The Smell of Apples

General Erasmus' view of the Coloureds in South Africa, the Apartheid government and other countries in the world.
Johan Erasmus is the head of the Erasmus family. In 1973 he becomes the youngest Major General ever in the history of the South African Defence Force. As a General he knows a lot about South Africa's position in the world (i.e. its allies and opponents).

He knows that there are Portuguese colonies around South Africa which take a friendlier stance towards them than the rest of the world. But he knows as well that there are constant troubles in Mozambique and Angola and that the only thing that can save South Africa in case of a democratic revolution in these countries will be the Defence Force. That is why he gives the advice to Marnus to go to the army, not to the marine. He is convinced that the enemy will come from the North, not from the Sea. He reproaches America of supporting the Communists by not selling arms and ammunition to South Africa as a sanction against the Apartheid government.

Mr Erasmus underlines the resolve of S.A., in view of the arms embargo of the USA and the Communist danger to save the “Status quo”.
The independence movement of Portuguese controlled countries (Mozambique and Angola) are a big danger for the white South Africa and this make clear why for Mr Erasmus the necessity of a absolute reliability of the military is so important to keep their country save.
Because of the arms embargo, which is for him allegeable, and the other countries who don´t accept the policy of south Africa, the country is on the way to a autarky.
Moreover Mr. Erasmus tells his boy that God will on their side to save the white South Africa.

Moreover, he accuses America of teaching the Republic how to deal with its blacks. In his opinion all the best, the clever and the strong blacks were shipped out of Africa to America as slaves and now America and the rest of the world do not have the right to tell South Africa how to ‘treat’ its blacks.
In Erasmus’ eyes, what distinguishes South Africa is that it is not dishonest because it does not hide its laws like the rest of the world. He describes the history of the Afrikaners, namely the struggle for self-government and freedom from the yoke of British Imperialism as a proud history. But he fears that the blacks are trying to take over everything they have been building up over the years. He insults blacks by saying that they have the smallest brains of all nations and sentences like "Even if you can get a black out of the bush, you can't ever get the bush out of the black." He also tells the story of his Uncle Samuel who built toilets for his black workers and they used them as a fireplace. That is why his motto is, "Give the Coloureds the minimum because then you'll suffer the minimum."
Summing up Johan supports the Apartheid government and collaborates with South Africa's allies in the world. He is frightened of losing the power in his country and that is why he insults blacks as being stupid and assumes that they take drugs the whole day. He is a typical supporter of the Apartheid government which suppresses the blacks because it is frightened of them.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Johan's statements on political issues show a clear feeling of superiority over other nations and races and a judgments that is dominated by prejudice.
He has a fixed opinion of Americans, Arabs, Englishmen or the Ters (p. 12f., 126,163,171), though most obvious is his racisms against blacks in general and those in his own country in particular (p. 38f., 66, 124, 162).

He himself is proud of being a white Afrikaner and he often stresses the proud history" and "the Afrikaners' noble struggle for self-government, and for freedom from the yoke of the British Imperialism" (p. 38).

After the blacks had driven the white population out of Tanganyika, South Africa was the only country left to them, and they had built up everything by themselves.
Therefore this was "our place, given to us by God and we will look after it: Whatever the cost" (p. 124).
In opposition to the English, who would run away at the slightest sign of rising trouble, it was "the Afrikaners that will have to keep this country safe when trouble comes" (p. 163).

Nevertheless, feeling pressed into a defensive position by foreign nations he permanently tries to justify the Afrikaners' attitude and behavior.
He tells the Americans to take care of the problems in their own country in the first place before prescribing to the Republic how they should run their country (p.12).
No one understood "what will be best for South Africa" and "what's going on in the Republic", therefore it would not be important "what the rest of the world says" (p. 70).
Nobody knew what the blacks had done to Tanganyika and its white population and what they were trying to do to South Africa as well (p. 38).

Concerning the Bantu affairs, although he firmly believes that it is not the true reason why the rest of the world hates South Africa but rather "because we have all the gold and diamonds and ... the sea-route around the Cape", he says that South Africa at least hadn't killed all their blacks as America had done to the Indians or Australia to the Aborigines (p. 66).