Submitted by David Drew The xenophobic racism spreading like a disease across South Africa may have myriad causes, but at its core, the ugly truth is that it exposes a predisposition to bigotry that we all potentially share. It is the same “button” that has been pushed by despots, dictators, religious leaders, politicians and criminals […]
2008
Technology for change
The blogosphere has been up in arms over the recent xenophobia attacks. It is extremely sad and depressing to see our country in a state like this. We can debate and debate but all that will matter is action. We have to ask ourselves how can we use technology to make a difference? Stii suggested […]
Great countries welcome immigrants
We, of all people, should welcome immigrants. We should thank them for thinking our country worth making a new life in. We are the rainbow nation. Or aren’t we?
Illusions of an American Day dreamer
He’s on his way to win his party’s candidature to the White House. Rhetoric or not, there’s definitely more enthusiasm in the body politic in America since Barack Obama’s appearance on the Presidential battle scene. The man might have a better way of warming the hearts of disillusioned voters than Hillary Clinton, he might have […]
Hate 2.0
Of all the great things the age of social media has ushered in, let’s not be blinded to the emergence of the age old affliction which has plagued humanity ever since Kane took out Abel…Hate. Hate speech was there ever since people could speak, write, through the days of the printing press, book publication, audio […]
What is the “Next Big Thing”?
The past two years we saw the rise of the social networks. A new site sprouts up at least once a week. If you read what some of the early adopters are saying, you get the feeling that people are tired of signing up for every new service every time. It is fast becoming hard […]
Africans need to start a new battle for liberation from prejudice
Gambian president Yahya Jammeh has threatened to behead gays unless they leave the country. He claims that Gambia is a country of believers and that these practices are sinful and immoral. Whatever your beliefs this much is true — an African head of state is proposing, as acceptable conduct, that members of his community, be […]
You are paid for your work, not to be at work
Ever since Google set the benchmark on office perks, employees around the globe have wished they could get a slice of the wonderful pie being served up in Mountain View, California. I for one have always found much joy in reading about companies that offer their employees perks that go far beyond the standard medical […]
Is it wrong to feel relieved that I left South Africa?
I know I will probably get shot down in flames (rhetorical ones of course) for admitting this. But, reading the terrible headlines of the last week, hearing South Africa make the only international story on yesterday’s 12 noon radio news, following online exchanges between South Africans discussing whether or not they have a contingency plan […]
Power lodged in narrow hearts part 2: The Merkel Phenomenon
Cutting a precious stone after it has been split is a skilful task. Experts call it faceting. It simply means cutting faces on the stone so that its beauty may be better appreciated. Without this skilful art, the depth and the sparkle and the translucent loveliness of the stone will never appear. This, in part, […]
Xenophobia and economics
Just as road rage is not primarily about the person at whom the rage is directed, so the current, or recent, spate of attacks against foreigners is not, I believe, primarily about hatred for these unfortunate migrants. Road rage is a classic example of what is known in psychoanalysis as ‘projection’ — in this case […]
A (spazza) theory of isolated incidents
I started out writing this regular contribution at the start of 2008, at the tail end of finalising my doctoral dissertation. It was, therefore, a rather difficult period. Following the successful defence, and now being unemployed with time on my hands, I am more readily available to make a more consistent contribution to ThoughtLeader. That […]