From the moment Trump signed the Executive Order calling white Afrikaners to escape the "sunken place" that is South Africa, my thoughts, as a black South African woman, have been why are white South Africans silent on this? I expected silence from the those seeking "greener pastures" but I wanted white South Africans to speak up. When I saw the wealthy white South Africans who joined President Cyril Ramaphosa, - particulalry Johan who is not Friends with Trump as you cliam- there was a bit of relief that maybe when they speak, the world might listen. Because as you state this is not just about South Africa, but it feeds narratives of threats to the white race. I do not, however, agree that whiteness did win overall because as you know many South Africans have security cameras- if there was a large scale genocide they would have captured it and it would have been played in the Oval office. It was not played because it does not exist. Since then, there have numerous fact-checking missions proving that the "newspaper clippings" - many of more blogs and social media than investigative journalism- are fictitious. So, chaos is a ladder. At the very same time, many people simply do not care about the facts but will continue to claim there is a white genocide.
Will not be surprised if in a few months Trump makes the claim that he stopped the White genocide in SA by then stating the relatively low murder rate of Whites compared to Blacks in SA, as well as the fact that no land has been expropriated, and that this is due to his “brilliant” negotiation skills. He might even limit the number of Afrikaner refugees as some form of concession to another interest group in the US.
Excellent thoughts. One observation: I lived/studied/worked over 50 years in more than 10 'Global South' countries, mainly Latin America. Given the language, culture, social, political, historical, legal systems, even religious similarities between these countries, one would think there would/should have been significant progress in terms of strengthening their economic and geopolitical ties. Certainly they have tried very hard to do so: Andean Pact, Mercosur, Central American Common Market, Pacific Alliance, Bolivarian Alliance (Hugo Chavez/Lula brainchild). Mercosur/EU finally signed a trade deal in principle in 2019, but it took some 30 years to get there (EU recalcitrance) and as of mid-2025 there's still not a great deal of real progress. Overall, however, these efforts to date have not produced the real measurable effective results proponents have hoped for and promised their electorates. One reason this is so is that the world's largest countries and alliances - USA, EU, etc. - have promised much but given little. Another reason often overlooked is that the economic/political elites of the Latin American 'Global South' countries have generally undermined each other. Institutional/elite corruption also has been a factor, but given that corruption is so widespread and entrenched globally including in the USA and EU, perhaps it has not been the major driver that many critics have propounded when trying to figure out why great socioeconomic ideas and ideals frequently bog down and come to naught. Trade data suggest there has been progress, of course. However, that progress has not measurably raised the region's living standards, as evidenced in part by the constant, steady rise in emigration from these global south countries both to the USA and EU.
"His lies, like pro-wrestling, are immune to fact-checking – the facts are not the point. Trump on camera is 100% theater, not serious engagement, debate or conversation in which the interlocutor is treated with respect: The interlocutor is there as a prop for the Trump performance..."
The visuals are the point. Trump sitting there giving this black guy a hard time (never mind that he's a foreign head of state). Ecstasy for the fan base.
Thanks, Tony, for this very clear analysis. One thing I still don’t get is why anyone goes to the US to meet with Trump at all. As you say it’s all theatre that I attribute to Trump’s insatiable narcissistic hunger for admiration and attention. I am sure I’m not the only one who knows or sees this, and still central figures go and meet him only to be ambushed, especially if they are not admiring enough of his ‘Royal Trumpness’… Trump should just be ignored. This is the only strategy to employ with a narcissist.
Trump is the US’s creation and a culmination of its culture. If it wasn’t Trump, someone like him would have come along sooner or later. Let the US deal with him, and we’ll see if they can reform their society to become a benign and positive influence in the world. Trump is stupid and ignorant enough to both expose and sabotage the US’s agenda around the world, which is modern imperialism. It uses its military and economic might and bullying tactics to spread unchecked and unmitigated wild neoliberalism economic and philosophy of life into every corner of the globe. To what end? Short term gains for the US elite. Old news, I know. But Trump—as vile as he is—may well be a kind of a blessing in the end, if he manages to break the US and its toxic power over the world.
From the moment Trump signed the Executive Order calling white Afrikaners to escape the "sunken place" that is South Africa, my thoughts, as a black South African woman, have been why are white South Africans silent on this? I expected silence from the those seeking "greener pastures" but I wanted white South Africans to speak up. When I saw the wealthy white South Africans who joined President Cyril Ramaphosa, - particulalry Johan who is not Friends with Trump as you cliam- there was a bit of relief that maybe when they speak, the world might listen. Because as you state this is not just about South Africa, but it feeds narratives of threats to the white race. I do not, however, agree that whiteness did win overall because as you know many South Africans have security cameras- if there was a large scale genocide they would have captured it and it would have been played in the Oval office. It was not played because it does not exist. Since then, there have numerous fact-checking missions proving that the "newspaper clippings" - many of more blogs and social media than investigative journalism- are fictitious. So, chaos is a ladder. At the very same time, many people simply do not care about the facts but will continue to claim there is a white genocide.
Will not be surprised if in a few months Trump makes the claim that he stopped the White genocide in SA by then stating the relatively low murder rate of Whites compared to Blacks in SA, as well as the fact that no land has been expropriated, and that this is due to his “brilliant” negotiation skills. He might even limit the number of Afrikaner refugees as some form of concession to another interest group in the US.
Excellent thoughts. One observation: I lived/studied/worked over 50 years in more than 10 'Global South' countries, mainly Latin America. Given the language, culture, social, political, historical, legal systems, even religious similarities between these countries, one would think there would/should have been significant progress in terms of strengthening their economic and geopolitical ties. Certainly they have tried very hard to do so: Andean Pact, Mercosur, Central American Common Market, Pacific Alliance, Bolivarian Alliance (Hugo Chavez/Lula brainchild). Mercosur/EU finally signed a trade deal in principle in 2019, but it took some 30 years to get there (EU recalcitrance) and as of mid-2025 there's still not a great deal of real progress. Overall, however, these efforts to date have not produced the real measurable effective results proponents have hoped for and promised their electorates. One reason this is so is that the world's largest countries and alliances - USA, EU, etc. - have promised much but given little. Another reason often overlooked is that the economic/political elites of the Latin American 'Global South' countries have generally undermined each other. Institutional/elite corruption also has been a factor, but given that corruption is so widespread and entrenched globally including in the USA and EU, perhaps it has not been the major driver that many critics have propounded when trying to figure out why great socioeconomic ideas and ideals frequently bog down and come to naught. Trade data suggest there has been progress, of course. However, that progress has not measurably raised the region's living standards, as evidenced in part by the constant, steady rise in emigration from these global south countries both to the USA and EU.
Fabulous analysis Tony Karon 👏🏾
"His lies, like pro-wrestling, are immune to fact-checking – the facts are not the point. Trump on camera is 100% theater, not serious engagement, debate or conversation in which the interlocutor is treated with respect: The interlocutor is there as a prop for the Trump performance..."
The visuals are the point. Trump sitting there giving this black guy a hard time (never mind that he's a foreign head of state). Ecstasy for the fan base.
Thanks, Tony, for this very clear analysis. One thing I still don’t get is why anyone goes to the US to meet with Trump at all. As you say it’s all theatre that I attribute to Trump’s insatiable narcissistic hunger for admiration and attention. I am sure I’m not the only one who knows or sees this, and still central figures go and meet him only to be ambushed, especially if they are not admiring enough of his ‘Royal Trumpness’… Trump should just be ignored. This is the only strategy to employ with a narcissist.
Trump is the US’s creation and a culmination of its culture. If it wasn’t Trump, someone like him would have come along sooner or later. Let the US deal with him, and we’ll see if they can reform their society to become a benign and positive influence in the world. Trump is stupid and ignorant enough to both expose and sabotage the US’s agenda around the world, which is modern imperialism. It uses its military and economic might and bullying tactics to spread unchecked and unmitigated wild neoliberalism economic and philosophy of life into every corner of the globe. To what end? Short term gains for the US elite. Old news, I know. But Trump—as vile as he is—may well be a kind of a blessing in the end, if he manages to break the US and its toxic power over the world.