How can i be a good ally to the people around me who are struggling with race issues? This is a question i have asked a lot. One of the things white people who join this conversation tend to do is expect people of colour to educate them on how not to be racist. So they have carried the burden of negative race vibes and now they must still do all the work of educating [...]
South African Universities are burning and where is the church? Well, we are there. i actually spoke a little about this in my previous post, titled 'Where is the church?' As part of the PJW team in Cape Town we are there. Pastors joining in/leading marches in Joburg [including being shot in the face with rubber bullets as has happened to countless students and is as shocking and deplorable]. Friends who are part of the [...]
Where is the church? i am one of the first ones to call out the church when we are not doing well [fighting to hit our children, yo]. But i am definitely also one of the first to cheer us on when we get it right [which we actually do a lot in this country all over the place if you stop to look and listen]. The time i remember being proudest of the [...]
One thing is certain to me: if you think you have a solid grasp of what is going on at our universities right now, you are probably wrong. The bottom line is that it is not simple - it is complex and complicated and there are so many stories and so many groups and for us to be able to embrace or dismiss one view completely is not a sign of wisdom, but more likely [...]
The other day i asked a simple question in a Race Engagement group i belong to on Facebook, believing it was a safe place. i actually had typed out my question as a status and then decided last second to move it to the group cos it would probably be more appropriate there. The first person who responded made me feel like an idiot for asking the question and challenged my sincerity in asking it. [...]
i am almost finished reading 'Country of my Skull' by Antjie Krog and it has been punching me relentlessly in the gut. This passage from chapter 20 titled 'Mother faces the Nation' contains one of my particular angry spots when it comes to lazy South Africans: To the right of the Commissioners, a phalanx of mostly white lawyers - representing victims and perpetrators - is building up. 'I represent the family of Lolo Sono,' says [...]
Everyone in South Africa speaks English, right? i imagine we would be surprised as how many English speakers think and assume that. i would probably be less surprised at how many of us expect that. Because English, right? Firstly, it would probably surprise a whole lot of them to discover that English is only the third most spoken language in the world to start with. But it was this passage by Antjie Krog in 'Country [...]
[Disclaimer: If you're a dog owner, try and read through this entire post without formulating a response - just read to understand and hear - and then let what you've read help inform what your response will be] i watched the most fascinating conversation unfold on Facebook yesterday, related to dog owners. Probably one of the most helpful aspects was this dialogue between two friends of mine, Lesego and Ashley, who started off a little [...]
[Due to a funeral happening this Saturday, the date of this gathering has been pushed forward a week to the 24th] Let's talk about race, baby... tbV and i have been back in South Africa for just over two years and for most of that time i have been talking about race online in different ways and trying to read and learn and listen and figure out and engage with so many different people in [...]
'One day there were two boys, Tom and Bernard. Tom lived right opposite Bernard. One day Tom stole Bernard's bicycle and every day Bernard saw Tom cycling to school on it. After a year, Tom went up to Bernard, stretched out his hand and said, "Let us reconcile and put the past behind us." Bernard looked at Tom's hand. "And what about the bicycle?" Father Mxolisi Mpambani told this story during a lunch-hour panel discussion [...]
