things to wrestle with : Brett Fish

Can’t we All just be Colourblind?

challenging thorts, pain and Hope, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

Can’t we All just be Colourblind?

Colour blindness, or colour vision deficiency, is the inability or decreased ability to see colour, or perceive colour differences, under normal lighting conditions. Colour blindness affects a significant percentage of the population. There is no actual blindness but there is a deficiency of colour vision. [WikiThePedia] In a practical sense, what this often means is that people who are colour blind struggle to see the difference between red and green. At a traffic light, red means [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-25T12:13:56+02:00February 18th, 2016|challenging thorts, pain and Hope, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|3 Comments

On Justice and Shalom: Sarah Bessey speaks [part i]

inspire-ations, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading

On Justice and Shalom: Sarah Bessey speaks [part i]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Or maybe just the most hectic of times. Having just moved across to a newer fresher website and blog for Irresistibly Fish, i wrote two posts which really got people responding A LOT in the last 48 hours. The first being the provocatively titled, 'Sodomy: A South African Love Story' and the second the way more controversial [somehow] 'The Passion of the Chris' [which despite the [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-26T10:05:22+02:00February 15th, 2016|inspire-ations, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|0 Comments

The Passion of the Chris

activities, church, God stuff, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, tricky things

The Passion of the Chris

Last night was the Passion 2016 Worship Conference in Cape Town. Earlier in the day i had been at a significant meeting with the young folks from Disrupting Whiteness which i reflected on in this somewhat controversially titled post, 'Sodomy: A South African Love Story' which reminded us of an earlier definition of Sodomy which was that 'The people of Sodom pursued lives of careless ease and ignored the poor on their doorstep.' Which we see [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-16T11:06:34+02:00February 14th, 2016|activities, church, God stuff, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, tricky things|90 Comments

Sodomy: A South African Love Story

change the world, pain and Hope, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

Sodomy: A South African Love Story

South Africans, i love you. All of you. i sat in a room this morning with a handful of people, some linked to the university who represented a collective called Disrupting Whiteness and some from the non-profit organisation called The Warehouse, and a handful of others. It felt like a room full of incredible people with huge potential for significant change in the future of our country and inspired a lot of hope. But i [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-16T11:08:00+02:00February 13th, 2016|change the world, pain and Hope, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|12 Comments

When Equality is not the best thing to chase.

South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

When Equality is not the best thing to chase.

The Search for Justice. i have seen and loved that cartoon many times before, because it helps shift perspective. Some of us might have been clamouring loudly for Equality [or for the things that make us feel equal but still leave others behind a fence] when in actual fact what we are needing to champion is Justice. That simple cartoon illustrates this so powerfully. [Side Note: The people who get to see over the fence [...]

By brettfish|2016-05-10T14:32:08+02:00February 11th, 2016|South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|5 Comments

The Biggest “Yes” is a “Know”

inspire-ations, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

The Biggest “Yes” is a “Know”

Who do you know? Graeme Codrington shared an article on my Facebook page today with this statement at the top of it: For my South African friends, we're having an interesting time at the moment, as we talk again about race relations. It's hard, and sometimes hurting, but I love that we're having this conversation. It's better than not having it! That really struck me. He went on to list about 20 names of different [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-09T11:00:42+02:00February 9th, 2016|inspire-ations, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|1 Comment

We who have choice.

pain and Hope, shtupidt people, South Africa, things to wrestle with

We who have choice.

Most days i wake up and am excited to try and do my little bit to hopefully help make things better in South Africa. i write blogs, i engage with people in conversation online and offline, i use the platforms i have to create spaces for other voices to speak boldly about important and significant things. tbV and i try to use our time and money and energy and work to help make things better [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-05T07:48:41+02:00February 5th, 2016|pain and Hope, shtupidt people, South Africa, things to wrestle with|6 Comments

Breaking Bread [with Linde]: On Allyship, Friendship and Engagement

challenging thorts, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

Breaking Bread [with Linde]: On Allyship, Friendship and Engagement

Hi Linde, thank you so much for agreeing to try this with me. It started with you writing a blog post titled 'For Blacks Only' - https://brettfish.wordpress.com/2016/01/28/for-blacks-only-guest-post-by-linde-ndaba/#comments - although you did tell me that it was also a great post for white people to read and i fully agree with that. Then my friend Megan [who i know is totally genuine in her response and is someone really looking to be a genuine ally to people of [...]

By brettfish|2016-02-04T13:08:35+02:00February 4th, 2016|challenging thorts, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|11 Comments

For Blacks Only: Guest post by Linde Ndaba

change the world, pain and Hope, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

For Blacks Only: Guest post by Linde Ndaba

My name is Linde Ndaba and I’m addicted. My addiction might not have me shacking relentlessly from withdrawal symptoms, as drug dependence often does or leave me broke and destitute, but it may arguably be just as problematic. As a black person raised in a white suburb (Pinelands) in South Africa, my neighbourhood friends rarely made the effort to know my world. In fact I can count the occasions where they correctly pronounced my name [...]

By brettfish|2016-12-07T11:07:24+02:00January 28th, 2016|change the world, pain and Hope, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|2 Comments

A poem: On Point

On Point “I didn’t do it,” she said, as she pointed at someone else’s parent’s parents. “I didn’t do it, “he said, “and I have NEVER used that word.” “We didn’t do it,” they loudly declared, as they counted out the coins to pay the lady who was busy raising their children. “I didn’t do it,” she said as she gestured towards her black boyfriend who she had decided to name ‘Justice’ because [...]