Goodbye MyBroadband

[boramk]

I was born in South Africa, Durban.

I currently live in Korea (until August) so that I may learn Korean as my parents would have wanted me to. My grandparents stress that I learn the language of their fathers as it is a cultural identity. I agree as I am proud of my heritage, the perseverance of my culture whereby my people grew from riches to poor in 30 years, merely generation. This fact gave me the foundations of how I perceived how my country ought to be, how South Africa ought to be. I believe South Africa to be a great nation one day, how proud of I was of its scientists, athletes and cultural figures. But I was told recently that as I was living in Korea, my "authenticity" of being South African was questionable.

I have been to Europe, many countries in Asia, many more in Africa (which taught me the value of the importance of South Africa and its mark on the continent and the world), South America and the United States thanks to my wonderful parents who always supported me. People from these countries always ask, "what are you?" and I reply "South African". "Where are you from?"... "South Africa"... "As a Korean South African, which culture do you more identify with?" .. "South African". I have met so many people from so many walks of life and each of them I have told that I am a South African, no matter the questions thereafter. "South Africa has the best nightlife, the friendliest people, the best weather, a rich culture and a beautiful land". None of them have questioned me beyond that. Except South Africans, more specifically, the South Africans on MyBroadband. My "Location" alone was reason enough to justify the hatred of starving Zimbabweans. I no longer wish to be part of this.

I find myself spending too much time trying to show people that their views are old, outdated, filled with hate, bigotry or hypocrisy.

Despite being critical of the ANC, their corruption, the idiocy of Julius Malema, voting for the DA and urging others to do the same I have been accused of being an ANC supporter. Despite being against all forms of racism I have accused of being racist. I point out that making fun of poor people is wrong I am ridiculed. As an Asian South African I have been told that I have no right to voice my opinion as I had no idea what was going on, despite me living here for all my life. I have been told that I should just "eat rhino horns". I've been belittled because of my race. I've had enough. I'm done. But despite that..

I am proud of the white South Africans who brought so much to this country a group that brought the infrastructure and will power to turned a barren land to the superpower of the continent that no other African country can dream of matching. I am proud of the black South Africans who fought so hard for the fundamental freedom that every human being must strive towards. I am proud of the coloured South Africans who embraced and created their own vibrant culture and fought through decades of oppression. I am proud of the Indians who came from the poorest of India in hopes of a country which could provide its future and believed, creating themselves a wealthy middle class! I am proud of the Asians like me who continually come to this country and make it home believing that it will succeed, investing and loving, proclaiming themselves South Africans, despite being here for much less (my parents). I therefore will, and always will believe in the future of South Africa, despite the voice of the few.

Truth is, I was as negative as they came. Look at my old posts, all I did was cry about how SA was going to fail and how much I resented the fact I was here. Every post was a complain, I wasn't happy. I was young. There are many reasons why I'm a proud South African. I'm studying Economics overseas. Why?
Korea. A poor country that became super rich in a generation. I believe SA to be the same with the right people (as Korea did, it was a man with the right economic thinking that set Korea in its path, Park Jung Hee), and I hope that one day I might be one of them..

marine1, Chris, Digital Soldier, Mila, alf101, wily me (and clones), DreamKing and many more. Thanks for voicing your hate, it gave me fuel to be better, honest and truth. It made me remember what I was fighting for. . I hpe yo guys eventually see how much your hatred is worse for reconciliation in this country that Malema's hate speech, that your rhetoric fuels the justification of the poor and ignorant of this country.

MickeyD, Mike Hoxbig, Watch_Man, Postman Pot, porchrat, copacetic, R13, genetic, Nick333, Randhir, Fudzy, Lancelot SA and many many more I've missed out (sorry there are a lot, but I cant list all).. Thanks. It was fun and your posts were not only informative but gave me hope for the future

As for South Africa, I cannot wait until I am back at the end of the year, when the immigration officer as always before, tells me again, "Welcome home".

Cheers guys, hope all goes well!

[MickeyD]

Nooooooo..... you must never surrender!

[Kosmik]

Nooooooo..... you must never surrender!

I agree. Develop a thicker skin. If you are happy and satisfied with your views then bedamned to anyone who wants to change you.

In the end, only your opinion of yourself matters. Others you can choose to ignore like water off a ducks back.

[ClintX]

None of them have questioned me beyond that. Except South Africans, more specifically, the South Africans on MyBroadband. My "Location" alone was reason enough to justify the hatred of starving Zimbabweans. I no longer wish to be part of this.

I find myself spending too much time trying to show people that their views are old, outdated, filled with hate, bigotry or hypocrisy.

It is such a pity that South Africa is filled with so much pessimism and negativity. We are living in exciting times and people should be embracing it rather than whinging and complaining at every opportunity. Grasp your opportunity to make the change this country needs. It is not up to the leaders and the politicians, it is up to each and every one of us.

[boramk]

I agree. Develop a thicker skin. If you are happy and satisfied with your views then bedamned to anyone who wants to change you.

In the end, only your opinion of yourself matters. Others you can choose to ignore like water off a ducks back.

MyBB is a lot of time. I just want to clear that its not about having thick skin. I've been taking sh*t without care from MyBB for years. I don't have the time to explain to people who won't change their ways or get pats on the back from people who agree. Also, I'm going to do more palpable things to help people beyond the internet...

All that I will leave is this quote.

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches. - Rainer Maria Rilke

Bye guys

[MickeyD]

I agree. Develop a thicker skin. If you are happy and satisfied with your views then bedamned to anyone who wants to change you.

In the end, only your opinion of yourself matters. Others you can choose to ignore like water off a ducks back.

I don't use the "Ignore" function but I do totally ignore comments from certain members. It took some time to discipline myself not to respond.

[The_Librarian]

Ook?

Who'll feed me bananas on the sly?

All of the best!

[Knyro]

Nooooooo..... you must never surrender!

+1

Don't let people like that drive you off. It can be hard to ignore the neverending racist and negative drivel in CA but try to shrug it off, and not go there so often (trust me you won't be stressed out nearly as much), try TK once in a while .

Remember there are a lot of us who are nodding in agreement to your posts behind our keyboards, but don't post.

I agree with you about using all of that hate to give you strength. The numerous posts bringing black people's intelligence into question/minimising their achievements for example only encourage me to study harder for my physics degree. Black people are stupid my ass.

If you must leave though then all the best to you, thank you for your positivity and rational posts. I'm sure you'll come back and contribute to SA instead of just complaining about it.

[ClintX]

Remember there are a lot of us who nod in agreement to your posts and are nodding in agreement behind our keyboards, but don't post.

But why? Why don't more people speak out against these folk that spew out negative drivel? They are all too quick to gang up on someone when they do not agree with something that is being said. Maybe it is time more of those who see a bright future for this country actually spoke up and did not feel intimidated by these big mouthed pessimists.

[Knyro]

But why? Why don't more people speak out against these folk that spew out negative drivel? They are all too quick to gang up on someone when they do not agree with something that is being said. Maybe it is time more of those who see a bright future for this country actually spoke up and did not feel intimidated by these big mouthed pessimists.

I can't speak for everyone but I don't comment in serious threads like those in CA unless I feel that I can make a genuine contribution to the thread. Usually people like boramk, PostmanPot etc. routinely hit the nail on the head and there is almost nothing else to say.

Maybe I could hand out a few more +1s though

/shrug

[buyeye]

Why did you not use the ignore function. Sorry to see you go I hope our debate about korean schools did not contribute to your decision.

All the best.

[ponder]

<snip>

Dude, it's only a forum in the cosmos we call the internet. It's kinda irrelevant in real life. As anywhere else you will get people you get on with and people you don't, it's not the end of the world.

As much as I disagree with the views of some people here I would rather still hear them than being silenced.

So no need to leave and crawl up into a little cocoon.

[Boris Becker]

Cheers Boramk. You'll increase your life span by a good few years. Quite honestly there's very little hope for some people on this forum.

[TowerGuru]

Oh lord ...

[Mike Hoxbig]

What ponder said dude. Don't take any of the comments too seriously - I've been called an Indian pig farmer FFS Seriously it's nobody's business whether you're in Korea or the USA and defending SA, whoever said that was probably just trying to hit a nerve. And even though you said that it's more about time than growing a thick skin, stop by when you have a chance, don't disappear altogether. Don't be that emo Asian dude!