Is there a safe space to make mistakes? Yesterday i wrote a post in which i shared this inspiring piece of writing with the phrase 'Fiercely Kind' which cautioned us against letting our anger turn to meanness. And spent another one of THOSE DAYS on the internet experiencing in a variety of places people not doing so well at that. Ah, ye olde Internet Fight... Where can i go? It is true that [...]
Birthdays are cool, once you get past that number ticking up vibe. For me birthdays are always about the people - how can i get to spend as much time with as many people who i really love as is humanly possible. Which is why i used to always drag mine out to a week - have as many different occasions for different friends from different spaces to congregate. But they are also about [...]
When the Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke incident of segregated children in the classroom broke, people quickly seemed to rush to pick sides, with a lot of white people doing soem rather impressive gymnastics to try and defend the white teacher. This is such a helpful comment from my friend Nobuntu Webster which expresses better than i did what i was trying to say earlier: = = = = = = = = = "What you all may not realise [...]
i know a good number of people have been eagerly watching and waiting for this feedback. Let me start by firstly saying, 'That's good and well and fine and all, but it's not good enough. Have your own conversations. Invite differing opinions and viewpoints to your house for coffee. Take these conversations offline.' = = = = = = = = = = = = The Context A few weeks ago there was a bit [...]
40 Tips to help white people to answer the question, 'But what can I do?' when it comes to race and reconciliation in South Africa. And we have made it to the end of the 40 - which one[s] felt most helpful or relevant to you [show us some love in the comments section]? In this post i give a quick summary of each tip to remind you of the journey we have made together [...]
#ButWhatCanIDo? Tip #36 We can be a little kinder to each other. Now this works as a tip and life lesson in general and the world would be a better place if most of us adhered to it, but specifically here i am thinking about white people on the journey away from racism to other white people on the same journey. 'When we forget that before us is first a person and then an opinion [...]
And we are heading down to the final straight as we make our way through the last ten tips for white people genuinely asking, 'But what can I do?' when it comes to race and nation-building in South Africa [and beyond] - glad to see you're still with us... #ButWhatCanIDo? Tip #31 Leave your camera at home. This one goes out to white people on mission trips or white people visiting the townships or white [...]
Are you still with us? That's amazing. If you have made it this far all the way from Tip #1 and are still engaged then i'm really stoked, well done. This can seem like a lot of stuff. I really do love white people and I still have a lot of work to do in many of these areas and it is just great to know that other people are committing to this stuff as [...]
As we head into the second half of our journey as white people seeking to do and be better, let me encourage you and remind you once again that i have so much love and respect for you. Which is why i have been compiling this list. The past in our country is completely messed up and in need of redress and healing and building and so on... us taking these tips seriously is us [...]
White people asking the question, 'But what can I do?' when it comes to race and transformation. It has been super exciting to see how much dialogue and engagement has been happening around these tips. If you have not yet read the first five which started this series or the next five then click on those first and bring yourself up to speed. But this post is going to be bringing you the next five tips [...]
