papilon

Probably the greatest man in my lifetime passed away today. Many superlatives are thrown easily at famous people these days but in Nelson case they generally stack up.
A truly humble and great man. RESPECT AND RIP Madeba

old.sparkles

on the news now

I know he's seen as a criminal to some, but in my opinion, a sad day

dragon1954

Shame, but his time is well and truly up!!

Jon77

Great is a word used far too often but Mandela was a truly great man and one of the greatest of the 20th century.

We can lean much from the way he preached forgiveness. How many here could forgive someone for locking them away for 27 years in a damp cell?

RIP Nelson, you will be greatly missed.

"We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity — a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world."

mikelincs

I fully agree, one man who really did deserve the Nobel Peace prize he won, he was an inspiration and is one of the few politicians I would have loved to meet.

Alfresco

RIP Madiba

scottishcelts

RIP Madiba. A true king of kings.

brissybee

Many years ago I had the good fortune to be within a few metres of Nelson Mandela and I share the views of those who say he had an amazing presence.

His strength, courage and vision changed many lives for the better and he was a worthy recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

RIP Nelson Mandela.

papilon

I didn't do much of good use as a young man but I did attend several anti apartheid/ free Mandela rallies and concerts and was so happy many years later when he finally was released and the henious apartheid system was dismantled..

Amazulu

RIP Madiba

Hamba Kahle, Tata

An incredible moment:

haggis supper

Words like 'hero' and 'legend' are bandied around far too often these days but in case of Nelson Mandela they are genuinely appropriate. An inspiration.

A sad day indeed.

RIP

"I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended."

Amazulu

I have mixed feelings about Madiba

He was a terrorist and deserved to go to prison - but not for 25 years, and his party, the ANC and its terrorist arm, MK were a bunch of murdering ******s, who have since taken state sanctioned corruption to a whole new level. But Mandela had a plan and fortunately sane heads prevailed and he was listened to

Look at the great politicians of the 20th century:
There were great statesmen but not great politicians - Churchill
Great politicians who were not statesmen
Great statesman and politician - there was only one: FD Roosevelt

Madiba was one of the 1st - a statesman but he was a pretty ineffectual president. Saying that, the 2 muppets that followed him: Mbeki and Zuma have been even worse

Mandela was a big picture guy who could see what needed to be done and made it happen (as did De Klerk and co). His vision of the Rainbow nation that is starting all over with the past left behind was grand and bold. It's just a pity that it hasn't really been followed through

Mandela was great, needed and will go down as one of the greats of history. I just wish that the people who have followed on could be the same. Alas, they are the complete opposite and I now fear for the future of my country

RIP big fella

Vash the Stampede

End of an era. He paid his debts to society and made reparation upon his release.

RIP Mandela.

Lion in Winter

He didn't pay his debt to society - he made society. Without him there would have been a bloodbath.

He risked everything for others. Anyone who thinks there can be a clean war with no ugliness and murder is quite wrong - the overwhelming question is when is it necessary. Sometimes it is. South Africans were being murdered every day, fast or slowly, during apartheid. Mandela did not initially support the armed movement, but in the end saw it as necessary. He was probably right - it seems unlikely that without that pressure that Pretoria would have led the way solo towards a better society. Were those who fought against Franco in Spain terrorists, for example?

Can Mandela be held responsible for the corruption in the South African government? Don't really see how. It's everywhere, all over the African continent and pretty much every other continent too - sometimes it's just dressed up more prettily, but it's not less corrupt and no less blood is spilled in the end. It just gets spilled in countries further away from where that government resides.

It's very easy to point the finger when you have never chosen to stand up for anything, or had to make any difficult decisions, and never risked anything (I don't mean you personally - "one")

Vash the Stampede

I don't dispute that he made society. But he had his own redemption to work through first.

I agree with that.

I personally believe Mandela's work as a peace advocate achieved more for the anti-apartheid cause than his militant years.

Those who used terrorist tactics were. Those who didn't, weren't.