The other day i was on the bus coming back from camp chatting to someone and they spoke a line that sends electricity through my body [and not in a good way].
i think we were talking about my blog and the other person said something about, ‘Giving them a voice.’
i can never ever give anyone else a voice.
i can recognise and acknowledge and make space for and step out of the way of, and one thing i really try to do with this blog is share a platform for… but i can never GIVE anyone a voice. And it’s not semantics. It’s a subtle difference in speech which often carries with it a whole deeper seated world of meaning. And i think it’s often the small subtleties in our words and actions that can feed the larger mindsets and prejudices and this is an area we must target.
When i watched this video it demonstrated it much more powerfully than i could say it here and this is perhaps one of the most powerful videos you will see this year on two different fronts…
“The problem with speaking up for each other is that everyone is left without a voice.”
Let’s be aware of where we need to be quiet and step away from the mic and invite others to it so that we can start to hear the beauty and power of their voices. And let us commit to really start listening.
# Who speaks into your life? [do they all look and sound like you?]
# Who are you reading? [do they all look and sound like you?]
# Who are the people you have asked to mentor you? [do they all look and sound like you]
# Where do you get your news?
# Who are the people you follow on social media, you are friends with, you let inform you about world events? [do they all look and sound like you?]
Sh! i think someone else is about to speak…
Great post, with great thoughts Brett. And great writing.
Thank you. Feels like a bit of a fine line but an important one to hold on to and recognize.
Nice thoughts. Makes me more inspired to have my own voice heard via my blog. 🙂
Ah, thank you so much. Inspiration is always exciting to see. And excited to witness you doing that…
Such a good point, And amazing video!
Yoh! Challenging! Convicting! I am so comfortable around people who look and sound like me, bro… Especially in dark days when it seems all the world has gone mad and things unsettle me easily. Thanks for this. Gonna find me some different voices. Love d
Thanks so much D. Yes, definitely requires some initial effort but think the fruit becomes quite obvious quite quickly.
Very interesting. I’ve never seen a people more exploited than poor blacks. I wonder what would have happened if Europeans never arrived in Africa. Do you think there were or would be happier today? Perhaps kept it isolated as it was too different from the more modern world. At least hopefully there would still be rainforests and wild animals would be respected.
So hard to know the answer to that one. Also so much of what we see as advancement and civilisation some others might question in terms of seeing things like weapons and technology addiction and more…
Nobody seems to know any answers these days. Black guys like myself using cell phones but longing or wishing for a utopia that might have been. We need to look at what we really want and need. A short-list might be the way to go. Bare essentials. A house/shelter, your health and happiness, woman, growing crops, small community. Why do we need more than this? This is where the trouble starts don’t you think?
Absolutely Mickey. i think a great deal of the answer is to be found in diverse relationships cos as you say none of us really knows but then that can turn into fear when it’s with people we don’t know. i have learnt and am learning so much through my friendships with Nkosi and other black guys i have met since returning to South Africa and i value those friendships deeply. If we can sit together and say “I just don’t know” then hopefully we will be working together to try and increase our knowledge and do the best we can. Therein lies a powerful future. And then trying to figure out simplicity over greed which is a huge battle again hopefully for all of us on different levels as my ‘simple’ might be your ‘abundance’ and so on…
Nice one Brett, thanks. For me the biggest challenge with ‘listening to other voices’ and other similarly important life-values is always to actually DO something practical about it. Not just nod in agreement and ‘resonate’ with it when it is articulated by someone (in this case, you)… So your pointers at the end are particularly appreciated.
Ah, thanks Ian. Ja too many people seem not to even get to the listening part but once we do realizing the power aspects at play and how we position ourselves and others is key. Thanks for stopping by.
[…] also think it is very important for us to be very alert to the fact that we are NOT Giving Anyone a Voice – we are helping creating spaces for voices, we are passing on the mic, we are taking time to […]