An icon 1918-2013

[Romero]

Nelson Mandela, the only icon of our time, died last night. It was expected, still it caught me by surprise because he's been ill for so many months that I had forgotten about it. But Nelson Mandela is not dead, he will continue to live in our memories, and also as a spirit amongst South Africans, according to South African culture.

I'm quite sad about it, but at the same time happy that the tired man get peace. It's also funny to see how South Africans express their sorrow with dance. They dance to all great happenings, birth, celebrations, illness, and even death. It's an amazing mixture of tears and happiness. :sad::smile:

Did Mr. Mandela mean something to you personally? He didn't mean much to me personally, I mean he didn't change my life. But I have the deepest admiration for him, I think I rank him up there in between the Pope and Jesus.

 

[Jay]

Sadly it seems to be several good people dying at the end of this year.

 

[La Femme Fatale]

You know, we are given a very short amount of time here on Earth, and it doesn't happen very often that in that short period of time we get to live alongside a legend. Most of them lived and died their extraordinary lives before any of our lifetimes. Very few people have the tenacity and the bravery to accomplish what he accomplished. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy in dismantling the apartheid regime and it's very sad that he has passed.

 

[Romero]

You could make a list of persons of Mandela's caliber that lived over the last 1000 years, there might be some but I'm surprised if there was many. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years and forgave. Then he managed to make all the other victims of apartheid to forgive and saved his nation from civil war (*especially thanks to one of his speeches). And became their first democratic president.
Who else achieved anything comparable? Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi and the 14th Dalai Lama, they are the only ones I can think of that perhaps are in the same league.


* The speech I refer to, I'm not sure if it was before or just after Mandela was elected president. A white man shot and assassinated one of the more radical leaders of ANC. South Africa was a powder-keg ready to go off. Mandela held a speech and the most important thing he said, was that one of their leaders was shot by a white man, but it was a white woman who reported him so that the police could arrest him. That moment was the most critical after the apartheid regime fell, it was a turning point. The rest is history.

Sadly it seems to be several good people dying at the end of this year.

Anyone famous?

 

[Jay]

Anyone famous?

The recent Paul Walker and Diane Miller are two I can think of off the top.