IN the past few centuries, black people have been colonised and enslaved by non-blacks, particularly whites, in almost all parts of the world.
In Africa, Ethiopia is recognised as the only country that remained independent and was not wholly colonised, though nations like Italy tried several times.
Some assume the wit and craftiness of whites enables them to make blacks their subjects and serfs.
Others believe it is the blackman’s mental inferiority to whites that makes them susceptible to exploitation, oppression and domination by whites.
Both beliefs are degrading to blacks and are not true.
It is not that blacks are inherently ignorant, dim witted or foolish, that they have been colonised and enslaved in the past, neither is it because whites are inherently smarter than blacks.
Rather, it is because blacks have under them, abundant resources that they take for granted and are sought after by whites.
Having plenty of fertile land, good climate, minerals, fossil fuels, plants and wildlife makes blacks a target for colonisation.
Black people’s relative physical dominance and innovative thinking when carrying out laborious tasks is the reason they were marked for enslavement.
The reason blacks were conquerable in many parts of the world was that they were typically pacifists.
In olden times and in places that remain cultured, when a stranger approaches, blacks offer hospitality first.
Although they may have their suspicions, they are not rash to judge, for they may unjustly accuse a person.
Humaneness (hunhu/ubuntu) is largely based on reciprocity.
That is: ‘Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.’ Falsely accusing someone is therefore deemed an offence by blacks.
Yet groups like those of the whites gave the blacks no reason to suspect that they had ill-intentions towards them.
This was because their approach was altogether deceitful.
Whites studied the character of blacks and saw that though mentally and physically strong, they are non-violent, peace-loving and God-fearing people.
Thus, the whites came in under the guise of messengers of God and custodians of civilisation.
When a predator meets non-bellicose prey (unwilling to fight), the hunt becomes like a walk in the park.
History has proven that it takes years of pain and suffering for blacks to reach a point of seeking freedom and liberation by way of armed struggle.
Human life is sacred to blacks, and they fear the blood debt (ngozi) of committing murder.
Patience, restraint, forgiveness and a strong belief that the forces that govern the earth will uphold justice and vengeance are characteristics
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of blacks that though good, make them vulnerable to oppression by malevolent groups like whites.
Deception cannot be credited as a form of intelligence.
It is an undesirable human trait that is frowned upon in cultured parts of Africa.
It is also the main tool that was used by whites in varying ways to colonise and enslave blacks.
The blacks there today have been groomed by their experience under colonisation and enslavement to abandon some of their positive traits and characteristics.
For example, blacks were not taken to vain materialism and were only concerned with good harvests, healthy and plenty children and livestock.
Although gold and diamonds were always mined in Africa, the former was used for wealth storage and trade and the latter as a hammering and cutting tool.
The materialism that we see among blacks today was inculcated in them through co-residing with white people.
Blacks, even those with multiple wives and extended families, lived in a common area, without boundary walls though they were able to construct them if they so desired.
They were communal and such set-ups are still evident in the rural areas.
These days, blacks seek to live only with their immediate families in closed quarters for privacy and security.
Selfishness is seen in the care for material things over fundamental duties like living together with relatives.
Some get enraged when a relative visits, yet in olden times. having a visitor would warrant the slaughter of a beast for a welcome feast.
Although Europeans are materialistic, their tactic was to evangelise blacks, not for salvation, but to condition them to assume the characteristics that whites desired.
They quoted verses such as Mark 19:23 which says: “It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.”
This was deliberately misinterpreted to urge blacks to love poverty and ignore the wealth whites pilfered from them.
Also, ‘one cannot serve God and mammon (material wealth)’.
This, along with the belief in going to heaven if one forgives and turns the other cheek appealed to a great extent to the benevolent nature of blacks.
It gave leeway for whites to commit all sorts of horrendous acts against blacks, especially during slavery, with blacks looking to no-one but God to rescue and avenge them.
The conditions set up by the slave masters and colonial regimes left blacks poverty-stricken.
They embraced this poverty because they were taught that: “Blessed are the poor on earth for they shall be rich in heaven.”
Poverty then became a defining character of most blacks because their land, cattle and so on had been gradually but brutally taken away from them by their oppressors.
Because blacks valued human life above all else, they would not kill over property loss.
On the contrary, if a blackman was caught stealing or committing lesser acts than murder, he was punished and killed in the most horrendous ways by the whites.
Whites lynched, hanged and decapitated blacks who showed resistance or violated their laws.
In the Congo, Belgian colonisers cut off the hands of blackmen, women and children who failed to extract the required amount of rubber from the plantations.
They would be maimed for life.
Whites have also annihilated whole populations of blacks in places like Tasmania and imported other whites to wholly replace them.
Whites also committed genocides against blacks, for example the Herero in Namibia.
These are acts blacks would never commit against anyone, yet they were committed against blacks in the white man’s quest for wealth, showing that whites treasured material things over black lives. This hypocrisy was seen by blacks but they were taught that sinners will receive their punishment in hell after death.
After acquiring freedom and independence, the priorities of blacks changed.
It no longer became a quest to return to their traditional lifestyle but to acquire the same property and privileges as whites. Materialism was part of the emancipation package.
It is evident in the black entertainment industry that materialism, coupled with perversions of all sorts are white traits that have infected many blacks.
Be it in the US or Africa, most blacks are obsessed with acquiring material wealth and little else.
As a result, whites and fellow blacks who seek to win over the support of blacks, be it for regime change purposes, political, religious or other reasons, simply resort to bribery.
Charles Rudd deceived King Lobengula and caused Zimbabwe’s colonisation by these same means.
Materialism has led to short sightedness.
Those infected with it are potential sellouts who may commit treasonous acts.
The values and core beliefs of our ancestors are no longer treasured and blacks have become infamous for preferring short-lived gifts over the overall development of their communities.
Even in rural areas like Mberengwa where culture thrives, the whites who purport to be Jews have successfully won thousands of proselytes (converts) among the Remba/Mwenye through bribery (disguised as charity) and deceit.
Similarly, during political campaigns, people vote for whoever buys the most bread or beer for them, and not the most skilled, qualified, experienced or suitable candidates to develop this remote area.
Such is the cost of materialism.