How is your neighbourhood watch group doing? Now that Neighbourhood Watch groups are back up and running since lockdown stage 3, i decided to do a bit of a social experiment. i say 'experiment' although given the stories i have heard over the years i didn't expect any kind of response except the one that i received. This was the ask: i would love to hear from people who are or have been part of [...]
History remembers That the Public Executioner very rarely wore a mask Why conceal your identity When everyone already knows who you are? He stood somberly Bronze Heading Axe in his hand Waiting for that precisely timed moment When he would deliver the death blow That the community had decided upon And he had been quite badly paid for The Future will sing songs Of present day Public Executioners Failing to wear masks Unaware and [...]
It's the end of the DA as we know it [or is it a realisation of the DA as they have always been?] i don't tend to write overtly political posts on here. Well, a lot of what i write is political but i mean with regards to specific political parties. But somehow that has changed during lockdown. It started with a post about a story i heard about when a crowd of homeless [...]
i would like to invite you to Race with Me. i am on a journey of anti-racism which begins in the mirror. Working on myself, checking for blind spots, looking to make sure that i am doing better at this than i was doing yesterday. Before moving on to my community and the systems and structures around me and seeing what differences can be made there. It always begins with me. i have not [...]
How do we use Scripture in context to make sense of the world today? This morning i was given the opportunity to do the preach for St John's Anglican church in Wynberg. Which you can listen to over here. with the rest of the service! But since i had to write it out for some of the members who can't tune in, i thought it might be helpful to some of you if i [...]
What does it mean when i suggest we need to Listen to Understand? Many of us are slow to listen but very quick to speak. This feels like a particular obstacle for white people who are used to having the mic and having our voices heard. Additionally, this feels like a problem for men who are used to having a dominant respected voice. So when you're a white man, like i am, you know [...]
A lot more people than normal seem to be exploring anti-racism, which is good. What is important is that this momentum continues. This cannot be a fad or a flavour-of-the-month or a dabble. This move towards being less racist personally and working in the spaces you find yourself to help them become less racist will likely keep us busy for the rest of our lives. This work needs to be sustained. But it really [...]
i really don't like the term 'Woke'. For a number of reasons. But the main one being that it describes an event that has happened. Before i was not 'woke' and then this thing happened and now i am 'woke'. Much like the movie 'The Matrix' where Neo choosing a pill determines his level of wokeness for the rest of his life. The truth that i am discovering every day, is that there is [...]
How much of your life is spent on things that matter? i was on a call with my fellow Heartlines staff members this week and we were doing a bit of a check-in based on a question Seth Naicker had asked. The question related to Youth Day and the Sharpville uprising in 1976 which helped trigger events leading towards the eventual official end of apartheid in South Africa. i was 2 at the time [...]
People seem to be jumping into race conversations more than ever. Which is great. With that comes a phrase that has the power to kickstart defensiveness for so many people: White Privilege "How dare you say I have white privilege? My family grew up poor!" "White Privilege? I had to work three jobs to get to where I am today!" "Maybe in the past that was a thing, but these days with BEE..." Are [...]
