Seen this, Thailand?

 

“We are fighting for a society where people will cease thinking in terms of colour.”

 

- Nelson Mandela.

March 8, 1993

Nelson Mandela always chose his words with a great deal of circumspection.  He said:  "If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die."

 

My favorite Mandela quote of all time: "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

 

And, hoping that Suthep here in Thailand might be listening, here's another:  "Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organization and the struggle we serve." 

 

RIP, Mr. Mandela.

The man was one of the greatest leaders of any country, and deserves all the recognition and accolades that came his way.  I applaud what he did for civil rights and racism in South Africa.  However, I am personally touched by his the courage he showed with his stand on gay rights and gay marriage.  Under his leadership, the constitution protects gays and he pushed for gay marriage which became law in 2009 in South Africa.  My favorite quote is:

 

"I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity."