The subtle media whitewash of Nelson Mandela from political firebrand to cuddly, smiling Uncle happened well before his death. I remember a few years back (maybe it was his 90th birthday) watching a show with celebrities offering trite, gushing tributes to Mandela. I particularly recall David Beckham appearing and rattling on about Mandela's strength and how he was an inspiration to us all in utterly vague terms. I don't mean to rag on Beckham in particular, but I expressed interest at the time if he knew the first thing about the politics of Mandela, because he, or the show, certainly didn't relay anything of substance in that regard. The media's cultural inertia just told the UK that he was an innocent man who got put away for ages and was dead stoic and old and grinned a lot on telly. And that's about it. And while we've got the Tories and right wing media championing him along with the rest, it's good to remind ourselves of the opinions he did have that challenged the right. And if we consolidate them alongside the image of the smiley, benevolent elder statesman we were presented it might help us understand the importance of his contemporary political observations...
Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About
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