Is white guilt a thing and should we have more of it? The third part of my Blogger's Block series prompt came courtesy of a Twitterer friend, Keri Stroebel who asked this: Why do so many white people attack other white people who are trying to be anti-racist? Why use the terms "white saviour", or accuse you having "white guilt" or even straight up call you a traitor to your race? i invited her [...]
Val and i just celebrated our 11th year anniversary with a few days away in Citrusdal. i went with great intention of spending some time getting back into poetry. Armed with my pend and my journal. Sadly, the two pens i picked were not quite equal to the intention and i managed to barely scratch out these two short ones before they both gave up the ghost. D - droplets lie in wait [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
What is the problem with #AllLivesMatter? This past week, we have seen the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag and movement on the rise again. A lot of people have been responding with tags like #WhiteLivesMatter or #AllLivesMatter as if this is an important and necessary counter to #BlackLivesMatter. i would love to try and explain to anyone who feels like this, why i think differently on the matter. i think it is also important to say at [...]
My name is Brett "Fish" Anderson and i am 46 years and for the last 6 years i have been actively fighting against racism. Although people at times accuse me - and people like me - of being smug or self-righteous or feeling superior - i don't think i am any of those things. To be honest, i feel shame and embarrassment. i have for the longest time been someone who has challenged the [...]
My friend Terence is so negative: Seriously though, on a day when white people were showing solidarity with their one black friend, Terence had to go and make them feel bad. And they did - read the comments. There must be discomfort when confronting injustice Let me just be clear here - Terence is not negative. i agree with his status completely. But it led to one interaction with an old friend of mine [...]
i started this as a thread on the Twitterer but thought it might be good to stick it here as well. If you're a white person reading this, i want to encourage you to answer a couple of questions honestly. Then, when you get to the end, read the instruction and work through them one more time. White friends: i'm not sure enough of us get how different our lived experiences are simply because [...]
The Colourblind argument seems to be a confusing one for many people. White people, trying to do the right thing, often hold on to the statement: I don't see colour. While completely believing it. i would like to approach that from a different direction than i have before, which might make it easier for some of you to get. Many of my best friends are black, coloured and indian people. And no, that's not [...]
