1. We need to talk abt our new generation of activists.Some have no understanding of history/politics, ironically regurgitate the very theories which inspired racism & colonialism,& think they act in the tradition of Fanon & Biko, but are more akin to Mobutu Sese Seko & Idi Amin.

2. They easily mobilized by nativist & fascist leaders who stoke emotional vulnerabilities & deploy them to violent actions. Every generation has this layer, but the voice of this one is amplified by Twitter & s/media. The deep inequalities of our moment feed this even further.

3. In a place like SA their voices are further amplified. The deep inequalities & their racial form, makes this fertile ground for the anger. The incompetence of govt & the police allow these forces to act with impunity.Politicians deflect from their failures by appeasing them.

4. There is also the appeasement by early generation of activists who feel guilty at their own pol. failures. They appease in the hope that this is the exuberance of youth & they will grow out of it. There is the appeasement by progressives who believe this is a new rev. moment.

5. This appeasement will come to haunt us as it did the generation of the 1920/30s.The appeasement of nativist & racist ideas,& the glorification of violence,brought fascist leaders to power, plunged the world into war,& led to the murder of millions. We risk repeating our past.

6. Note how these activists respond to Madonsela who was a lone shining light in dark days not so long ago.Their response reminds me of Pol Pot’s children or the Chinese cultural revolution, who killed their parents in the misguided belief that it was their rev. responsibility.

7. Many instit & societal leaders remain silent in the face of this rise of nativist politics.Some share these views,but many are scared or do not want to get embroiled in the muck of social media.We do this at our peril. Now more than ever we need to talk abt how to manage this.

8.There is political myth in our society that people only learn from education & acculturation.These are important, but need to be accompanied by consequences - whether social or legal-for abhorrent behaviour. It is because we lack the latter that we have such a violent society.

9. Ultimately we will never build a more humane society on a sustainable basis in the midst of such inequality.Inequality enables the very social and political polarization on which fascist & nativist ideas ferment. It enables the politics of violence which we are living through.

10. We duck all these issues at our peril, in this country and around the world. See what is happening in Bolsanaro’s Brazil, Modi’s India, & Trump’s America.This is our future, in a more potent form, unless we stand up to this new generation of fascists & nativists in our midst.