"Staying ignorant is a choice in a time of information." That explosion of wisdom was dropped on me by a grade eleven learner on a Zoom call on Friday. i was in a conversation with a number of young people talking about leadership when Katie threw that one into the mix. After a bit of a morning Google it looks like the original author might be someone who i used to enjoy reading in [...]
The Pandemic Life of 2020 has not stopped Marcel's from being creative! Last time we visited it was for the new Peanut Butter flavour which we really enjoyed and this time the voucher arrived just in time for my mate Mike's birthday. So i headed down to Blue Route Mall in a social distancing fashion and i met Mike there to try out Marcel's new limited edition Peppermint Tart flavour. [SPOILER ALERT: If this [...]
Woke up this morning to the news that President Donald Trump and his wife Melania has coronavirus. And of course the internet exploded. Your response says more about you As with all things America, there were strong responses both ways. Ranging from wishes of a quick recovery to jokes, insults and a lot of wishing that this kills him. Now if you are one of the people who sits there and says [or [...]
Lockdown seems to have been a good time for many white people who have recognised that they have work to do in terms of personal anti-racism. There have been a lot of conversations online as well as Zoom call conversations and a whole host of webinars and more, especially in the wake of the George Floyd murder, which grabbed a lot of people's attention around the world. And i have been making videos. Short [...]
The appearance of diversity means close to nothing if the voices at the mic, those making the decisions and the hands at the money bag continue to be white. i have just seen another Conference line-up for a national denominational conference in South Africa in 2020 where out of five speakers, one of them is black and i believe he is the only one from South Africa. In a country where white people make [...]
i wonder what words and images you feed your eyes every day?The very best of presenceA few years ago my sister-in-law Ro gave me one of the best Christmas presents ever. A selection of beautifully framed quotes on different aspects of Justice. These quotes live on the walls of my Man Cave* which means that most days when i sit in my Man Cave i am reading quotes such as these: [*Not an actual cave!] What [...]
black lives hater? black life shatter! break lives: master? broke lives: martyr? all lies matter! small lies matter? all lines matter. aligns matter.. align mantra... all in may turn later = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [To read the best poem i have written in a long time, called Just Us click here]
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = [For another poem titled Assumptions, click here]
A black man and a white man Step into a room together And ever so carefully Peel off their skin Folding it neatly Over the back of a chair Before taking a seat Directly across the table from one other Staring deeply into the other's soul A blood sample is taken from both men Two vials of the deepest red Placed on the table in front of them Followed shortly by a set of [...]
i wrote a poem this morning considering how the same words coming out of different mouths can mean a variety of things. Different worlds, even. [For another poem i wrote a while back on 'Whiteness' click here]
