Racism is rubbish — official (1987)

From the October 1987 issue of the Socialist Standard 

The simplest way for anyone who is persecuted and repressed under the South African government's policy of racism is to get themselves reclassified out of discrimination. As this item in the Johannesburg Star of 9 June 1987 reported it is possible, under this procedure, for somebody to change their race and even their skin colour, from dark to whiter and the other way round:

More than 1000 race re-classifications were approved by the Department of Home Affairs in 1985-86. according to its latest annual report.

In this period 463 Cape coloureds became whites and six whites became coloured.

Seven coloured became Chinese and four Chinese became whites. One white became Malay. Three Malays became white.

Some other figures in the report: Indian to Cape coloured 60; Cape coloured to Indian 52; Indian to Malay 27; Malay to Indian 33; "Other Asian" to Cape coloured 3; black to Cape coloured 332; Cape coloured to black 30; Cape coloured to Malay 12; and Indian to white 10.

Further comment would, as they say, be superfluous.