If one does not believe that race exists, then one will not believe that racism exists. Since racism is real, we should not reject the existence of race. This simple argument appears to stand behind the rather vicious repudiation of “colour-blindness”, “not seeing race”, and other variations of the cardinal sins of our racialised social […]
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Posted inEnvironment, General
Will “Blockadia” help, or “Is Earth F**ked”?
One of the most revealing threads running through Canadian investigative journalist and tireless anti-capitalism activist, Naomi Klein’s rivetting book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014), concerns what she terms the “new climate warriors”, or in one word, “Blockadia”. This unlikely-sounding word names a movement which has arisen in the shape […]
Posted inGeneral
Barbarism should not triumph over civilisation
Smanga Sethene Prophet Muhammad (saw), had this to say when he was asked about the importance of acquisition of knowledge by men and women who had the honour of his blessed company and time: “Acquire knowledge. It enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lightens the way to heaven; it is our friend […]
Posted inGeneral
What changes in SA mean for business in the medium-term
Predicting the future is impossible. Forecasting plausible alternative scenarios is possible and can be useful in fostering strategic foresight. Using the so-called “three-horizons model”, South Africa can be seen to be moving from a status quo (horizon 1) marked by; negotiated settlement, ANC hegemony, post-Apartheid economic resurgence and consolidation and rainbow optimism, to a new […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
High schools must transform and alumni have an important role to play
Sometime this week I saw some profound words that former Model C schools prepare learners for a world that no longer exists. I couldn’t agree more. I follow my alma mater on Facebook: Collegiate High School for Girls in Port Elizabeth. I need to state from the onset that I am incredibly proud of this […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, Tech
The world has become an uncertain and ugly place
Several things I have read recently have impressed upon me that, despite developments (particularly in the field of technology) that are bound to excite some people, in some respects the world has become more uncertain and “ugly” than ever before. To be sure, it has always been uncertain in an existential sense – no one […]
Posted inGeneral
Why we should all contribute towards #SaveSouthSudan
Mondli Zondo During my recent seven weeks visit to the United States, I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to connect with, engage and learn from a Fellow from South Sudan about the ongoing conflict in her country. I was humbled by this experience as it revealed to me how little I and many […]
Posted inGeneral, Media
“Names Unvoiced but not Unknown”: Cleone Cull’s surrealist art
Judging by the recently opened exhibition of multimedia drawings by Eastern Cape artist Cleone Cull – who spent years teaching fine art, first at the Port Elizabeth Technikon and later at the School of Music, Art and Design of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University – art is thriving in this corner of South Africa. Cleone […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Media, News/Politics
The Remember Khwezi protest has shone a spotlight on our society’s patriarchal nature
In the last chapter of The Kanga and the Kangaroo Court, author Mmatshilo Motsei starts her concluding remarks by quoting Sello wa Loate: [w]e need to re-evaluate our value system as a society. The highly competitive environment we have created and the resultant conflict and pressure on different sections of our society make post-apartheid black […]
Posted inGender violence
Riding penis and the right not to be raped
Women’s month is here and a whole host of entities from TV shows to tires are about to slide into our lives like a greasy Tweep sliding into the DMs. As women we are about to be told a whole host of messages from ‘be a strong woman’ to ‘this is your month’ and suddenly […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Walk the talk, Obama: Help Africa get a permanent seat on the UN Security Council
I am currently in the United States as a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow; President Obama’s initiative for emerging young African leaders. I have spent six weeks at Virginia Commonwealth University; learning and gaining valuable skills and I am excited to return to South Africa even more determined and inspired. We are currently in Washington and […]
Posted inEnvironment, General, News/Politics
The follies of humankind, through the eyes of a young girl
In this time of economic and ecological uncertainty, which has, tellingly, given rise to the philosophical genre of “extinction studies” (see http://thoughtleader.co.za/bertolivier/2014/06/30/human-extinction-its-not-just-science-fiction/), it may be wise to remind ourselves that the human folly which has given rise to the fraught state of the present, globally, is nothing new. Human history is littered with such follies, […]