Tag Archives: South Africa

The notion of supremacy – Blog No. 9

supremacy

It is not a simple task to isolate the vowels in the word supremacy.  In other words – it is not plain ABC sailing to locate the source of the scourge that introduced the notion of supremacy to certain people in certain places, positions.  However, where it started is not what we shall become obsessed with, how to stamp it out is going to be our present obsession.  I suspect that the fictitious statement that there was – or is – a ‘chosen race’ in the first place has contributed hugely to the problem of inequality that exists in our today world.  The other issue is that it would appear that a great many of the apparently ‘unchosen’ tripped into the trap of believing that they were either inferior, or less ‘desirable’ to God that those he allegedly selected as his representatives.  This is good news, because all it takes to eradicate the shadow of supremacy is to shine Life’s light on how ridiculous the notion is and then teach people to stop believing that God – or whatever – ever chose one type over another.  He didn’t.

It would seem that supremacists have chronic self-esteem issues.  If you need to believe that you are better – or more entitled to privilege – than the human being next to you in order to get through the day, then your life is a waste of everyone’s time.  There is no point in entertaining a waste of time.  We are all skilled in different ways, there are none ‘more capable’ than others.  It is a fundamental failure – a primal lie – to imagine that what one man can do, another cannot.  And I mean that from both sides.  Those who have grown up believing that they are lesser than others need to reassess their thinking, change their mindset.  This is not always easy, given the proclivity of the supremacists for bullying and intimidating those who have been ‘taught’ that their contributions to our world are of no value.  Those who spend time and energy attempting to subvert others also need to change their mindset – and quickly – otherwise it will be changed for them.  I would suggest changing voluntarily.  It is not wise to push an issue until you have your mode of thinking altered for you.

Supremacists have held on to their ‘power’ by demeaning other people and their kin.  They are motivated by fear of difference, a fundamental lack of understanding bequeathed them by their forebears.  For instance, in South Africa, a great many homes that take advantage of the services domestic workers offer will not allow their domestic staff to use their crockery or cutlery or drink from their glasses.  They will provide a meal for their staff, usually, but this meal is often food that the families themselves would not choose to eat, i.e. it is the cheap shit from the supermarket.  This blatant ‘racism’ if you like (racists are notorious supremacists) is unacceptable.  Domestic staff should be invited to eat from what is in the fridge, or in the cupboards, i.e. they should be given a choice.  It is not acceptable to have the attitude that your domestic staff should be grateful to even get a meal.  Considering that these workers maintain homes and gardens and both babysit and in many instances raise these families’ children, they should be treated with respect and shown some common decency.  Shifting this paradigm is naturally going to be a challenge, but it is possible.  A few million ignorant people need a wake-up call, is all.  How many times have you heard it said:  treat others as you want be treated?  What is so difficult about that?  Treat people equally, irrespective of their gender, colour, culture, or sexual persuasion.  That is one of the first guidelines in our brave new world and it is one about which I am passionate.  Passion and persistence go hand in hand and we would all do well to embrace our passions and use them to bolster our brave new world.

 

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Blog No. 16 – Xenophobia

AlexandraJHB

Xenophobic attacks on foreigners – fellow men and women – anywhere in the world are orchestrated by those to whom death is no stranger. Were it not contentious, I would perhaps suggest that those who murder difference are conditioned to do so. Like Somalian pirates have done their particular job before. It is clear when the best of everything is at work. Your culture will decide for you what means what. What does NOT mean that.

There is a time for what is going on in South Africa, elsewhere. There is a place for what is yet to come. When you will stir shit by tainting the reputation of a proud nation, you will receive that shit straight back in your face. South African people are amongst the friendliest, most accepting and welcoming people in the world. They do not hate foreigners.

Africa is not in need of another Rwanda crisis. Or another Charles Taylor. Etc. There is a way to find common ground where the conflict sits. And the conflict sits. It will soon stand. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It may stand, and walk away. It may wait, watching. Conflict is not afraid of itself.

Xenophobia – or the threat of such – is enough to cause a moral panic the size of a giant tsunami. I suspect that would be its point. What is in a man that can make him take the life of another for the sake of a cause that does not belong to him? That aspect would be worth investigating. I suppose money has something to do with it. There are too many people who have mapped their souls by capitalism.

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The System – Blog No. 53

system

Is it the system that twice stops South Africa from issuing the Dalai Lama with a visa? It seems that there is some resistance to his being welcomed on the tarmac at Oliver Tambo International Airport. I wonder what that resistance could be about? I am sure he would love to see South Africa in 2014. It would be interesting for him to understand how far South Africans have come.

The system was set to manage society and its maladministrations. It is offset by its own failings. This is not new news. The system has been watching itself fail for decades, now. It has become more adept at putting out fires than it is at starting them. Starting fires was the point. Without fire, there is no new growth. Also, it is important to know that starting fires is not synonymous with arson.

A system should be implemented only when it can be ascertained that the system to be introduced is 100% fail-safe. There is no point implementing a system that fails. The point is to construct a perfect model that works before you set about implementing it. That is called forward planning. The system is a model. It should be a model of infinite reach, a model that reflects the makings of a community dream – in order that the system’s reality is well-received by its people.

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