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First steps in the New South Africa: A response by Sindile Vabaza

i have loved the conversation going on in the comments section of the blog piece Nkosi wrote for me on First Steps White South Africans can make towards a really new South Africa. My friend Lex passed on a response from her friend, Sindile, which i thought would be good to use as a standalone post as i'm sure it will also generate some good conversation. So we would love to hear from you and please [...]

First steps towards a really new South Africa – a guest post by Nkosi Gola

My good friend, Linda Martindale introduced me to a friend of hers, Nkosivumile Gola at the TRC Re-Enactment meetings we both went to a week or so ago in Stellenbosch. When i heard that Nkosi had a blog i immediately asked him if he would consider writing a piece for mine. Not to give him an easy ride, i posed this topic to him - the fact that for white people who do want to [...]

when christians and muslims collide

  i saw this on my Australian friend Dave Andrew's Facebook page today and i think it will give us a lot to think about if we take it seriously - if you find it too long then at least read the bolded bit at the beginning and the ten 'commandments' at the bottom [but seriously, just read the whole thing!]: And Now For A Quiet Word With My Fellow Christians: If Jesus Really Is [...]

Taboo Topics: Adoption – we meet Jane and Mike again [Successfully Adopted!]

Brett has been nagging, I mean asking, me to do a follow up post to the one we did on adoption to see what life is like two years after adopting our daughter Rachel. I have been putting it off, mostly due to legitimate reasons. We have became a family of four as I gave birth to our second daughter, Emma, and so life does have that frenetic/blurry/chaotic/kid edge to it that makes it hard [...]

when Desmond Tutu met No_bob [part III]

  Continuing with my share from  ‘Revisiting The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Faith Community Hearing' as we look at some of the messages that came out of the second day: FROM THE TWITTERER [Day 1 of 2] While 140 character messages don't capture the whole of what was experienced, hopefully they will help you to catch a bit of a glimpse: #TRC General buzz in the air. Today it is a lot of testimony from [...]

when Desmond Tutu met No_bob

So former Archbishop Desmond Tutu [or present Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, whatever an Emeritus might be] must be the most famous purple-dress-wearing man in the whole of Africa. No_bob the yellow-and-white [yes, he's still not nor ever has been blue] stuffed dolphin, is the world's most famous stuffed dolphin [largely because the competition in that particular field is highly limited] and called No_bob because he doesn't, well, bob. It was inevitable that one day the [...]

when Desmond Tutu met No_bob [part II]

This is a continuation of the previous post which started giving an overview and summary of my participation in the  ‘Revisiting The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Faith Community Hearing' which took place this week. Here are some selected highlight moments that could be captured on The Tweeterer in 140 characters of less: FROM THE TWITTERER [Day 1 of 2] While 140 character messages don't capture the whole of what was experienced, hopefully they will help you [...]

Dear Bloggers of Undetermined Colour

So this past week all the bloggers of colour have been writing to all the other bloggers of other colour but since they do not know each other personally [maybe the main problem?] they are simply sticking them on their blog for mostly people of their own colour to read and cheer and like and comment on... although every now and then a person of the other colour stumbles upon it and makes themselves known... [...]

Taboo Topics: Living with Disability – meet Lachlan Nicholson [Spastic Cerebral Palsy]

I’m a quadriplegic, not an inspiration By Lachlan Nicholson Fresh off of my twenty-fourth birthday and living with a condition known as spastic cerebral palsy, I consider most things in my life to be causes for joy and gratitude. After all, I have a full-time job, several good friends and though severe, my disability is not in any way degenerative. However, one thing which has become a major annoyance, particularly since entering adulthood is constantly [...]

i’m not sure you’re against that thing you think you’re against: white privilege

A lot of people, yes white ones [like me], switch off when we hear the term 'white privilege' [please don't!] Some people, yes white ones, get angry when we hear the term 'white privilege' [please don't!] But i sometimes wonder if it is because of a misunderstanding of what people who talk about 'white privilege' mean when they do so. So please take a deep breath and try and approach this piece with fresh eyes [forget [...]

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