SOUTH AFRICA
These are some of the recent posts that i and others have made to hopefully challenge and encourage and educate you as you try and figure out how to do life better in South Africa. Please feel free to share any of these posts that are helpful with people you think it might help to take one more step towards…
All Lives Smatter – a collection of thoughts about race, painting all people with the same brush and the need for whites to engage with whites
All White Lives Matter – a “Black Lives Matter for Dummies” kind of post
Ask before you leap [to conclusions] – a post looking at how we engage when we engage with others on race
8 Steps to help me become a better ally of my friends of colour – a short but helpful reminder
But pity the mutants – a painful look at how white people are able to feel more empathy for fictional characters and pets than black people
But What Can I Do? – 40 Tips for white South Africans genuinely asking this question
Entitlement with an “i” – a brief glimpse into the problem of entitlement in our country
If I were white, I’d have been able to breathe – guest post by Thandi Nkomo
Race with me – short video clips explaining race issues simply to white people
She turned to me and asked me if being an Umlungu was something i enjoyed.
The Better Black/Coloured/Indian – some friends share stories about the standard of whiteness that has been pressured on them
The queen, my dad, and Sarafina – guest post by Thandi Nkomo
Ways in which white people are better than black people [part I] – a very short post.
Ways in which white people aren’t better than black people [part II] – a more wordier post.
When someone with an African name gives you their “easier” English name.
When the offence is that you’re offended – looking a little deeper into entitlement in South Africa.
My vote goes to the table party
On the evening of the election, tbV [the beautiful Val] and i hosted our own party. #ISeeWhatIDidThere We invited around ten of our friends for food and drinks and cake and conversation and just [...]
Investing in recycling with Fair Cape Dairies
Doing the right thing means investing in recycling A great example of a win-win partnership and a pro-active response where the producer altered their product in order to make its packaging recyclable. When you buy [...]
i’m not trying to change your mind
My dream is that i will one day live in a nation where people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Sound familiar? i [...]
The power of a network to flip a country on its head
This past week has been tough. Sitting with a R40 000 bill over our heads [alongside the more manageable R12000 to fix our car] for driving into a BMW is not to be found [...]
The best of birthday words
Birthdays are cool, once you get past that number ticking up vibe. For me birthdays are always about the people - how can i get to spend as much time with as many people [...]
#NotAllPoisons
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 [...]
Where did you seat yourself in the Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke debacle?
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 [...]
To build a better country, ask the question.
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 [...]
Melusi’s Everyday Zulu: a book review of sorts
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 [...]
The Whiteness conversation has begun [and it was good!]
What are you doing Friday night? Going to a workshop that interrogates whiteness. Wait, what? And I am paying for it. Those words might seem like they come out of an SNL sketch if South [...]
40 Tips for white people asking, ‘But what can I do?’ – a summary
40 Tips to help white people to answer the question, 'But what can I do?' when it comes to race and reconciliation in South Africa. And we have made it to the end of the [...]
But What Can I Do? Tips #36-40
#ButWhatCanIDo? Tip #36 We can be a little kinder to each other. Now this works as a tip and life lesson in general and the world would be a better place if most of us [...]