i saw this picture and statement on Facebook today: Count me out. I need a break from South African politics and leadership dynamics. The poverty I have seen today visiting a rural area has me in a minor depression, I cant imagine WHEN the leaders will stop shielding and blaming each other and start serving this country. I DON'T want to be right, I don't want the other side to be wrong. I just [...]
The internet can be a confusing and scary place to try and figure out race vibes [or parenting/immigration/religion/sexuality and so on...] - if you're brave then check out 'Ozzy Man reviews Arguing on the Internet' because it is harsh but funny and sadly not too far from the truth. Trying to figure out race vibes offline can also be counterproductive if the people around you are more echo chamber than collaborative sounding board, which [...]
As the army was deployed into certain areas of the Cape Flats and beyond many of us watched with dismay... This is the narrative the rest of the country is given of an area facing tremendous odds. Communities still trying to crawl themselves out of the mess that apartheid and forced removals and lack of local government focus left them in. What good ever comes out of the Cape Flats? is a question that [...]
i have just started reading - and almost finished - Austin Channing Brown's 'I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a world made for whiteness'. i highly recommend it. While 'White Fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism' by Robin DiAngelo was super helpful hearing ideas, challenges and analogies from a white woman, so 'I'm Still Here' has been profoundly challenging and helpful, hearing the story from the perspective of [...]
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 [...]
i have just finished reading Melusi Tshabalala's 'Melusi's Everyday Zulu' which was one of the books my wife gave me for Christmas. It is funny, it is irreverent in places, it is jaw-drop-he-didn't-just-say-that in others, it is inspiring and challenging in terms of understanding South Africa and South Africans and mostly it is educational and just a really fun read. Get yourself a copy. From the back cover: Six days a week, Melusi Tshabalala, [...]
'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 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 [...]
My name is Ashley Brownlee. I have been living in the Klein Karoo for over a decade now, and have found a great deal of peace amongst the big horizons and in the arms of the Milky Way. There was a time though, and it’s a difficult time to talk about, when life was not so filled with any kind of future. I hope that my story will inspire you to choose life. I contracted [...]
Sho, when it comes to Taboo Topics, Living with HIV/Aids is one of those that has actually been taboo as opposed to simply rarely spoken about. While it doesn't carry the same kind of shame and weight as it used to in the early days when a lot of misinformation was around, it is still something we rarely hear about, which is why i thought it was important to address it. Statistics South Africa had [...]
