It's time for a new series of Tips. #40TipsForChristFollowers What started very successfully as 40 tips for white people who are asking the question, 'But what can I do?' moved into a series on 40 Tips for married people hoping to do marriage better. A lot of people seemed to find a lot of the suggestions helpful and it wasn't so much about agreeing with all 40 tips in each case as it was [...]
i have wanted to read some Martin Luther King, Jr. for the longest time. So when tbV gave me 'The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by Clayborn Carson' as part of our Christmas book exchange i was super stoked. My serious journey towards becoming conscientised [an ongoing work, by the way] began largely in America when i lived there for three years and i saw [and still see] so much overlap between the [...]
Would you drink from a glass if you knew there was a 10% chance you would be drinking poison? The absurdity of a #NotAllMen or #NotAllWhitePeople response to a generalised statement (something usually becomes a generalisation because of how it is generally true) can be compared to me standing you in front of a table containing 100 glasses of liquid and saying, "Don't drink from the glasses because they are filled with poison!" and someone who knows that [...]
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 [...]
How do you change a country? Firstly, it has to begin in the mirror. What am i doing to make a difference? How am i spending my time, money, skills and energy and using my things to help make my small space one that builds and grows and inspires and assists? The key though is asking the question. Or questions. Big furore happens over Woolworths using some lady's design for their baby-carrying bags. Within [...]
Sho. Racists? i just don't understand you. Except that it HAS to be othering. That's all i can think of. The cure for racism then has to be connection... That was a thought that came to mind as Val and myself sat on the pavement just off De Waal drive last night, about 100m from our house, watching the incredible festivities that were a part of an African wedding reception taking place across the street.How [...]
'White Fragility' by Robin DiAngelo has been one of the most helpful books i have read on the subject of race and racism. It has helped put some language on some concepts i was aware of and it has shared some useful analogies that break down complex issues into much simpler ideas. i highly recommend you get a copy and give it a read if you are trying to navigate these race waters and [...]
i have just started reading Robin DiAngelo's 'White Fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism' and am already in love. You should basically just go and buy the book. [Got it for R200 on Loot] It is that good. Am only part way in and already feels like such a game changer both in terms of the language it uses [and some helpful analogy already] and the ways in [...]
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 [...]
It's been a frustrating few hours arguing with people on Facebook around this statement i shared on Facebook: What if i am wrong? A number of people came on and defended the rich and tried to misdirect away from the problem and called me a lot of things, telling me how my line of thinking was responsible for more deaths than Hitler managed and so on. And it's super frustrating because a [...]
