i have found that racism definitions can often create a bit of a problem... Can a black person be racist? Yes, absolutely. And also, no, not at all! This question comes up a lot and i'm not sure i have actually answered it on my blog but i thought it might be helpful to at least give it a try. This is how i understand this question. Two Definitions The biggest problem which i [...]
What are your thoughts when it comes to Political Correctness? Seriously though, before you read on, take a few moments to answer that question. i doubt this is something many people need to think long about because people tend towards the extremes on this one. "It is out of control" vs "We could be doing so much better." What does Political Correctness mean? To you? When you hear the term, what immediately comes to [...]
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 [...]
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation last night. As he did - and this is not for the first time - i felt a sense of pride, the feeling of being led, a deep respect for the humility that was shown when he spoke about government miscommunicating and making mistakes, confusing messages, and contradictions. While he spoke, i jumped on to Facebook and simply wrote this: Such humility coming from Cyril Ramaphosa... [...]
i was given an opportunity to visit the Strandfontein site yesterday where around 2000 homeless people are being held. On Good Friday i had written this post about Strandfontein which had gained a fair amount of traction. Based on stories i had heard from people who are very well connected to some of the people who were at the site and also some articles i read and videos i watched. So when a friend [...]
This is a not a post about anger. It is not a post about tone policing. This is not even a post about who can say what to who [nope, not saying whom there, it's 2019, come on!] Although it may contain some of those things. Rather, it is a post about me, Brett "Fish" Anderson, trying to figure out how we are most likely to arrive at the best results and see change. [...]
What do the spaces you inhabit say about you? On Saturday i shared an invitation with my white friends on Facebook: White friends. Do this experiment. Be aware of the spaces you occupy today. And tomorrow. Then take a moment to reflect Sunday night. How many of those spaces (gym, dinner table, sports club, restaurant, church, coffee hangout) were 100% filled with white people? (except those who were serving you/cleaning up) How many of those [...]
Is it ever okay to be angry? In this book i am reading, there is a line that jumped out at me: In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Now the second part might seem a little foreign to you, because maybe you don't believe in the devil, so let's leave that for a moment. In fact, the [...]
Are white women more open to becoming wokified than white men? If you're not sure what 'Woke' means in this context, a quick delve into Merriam-Webster should help you out: Stay woke became a watchword in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better. But stay woke and woke became part of a wider discussion in 2014, immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The word woke became [...]
Cape Town Water Day Zero approaches rapidly with April 12th being the latest prediction. And people are talking about it everywhere... and there is some really helpful stuff... and so i thought it might help if we collected a bunch of it together for easy access, you know, like 25L water bottles in that one guy's trolley! If you find any of these links helpful, please pass them on and feel free to share them [...]
