Do most Americans and Trump's administration know that, despite the legitimate frustrations and fears that still exist in South Africa, things have actually improved in some meaningful ways since the late 1990s?
There’s now legal racial equality under one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. Interracial friendships, workspaces, and even marriages—unthinkable under apartheid—are far more common in urban areas. A growing Black middle class is emerging, and more young South Africans than ever are trying to move beyond the old racial binaries.
But let’s not romanticize it—serious problems remain. Economic inequality is still heavily racialized, with wealth and land still disproportionately in white hands. Many Black South Africans live with daily poverty, poor service delivery, and unemployment. That reality fuels a lot of anger and disillusionment—sometimes expressed racially, sometimes politically, and yes, sometimes irresponsibly by figures like the EFF. Still, a lot of this tension comes from unfinished transformation, not from some desire for revenge. South Africa’s not perfect, but it’s not descending into genocidal chaos either. Most people want peace, fairness, and stability. They just don’t all agree on how to get there.
If you want to understand the situation more honestly, you have to hold two truths at once: things are better than they were—and not as good as they should be. Fear alone doesn’t tell the full story.
Do most Americans and Trump's administration know that, despite the legitimate frustrations and fears that still exist in South Africa, things have actually improved in some meaningful ways since the late 1990s?
There’s now legal racial equality under one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. Interracial friendships, workspaces, and even marriages—unthinkable under apartheid—are far more common in urban areas. A growing Black middle class is emerging, and more young South Africans than ever are trying to move beyond the old racial binaries.
But let’s not romanticize it—serious problems remain. Economic inequality is still heavily racialized, with wealth and land still disproportionately in white hands. Many Black South Africans live with daily poverty, poor service delivery, and unemployment. That reality fuels a lot of anger and disillusionment—sometimes expressed racially, sometimes politically, and yes, sometimes irresponsibly by figures like the EFF. Still, a lot of this tension comes from unfinished transformation, not from some desire for revenge. South Africa’s not perfect, but it’s not descending into genocidal chaos either. Most people want peace, fairness, and stability. They just don’t all agree on how to get there.
If you want to understand the situation more honestly, you have to hold two truths at once: things are better than they were—and not as good as they should be. Fear alone doesn’t tell the full story.