change the world : Brett Fish

Before you disagree. [On matters of Race and more…]

i read this blog post by Austin Channing on Black on Black violence in which she stated, Racism is White-on-Black violence. In 1619, the first twenty Africans were brought over as labor for the new colonies. Within one generation the white majority had defined black people as permanent slaves and non-human property. This created a social order in which black people were only valuable for their ability to support a white dominated society that was economically [...]

By brettfish|2014-12-02T01:19:53+02:00December 2nd, 2014|challenging thorts, change the world, Uncategorized|3 Comments

the Friday FANatic 28/11/2014

After last week's fairly quiet week on the internet, this week seems to be right back up there with issues or race and transformation taking centre stage, with a sweet injection of Christmas in between. Here are the blog posts, links and stories that have been catching my attention this week - which one was yours? MOST EXCITING My friend Dalene Reyburn finally launched her book, 'Dragons and Dirt: The Truth about changing the world [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-27T16:39:26+02:00November 27th, 2014|change the world, relationships, Taboo Topics, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|0 Comments

When violence stares you in the face, and you turn and walk away…

'Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.' [Proverbs 27.6] i preached on this verse on Sunday. i got this email from a good friend in Americaland on Monday. I did not want to call you out in public, but remember when we met her at the subway? I don't think either one of us handled that very well--I don't remember that argument being violent when we were there but I [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-26T00:48:33+02:00November 26th, 2014|activities, challenging thorts, change the world, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, Uncategorized, what i am reading|2 Comments

Inching closer towards Reconciliation, one blog post at a time – meet Michael Talbot

My name is Michael and I'm married to Deborah. We both grew up in the Cape Town southern suburbs where people are generally wealthy and generally white. We don't really remember anything before 1994 and so we've basically grown up in the "New South Africa". This year we've been living in rural Mpumalanga while Deborah does her community service as a dietitian. Although we've been involved in projects and work in Mfuleni, Heideveld, Nyanga, and [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-25T23:32:55+02:00November 25th, 2014|change the world, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, Uncategorized|1 Comment

There is no ‘U’ in Christmas

It's true, i am the Grinch of all things Christmas. Well, maybe not all things. But christmas carols in October? i literally count the success of my year [in one way] by how late in the year i manage to hear my first christmas carol [Disclaimer: This obviously excludes the Boney M version of 'Drummer Boy' and anyone who says otherwise is clearly lying through their teeth, or maybe their barumpumpum-bum] But between all the [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-19T22:28:15+02:00November 19th, 2014|change the world, inspire-ations, Uncategorized|3 Comments

Giving that costs

When it comes to money and using it well, i believe this is something that relates to everyone, not exclusively Christ followers. But, writing as a Christ follower, i will give Biblical backing for the things i am wanting to share here, as i believe they are rooted in God's heart for humanity which looks very different to when we just let mankind get on with it by themselves. Two powerful stories comes to mind [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-16T23:14:53+02:00November 16th, 2014|activities, bible things, change the world, God stuff, Uncategorized|3 Comments

Taboo Topics: Adoption – we meet Jackie Barker again [Successfully Adopted!]

I have taken a long time after telling Brett that I would write this, to actually sit down and put some words together. It feels strange to ‘tell our story’ because in so many ways we just feel like a normal family. Daddy, Mommy and baby. I’ve discovered in these last few months that much to my disappointment I am not a super-mother, I am very much the typical Mom who is doing all the [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-09T21:52:35+02:00November 9th, 2014|challenging thorts, change the world, family, Taboo Topics, thorts of other people|7 Comments

Steps Towards Transformation: part Employment Equity: Sindile Vabaza

I think it is important that I give an examples of how 'baseline' thinking can help us navigate difficult waters. 1.) The issue of employment equity is a difficult one. My take on it is that from my experience both young white and black people fundamentally want to feel like they are being treated fairly and of course that is a most reasonable thing, but I do want to latch on to the idea of [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-06T09:22:44+02:00November 6th, 2014|change the world, Taboo Topics, thorts of other people|4 Comments

Responding towards Reconciliation

i won't lie, writing about Race in South Africa can feel a little daunting. Especially when you have been out of the country for three years - one of the things i didn't want to do was come charging in with all the answers and so i chose instead to use my little platform to create a space and invite some people to share their thoughts. There have been a whole bunch of conversations about [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-04T08:29:46+02:00November 4th, 2014|challenging thorts, change the world, inspire-ations, pain and Hope, thorts of other people, Uncategorized, what i am reading|5 Comments

Race in South Africa: Moving towards a truly Rainbow Nation

i have loved the conversations happening on my blog with regards to matters of Race recently. A lot of the posts are specific to South Africa, but i imagine there are themes, ideas and principles that will translate to other contexts around the world and it will be good to get some outside voices as it were to comment as well. What has been particularly exciting to see has been the spirit of engagement that has taken [...]

By brettfish|2014-11-01T00:06:13+02:00November 1st, 2014|challenging thorts, change the world, pain and Hope, relationships, thorts of other people, Uncategorized|13 Comments