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 [...]
This started as a status for the 'book but got way too long... Guess who's back? [what follows is a quote from fcuk brett] "Brett Brett Brett!! I notice you're copying my posts on your FB wall. How do I know that? Because I'm on your friendslist, and your political doctrinated propoganda is sickening, as I'm also in the ministry and would not allow you near my church here in Cape Town. Was nice church [...]
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 [...]
Two short pieces on racism that you might find very helpful: THREE LEVELS OF RACISM My friend Matt Talley, who i met in Americaland but who is currently living and working with his family in Spain, sent me this from a class he is doing. It's super simple but I don't think I had heard the three levels labeled this way before. Of course I've heard the labels of personal racism and institutional/structural racism. But [...]
i attended a race panel last night called Real Talk where we got to hear stories from a black, coloured and white person [tbV]. It was a really great time and hopefully more churches and organisations will start hosting these moments of just getting to hear each other and catch glimpses into journeys that have been quite different from ours. One of the stories that Mbulelo shared was about the time he was on a plane [...]
Last week i invited a number of people who love children and know a decent amount them [despite not being parents themselves] to share some thoughts/advice/suggestions and encouragement to parents of young children. You can catch both parts of that over here. A number of parentals wrote some thoughts on the "I'm going to ask you for thoughts" post and so i grabbed those. You don't have to agree with all of them but just [...]
i am busy reading Eusebius McKaiser's "Run Racist Run!" It has some great and helpful insights, but this piece on white people expecting people of colour to help us not be racist i found really helpful in terms of putting words to something i've started to understand for a while. Also as a helpful response to those people who have tried to understand things and get involved in the race conversation only to receive push back [...]
