I used to think it was okay that the Franschhoek Literary Festival was lily-white because the money it raised was used to fund libraries in disadvantaged communities. “Who cares where the money comes from as long as it goes to a good cause,” was my reasoning. I equated the literary festival with those charity gala […]
Eusebius McKaiser
Posted inNews/Politics
Dear Eusebius, if you ever go to Buckingham Palace make sure to go without me
Eusebius McKaiser writes in this week’s Sunday Times column that he finds me intellectually fascinating and then goes on to describe, in nit-picking terms, how he interprets my work. He asks if I do not get tired of tweeting and tweeting (me?) antiracist rhetoric as well as writing plentiful angry essays about my fellow “blind […]
Posted inGeneral
Why white South Africans should learn the grammar of blackness
Twitter does funny things to former cabinet ministers. Just before midnight on Sunday, Tito Mboweni started a discussion about hair extensions. Why, he wanted to know, did black women not want their natural hair? So there we had it: our former reserve bank governor talking about weaves. Imagine Tony Leon talking about fake tan. That’s […]
Posted inLifestyle
Is the smartphone just a social crutch?
It’s a social crutch. A distraction that feeds our endemic ADD, and an insidious device that erodes our capacity to connect with the people who really matter. Or it’s a godsend for the shy, a way for the soft-spoken to have their voices heard; a tool that allows us to connect with others in meaningful […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The secrecy Bill: Why wearing black matters
Sanef, the National Press Club and the Right2Know campaign have issued a call to wear black on what has been dubbed Black Tuesday: when Parliament votes on the Protection of Information Bill. It’s a cause that has resonated with many, and there’s been plenty of discussion on social media platforms; #POIB and #SecrecyBill are top […]