"Staying ignorant is a choice in a time of information." That explosion of wisdom was dropped on me by a grade eleven learner on a Zoom call on Friday. i was in a conversation with a number of young people talking about leadership when Katie threw that one into the mix. After a bit of a morning Google it looks like the original author might be someone who i used to enjoy reading in [...]
Woke up this morning to the news that President Donald Trump and his wife Melania has coronavirus. And of course the internet exploded. Your response says more about you As with all things America, there were strong responses both ways. Ranging from wishes of a quick recovery to jokes, insults and a lot of wishing that this kills him. Now if you are one of the people who sits there and says [or [...]
The Move One Million Facebook group has organised a nationwide march today, on the 5th of September 2020. Why is the 2020 significant, you may ask? Well, South Africa and the world happens to be in the throes of a global pandemic that to date has killed more than eight hundred thousand people [including fourteen thousand in South Africa]. That alone should be cause for concern. But tuning in to watch a maskless Move [...]
"But what can I do?" asked the white person. Who had just about gotten to the point of realisation that things were not white right in the world with regards to race and that something needed to be done. Which is where a lot of white people tend to stall out. "Yes, i get that there's a problem, but tell me what can I do?" as if with any other problem they faced they [...]
It feels important to talk about the last time i got it wrong. And to be honest, this is very likely not even the last time, but it is a recent time that i am most aware of. Panel of Whiteness A couple of weeks ago, 2 August to be exact, so almost 3 weeks, i was invited to speak on a panel for the Global Business Round Table on a topic related to [...]
There are some times in life when a clever-sounding statement can be deeply interrogated simply by asking the question, "But for who?" Statement: Make America Great Again! Assumption: America was great before. Question: But for who? Was it great for black people during slavery? Was it great for African-Americans during the Jim Crow laws and lynchings? Was it great for refugees under the present and recent governments when they were locked up in cages [...]
As of today [or tomorrow depending on how you interpret 'Monday midnight' we are in Lockdown stage 2. What this means is a fairly extensive amount of changes and release of restrictions, including the following: The following changes will take effect under Lockdown stage 2: All restrictions on inter-provincial travel will be lifted. Accommodation, hospitality venues and tours will be permitted according to approved protocols to ensure social distancing. Restaurants, bars and taverns will [...]
How do we get men to engage with posts about and for men? To be honest, i have no helpful idea. The worst part is that i had two ideas that possibly might have worked: [1] Have the cover pic for this blog post be a curvaceous semi-clad woman with the impression that there might be more pics in the post. [2] Use the word 'boobs' somewhere in the title. Objectify women to draw [...]
We do it for the audience! i spend a lot of time in online conversations, often around topics involving Justice. Looking at race or poverty or gender discrimination and more. There are times when i really get into it with someone and there is a back-and-forth and it becomes pretty obvious quite early on that neither of us are going to change our mind. In those situations, people often ask me, "Why do you [...]
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 [...]
