Read this passage from "The Light of Gandhi's Lamp," in which Hilary Kromberg Inglis describes going to the police station in So
uth Africa where her sister is being detained. I imagined what CR Swart Square Police Station would look like. Would it be like John Vorster Square Police Station in Johannesburg, where Neil Aggett had died in detention—“committed suicide,” authorities claimed, by “hanging himself”? How does Inglis's decision to use quotation marks around certain words affect the text? It helps convey the idea that, during apartheid, many South Africans who disapproved of their government's racist policies did not trust the police to follow the law or to be honest about their actions. It helps suggest that, like others who protested the apartheid government at this time, Inglis believed that these deaths were not real and that the alleged victims had been deported due to their political beliefs. It helps show that, while the apartheid system was wrong, Inglis understood that not all of those who protested the system were noble or righteous or truly devoted to the cause of equality. It helps indicate that, as a white South African, Inglis was uniquely aware of the hypocrisy and lies that the authorities attempted to pass off as the truth during apartheid.
The answer is, "It helps convey the idea that, during apartheid, many South Africans who
disapproved of their government's racist policies did not trust the
police to follow the law or to be honest about their actions."
In case anyone needs extra confirmation, the correct answer is indeed:
"It helps convey the idea that, during apartheid, many South Africans who disapproved of their government's racist policies did not trust the police to follow the law or to be honest about their actions."
In sum, we have a good understanding of what motivates people to believe in conspiracy theories. That is, they do so because of three basic needs we all have: to understand the world around us, to feel secure and in control, and to maintain a positive self-image.
