-gtech]

RIP. It's a great loss, but he achieved so much and lived such a good long life that it's at least no tragedy. He'll be missed though.

[plexer]

We are all on this planet for but a short time and in that time only a few actually make a difference he was one of those.

 

Ben

[MatthewL]

Sad to hear of this when I saw it earlier. Lets hope he gets a good send off, he deserves it.

[StevieM]

No way!! Can't believe I found out about it through this forum.

 

RIP Mr Mandela. Now you are TRULY free.

[mikeprice]

A man who really made a difference

[6Foot2]

Barack Obama:

 

...He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages...

[creese]

So sad to hear this. A lot of friends will wake up to this news in the morning.

[creese]

“When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.” (Interview for Mandela, 1994)

[6Foot2]

Link: New York Times Obituary: Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Liberator as Prisoner and President

[elsiegee40]

This is one of the few occasions where a national and international sense of loss at the passing of an individual is truly justified. He made a difference in his country and to the world.

[laserblazer]

I had the honour of talking to him on a plane from Johannesburg to Durban in 1990. He'd not long been released from Robben Island and came back into "cattle-class" to say hello. He took time to speak to everyone who wanted to meet him. He had an infectious grin. There were as many whites as blacks who got out of their seats to shake his hand. A truly remarkable gentleman. RIP

[pcstru]

This is one of the few occasions where a national and international sense of loss at the passing of an individual is truly justified. He made a difference in his country and to the world.

He also authorised bombing campaigns which killed hundreds of people including children. Rest in Peace yes, but the man was no saint.

[localzuk]

One of a very small list of people who made a profound and lasting positive impression on the world. RIP

[Earthling]

Sad day, but inevitable.

[creese]

He also authorised bombing campaigns which killed hundreds of people including children. Rest in Peace yes, but the man was no saint.

 

You need to look at many other people who became saints. They weren't all in the Francis vein.

[laserblazer]

He also authorised bombing campaigns which killed hundreds of people including children. Rest in Peace yes, but the man was no saint.

@creese is probably more knowledgeable on this subject but I thought his crime was not condemning violence, did he have any real clout when it came to saying yes or no?

[localzuk]

I think he may be a perfect example of "one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist".

[creese]

@creese is probably more knowledgeable on this subject but I thought his crime was not condemning violence, did he have any real clout when it came to saying yes or no?

 

I am by no means an expert on SA. Sometimes you have to fight to gain freedom, sometimes you have to do some awful things to gain freedom. The black South Africans had very little choice, as far as I am concerned. I think we have to look at recent history, Mandela and many South African's of all colours have been very patient and calm in what is still a poor country for many.

 

I don't live in S Africa, I would love to. I just help where I can, sponsoring a child, helping with IT and more in a school, helping with an AIDS Orphans project and doing what I can in a small town(ship) and in Lesotho.

[laserblazer]

I just help where I can, sponsoring a child, helping with IT and more in a school, helping with an AIDS Orphans project and doing what I can in a small town(ship) and in Lesotho.

 

Very commendable @creese. When I travelled there regularly on business I used to fill a bag with stationery (paper, pencils, rulers etc.) and just pop in to a small school in the bush. The look on the faces of the staff when I'd breeze in, open the bag as say "can you use these?" The kids would all be immaculate in crisp, white shirts all the more amazing when they live in one room rondavels.

[creese]

"One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint.

"I never was one, even on the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying."

 

Nelson Mandela