Mandela, I remember

There were lots of lines that defined people in High School, but none as deep as those that opposed Apartheid against those who opposed the ANC. Don't get me wrong, there were lots of kids who didn't care at all, but they didn't care about much, so I didn't think about it much.

I remember the rich kids in school calling Mandela a terrorist, and who were endlessly enraged at the thought of international communism taking root on the tip of Africa. I couldn't understand how they could reconcile the vision of free markets with the images of an entire people being violently oppressed. 

I remember it was a time of enormous banality and extraordinary indifference but the struggle against Apartheid  stood out and gave us something to believe in.

I remember talking about all this with a friend that worked in South Africa as a journalist during those years. It was his images that we saw on TV. He told me the story of seeing a woman collared, meaning having a tire thrown over her head and lit afire. He talks about being beaten, holding his camera to his chest to try and protect the tape. 

Nelson Mandela stood in the place for a lot of people, people who suffered and strived and fought. And with him dies a piece of our memories. So in celebration here's a song we should remember.