Tyler

=Tyler's Reading Log (Discussion Director, Passage Master, Connector, Researcher)=
 * May 20, 2008:** **Chapter 1**


 * Summary:** The first chapter of the book //No Future Without Forgiveness// is essentially just a summary of the first vote in South Africa. South Africa's first vote, according to Tutu, wasn't just a typical vote as we think of votes here in America. Tutu introduces the anecdote of the first vote as a means of introducing the racial prejudice that South Africa suffered under due to apartheid, and then shows how this religious experience, this uniting through voting, casts all of these racial barriers aside. I think this unity will be a common theme throughout the book.


 * Discussion Director:** All right guys, here they are. Just answer them in a post here, once you do that, I'll copy and paste the questions and answers onto my page. Cool? Cool.

I'm not necessarily sure how exactly to preface this sort of line of questioning, but it is quite obvious how important Nationalism and the ideals it entails, as well as a deep down love for South Africa is to Desmond Tutu. Do you guys think Tutu's nationalism is inspired by a love for South Africa due to it being his homeland, or is it inspired by his desire to promote equality (especially against the oppressive rule of apartheid)? Also, would you say that Tutu has taken this role of political advocacy due to his willingness and desire to do so, or because he saw the need for change, and just stepped up because he didn't think anyone else would do it?


 * Tyler:** In response to the first question, I think that Tutu's nationalism is more inspired by his desire for equality. Yes, he is patriotic, and yes he does love his home-country of South Africa, but this patriotism is not the sole reason for his advocacy of change, equality, and freedom. Whether this desire is promoted by his faith, or by his love for people, and a deeply-held magnanimity, I'm not sure, but I know that it is not patriotism that guides Tutu's hand, it is faith (perhaps there is a better word, but I'm not sure what that word would be). In addition, I think that Tutu has taken on this role of political advocacy because he wants to. I don't think he saw the need for it (or he may have, I don't know) and just stepped up because no one else would. I think he genuinely wanted to change things for the better, and felt that that was what his mission in life should be; promoting this change.


 * James:** I beleive Desmond has a strong sense for equality. Not specifically his homeland but because he hates seeing human beings treated in such horrible ways. I think that if his nationalism was inspired by his homeland he would have been more driven to get revenge on the whites but he wasnt. So i believe he is more driven by equality.

I think he stepped up because he wanted to. He felt like it was his job and that he should do it. HE saw the need for change and for people doing the right thing


 * Ian:** I have to agree that it's more the eqaulity thing, and as for his stepping up, he did become a high ranking church member there, so i can only hope that this was because he knew and did his best to do what he felt was right.


 * Simon:** I think that above all Tutu is a humanitarian. He generally loves people and sees them all as equals. His views on equality seem sincere. I think he is for Global equality but knows that this is out of his reach. By helping earn South Africa’s freedom he feels good about himself. In the reading he talks about how for the first time ever South Africans really interacted with one another because of democracy. This can be connected to other Civil Rights movements in the world. He shows that if people actually talk many barriers can be broken.


 * May 20, 2008: Chapters 2 and 3

Summary:** Chapter 2 is essentially about different ways of attempting reconciliation and national recovery after severe human rights violations. Tutu discusses the weaknesses of a trial of the victors, and speaks to the naiveté inherent in national amnesty, or "amnesia" as he calls it. He speaks to the strengths (as well as the weaknesses) of the solution that South Africa comes up with, combining both: trials to expose the wicked deeds without the "punishment" per se present at every trial. Chapter 3 discusses the importance of the different leaders from the political parties in South Africa's transformation. He tells the reader about the strength Nelson Mandela obtained through his suffering in jail, and basically says that though every leader could have done something to disrupt the system, because this change came about "in the fullness of time" it did not happen.

Chapter 2, page 31: "Harmony, friendliness, community are great goods. Social harmony is for us the //summum bonum//-the greatest good." Tutu had previously been discussing the African value of Ubuntu, which is the code of honor that every African lives by. Ubuntu expresses the idea that the identity of every African is tied up in the identity of every other African. Therefore, anything done to subvert one person or group subverts everyone in the African community. Ubuntu speaks of the need for social justices, for social injustices destroy the fabric of African civilization.
 * Passage Master:**

Chapter 3, page 39: "The true leader must at some point or other convince her or his followers that she or he in this whole business not for self-aggrandizement but for the sake of others. Nothing is able to prove this quite so convincingly as suffering." Tutu says this in reference to the suffering of Nelson Mandela in jail. Essentially, Tutu says that a true leader must suffer for a cause, must literally almost die for a cause to prove to one's followers that they are truly devoted, body and soul, to that cause. It is this suffering for a cause that convinces the followers of the leader's true, pure, and untainted by greed or corruption intentions.


 * Discussion Director Answer:** I think that Tutu references these stories to show the depth of the depravity of the acts committed. Were he not to mention these terrible stories of social injustice, I don't think we as a people would understand just how bad the social climate in South Africa go due to the oppression of apartheid. I can't think of a truly satisfactory answer to why they are so forgiving, except a forgiving nature instilled in the African culture due to Ubuntu. That is the only reason I can see as to why they would forgive the perpetrators.


 * May 21, 2008: Chapter 4

Summary:** Chapter 4 is about justice. Desmond Tutu addresses the concerns about how justice is administered in an amnesty program sponsored by the state. He talks about how the concern of many is that remorse or guilt is faked, and that the perpetrators of these crimes aren't truly repentant, and therefore aren't truly punished for their crimes. In addition, Tutu speaks of reparations, addressing the fact that many who are opposed to amnesty programs feel that the victims are not compensated for their loss, or allowed retribution. However, he says that while it may not seem that the perpetrators are motivated to be truly repentant, they actually are in many circumstances. In addition, though many do not in fact receive compensation in return for their pain, they are often not seeking this compensation or retribution. And the requests that many families of the victims have are simple ones that can be easily fulfilled without burdening the state.


 * Connector:** The issue of justice is one that vexes even the courts of the United States. In a crime, first off, the defendant has to be proven guilty of a crime, which is difficult, time-consuming, and costly even today. In addition, especially if acquitted, the perpetrators of these crimes are not often truly repentant or remorseful over their actions, and do not truly receive adequate punishment for their often heinous crimes. However, Tutu says that though it may seem that justice is difficult to obtain when people are either vengeful or unrepentant, in many situations, this is not the case. An event to connect this too would be the Holocaust (I know, I know, everything compares to the Holocaust). Though there was a trial of the victors, many of the Nazis on trial were truly repentant for their crimes against humanity. Hans Frank and Albert Speer were examples of this. In addition, though the state of Israel was established somewhat in part as a payment to the Jews, many in the Jewish community did not actively seek retribution or monetary compensation.


 * Discussion Director Answer:** I'm going to be cheap and say that I can't answer this question. Personally, Simon, I agree with you. I can't fathom how a person could commit some of these atrocities in the first place, and I personally would never let them forget these crimes, nor go unpunished for them. If I had been the leader in South Africa, I would have, quite honestly, not hesitated in not just offering compensation to the victims but also punishing those perpetrators of the crimes. To do these things that I have heard some of those in South Africa is unforgivable to me.

However, that is not what happened in reality. Tutu, in his either infinite wisdom or naivitee, I cannot decide which to call it, decided to offer these people amnesty, essentially, just like you said, Simon, a free pass. I don't think it's my place to condemn his gesture, but I have to say, while I disagree with it, I see why he did it. If South Africa was seeking healing, seeking recovery, it wouldn't help to instantly launch a campaign of vengeance and retribution. That would merely re-open old wounds. So, while I don't agree with offering a pass to these people, I can sort of understand why Tutu, Mandela, and the government of South Africa did: to truly put the past behind them by starting afresh.


 * May 27, 2008: Chapter 5

Summary:** Chapter 5 was about the make-up of the TRC, and the varying influences and backgrounds that the members came from. Tutu addresses the concern that the different political and religious backgrounds would cause the TRC members to approach the trials from a biased stand-point. Not only that, but Tutu also talks about the religious and spiritual elements that permeated the proceedings, discussing the importance of spirituality in seeking forgiveness in the trials.

The ANC- The ANC is the governing party in South Africa. It was founded in 1923 as the ANC, but was originally founded in 1912 as the SANNC by John Dube, it's first president. The party, previous to being the governing party after being elected in 1994, was a fiercely anti-apartheid party, and after the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, changed its non-violent protest to violent resistance. Originally, it accomplished these ends through the Spear of the Nation, first lead by Nelson Mandela. Throughout the 70s and 80s, the ANC participated in violent protests against the apartheid government through terror techniques, such as assassinations, kidnappings, and other forms of political uprising. They were, due to their actions, labeled as a terrorist organization by the South African government. However, after 1990, the ANC agreed to peace-negotiations, leading to the first South African election of 1994, and the election of president Nelson Mandela.
 * Researcher:**


 * Discussion Director Answer:** The changing nature of the Day of Reconciliation is a perfect example of "Revisionist" history at work. Though the history of the day isn't necessarily being changed, the purpose of the day and the celebrations is changed. However, this isn't a bad thing in this case. South Africa, in this situation, changed the purpose of a holiday from being a celebration of oppression and death to a holiday celebrating reconciliation. Forgiveness. Rebirth, even.


 * May 27, 2008: Chapter 6

Summary:** Chapter 6 largely addressed more of the same; Tutu talked about the indignities (I don't use the word atrocities, for he described the minor offenses, the small violations of human rights that daily caused the dehumanization of Black South Africans. Later in the chapter, Tutu began to discuss the first TRC hearing, a moving, spiritual event with testimony coming from some very hurt, yet very resilient people. He ended on a note on the power of the human spirit, and how it can continue to thrive in the face of terrible adversity.

Chapter 6, Page 109: "In my theology there are no ordinary people. Each one of us, because we are God's representative, God's viceroy, God's stand-in, and a God-carrier- each one of us is a very special person, a VSP far more important and far more universal than your normal VIP." This is an important quote because not only does it sum up Tutu's view of humanity, it also presents a theology that is both egalitarian and very human oriented. Tutu presents here a theology that works for the betterment of all man because of the greatness, the God inherent in all man.
 * Passage Master:**

Chapter 6, Page 120: "Forgiveness will follow confession and healing will happen, and so contribute to national unity and reconciliation." Tutu is essentially foretelling the future here. He is talking about how the TRC hearings will occur, and is musing, I suppose, on the implications of the confessions of not only victim, but perpetrator. Because the truth will be exposed, healing and forgiveness will occur.


 * Discussion Director Answer:** Tutu's father was an educator of a relatively higher-status then most other Black South Africans. So, though the oppression and indignities suffered by the black community were certainly not limited to the lower classes of the society, and though Tutu's father suffered much at the hands of his largely white oppressors and under the evil reign of apartheid, due to his higher status as an educator, he was able to avoid some of the harsher punishments.


 * May 27, 2008: Chapters 7 and 8

Summary:** Chapters 7 and 8 concern specific cases brought before the TRC. Tutu describes in detail the victims seeking an opportunity to voice their pain, as well as the perpetrators attempting to repent and seek forgiveness from these families. He describes Nelson Mandela's wife and her "trial" for her alleged crimes, as well as the "trials" of some high-ranking apartheid government officials. Emotionally, these two chapters are quite powerful, staggering in the stark honesty with which they present the crimes that many of these men, normal average men are capable of committing.


 * Dicussion Director:** After reading this book, and especially chapters 7 and 8, with their stark descriptions of some of the horrible mistreatment that many innocent people were subjected to, I've only got one quest to ask. You can answer it how you'd like. What makes the victims of these crimes so quick to forgive? And, how can the perpetrators, these men reduced (I won't blame them for their crimes, I'll say reduced by an oppressive system) continue to... I guess function enough to seek forgiveness?


 * Tyler:** I think it is faith. I would say that this is a uniquely South African/Africa trait to be so willing to forgive, but after hearing of so many situations where the families of the victims were so willing to forgive convinces me that faith is what allows the families this magnanimity. I don't know how else to explain the depths of forgiveness that this faith affords them, nor can I explain the faith itself (whether it is uniquely Christian, western, Jewish, or it is something deeper, not bound by any particular denominational faith, just the idea of God Himself), but I think it is a faith in a power beyond our human comprehension (and this is not an attempt at conversion; I'm still quite agnostic in my own belief system) that motivates these people. And, I think the act of seeking repentance, the act of searching for forgiveness, as well as the fact that the perpetrators of these acts are being met with forgiveness by the families, allows the perpetrators to be so ready to repent and move on from their crimes.


 * James:** Well I think forgivness is part of there culture. I dont think the people forgave immeditely but i think over time they forgave and forgot. Not to be religious but i also think christianity plays a role in alot of the forgivness. Many of the people who had crimes commited agaisnt them were chrisitan and its easier to forgive some one if your religion encourages it. Secondly I dont think that some of those men still function well and I think they come for forgivness becuase they are haunted for what they've done


 * Ian:** i guess for the normal people, who suffered the opression, maybe they released to punish the others would be to much like the oppression they suffered lowering themselves down to the level of the apartheid. as for the criminals, many of them did not want to do these things in the first place, so did their best to seek forgivness when it was offered, or from desire to reveal the truth.


 * Simon:** The crimes of these people are so easy to forgive because thats how desperate they are. They have been through so much pain and miserey that looking for revenge isnt worth the effort. Peace is the onlything they care about and they are useing thier faith as a sort of hope. The reading lectured us on this to see just what happened. Then again desmond tutu says they conquered through faith but he is a religious man. His word is biased.


 * May 28, 2008: Chapter 9

Summary:** Chapter 9 largely concerns the end of the TRC's life. It discusses some of the problems they encountered nearing to the end of the process, as well as (nearer to the beginning of the chapter) reflects Tutu's own musings on the many different personalities and egos on the committee. He talks about the last big difficulty faced in the TRC's lifetime, which was the ANC's request for a hearing with the TRC in order to silence any incriminating evidence against them. Tutu is saddened by this news, and, though they are largely able to divert the catastrophe of having the committee's integrity questioned in the 11th hour before submitting their formal report, he is hurt by the ANC's fear of what the committee has to say, and that they would be so selfish as to jeopardize victim's attempts at attaining some form of gesture in order to heal.


 * Connector:** I can't really think of a time in American history when a council of this size and magnitude as assembled for a purpose as wide-reaching as the TRC. I think, however, that the problems Tutu faced, though given an individual spin, are issues that every council of that sort has to face. The issue of repentance and forgiveness is tough when a member of that council is a perpetrator/accused of being a perpetrator (as proved to be the case after Sibaya announced his testimony was false), thus calling into question the integrity of the whole council. Not only that, but Tutu faced an issue every leader has to face, and that is the issue of having your integrity as a leader questioned. An American equivalent of this would be the issues that arise in every presidential campaign. Already, all three of the front runners (I won't rule out Hillary, though, there is heated debate as to whether she can continue in the race) have had their integrity as not only leaders, but as people called into question. Hillary was called up when the Bosnia issue arose, Obama had to answer for Reverend Wright, and Mccain had to contend with allegations of an affair with a lobbyist (death in the modern political world, when more and more are trying to distance Washington politics from the influence of the lobbyist and special interest groups). While this was a very shallow description of these issues, they are comparable to the issues Tutu faced when heading up the TRC.


 * Discussion Director Answer:** In chapter 10 I think he addresses your concern Simon, but again, I would agree with your sentiment. It seems that, though I wouldn't say that Desmond Tutu isn't the nicest guy ever, I would would say that he seems to be embellishing his magnanimity a bit, as well as the good-spirit of the TRC. I feel that Desmond Tutu does have his heart in the right place, though when recounting the goodness of his deeds, he seems to embellish the extent of his contribution to the TRC. I wouldn't have agreed at all if he had actually brought up some of his negative traits earlier in the novel, but he doesn't. He is seen by all, including himself, it seems, as a total humanitarian, incapable of doing wrong. So, I would agree. He may be BSing us a bit.


 * May 30, 2008: Chapter 10

Summary:** Chapter 10 addresses many topics (far too many, in fact, for a short wiki summary) but I feel the biggest topic he addresses is the preconditioning towards racism that we as a people have. He talks about how, although the TRC worked towards healing South Africa, because of the things throughout its history that happened, many citizens had been preconditioned to be racist or bigoted, not necessarily because they truly feel that way, but because it is just what they have grown up with all their lives. He talks about the different leaders who, because they were so set in their ways (aka Mr. P.W. Botha) refused to repent for their crimes, feeling that they had committed no crimes. Even Tutu himself, in the anecdote he references in the end, tells the reader of the way he had previously thought, simply because he had preconditioned by his society to feel that way.

Mr. P.W. Botha- Pieter Willem Botha (January 12, 1916-October 31, 2006) was the leader of the South African National Party and was essentially the face of the apartheid government. The most important thing to know about Botha was his role in the apartheid government that Tutu so despises. Botha became the prime minister September 28, 1978, and was in the office until 1984, when he became the first state president of South Africa. In 1983, he was a leader in crafting the new South African Constitution, effectively creating a three part executive system, with three houses of representatives (one for blacks, one for Indians, and one for whites). This was something that lead to the racism in the government, supported by apartheid. In addition, he eliminated the prime minister position, combining the responsibilities of president and head of state, creating an effectively powerful leader of the country, who had responsibility over things such as race relations. However, he was taken out of power in 1989, which began to put to an end his rule in the apartheid government. Throughout the reconciliation process, he proved stubborn in his refusal to cooperate with the TRC, thus removing him from the public political theater. He died in 2006.
 * Researcher:**


 * Discussion Director Answer:** I agree with both of you. The people in the society, when the apartheid government ended, should have spoken out against the injustices this government committed. They had been given a forum to express their grief, ask for forgiveness or seek reparations for what had happened throughout South Africa's history. Instead, many refused to admit to the crimes that they committed, whether those be literal crimes against others or the crime of adhering to a standard that is racist and wrong. However, because there was still this dominant idea of racism being right after the government fell, no one could have predicted the social ramifications of speaking out against this government in the post apartheid South Africa, so many may have been afraid that they could have been hurt or worse for speaking out against that government.