Thoughts on racism...

I follow Pierre de Vos's blog (sporadically) and I thought what he said about whether we should criminalize racism in SA very though provoking. Check it out here http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/should-we-criminalise-racism-in-south-africa/ I particularly liked what he said at that end that in SA we are "trained" to not say offensive things and we think we aren't prejudiced... So true! I guess my question is "how do we get people to look at themselves and really examine themselves for prejudice?"

Tea with Tobias (Philip Tobias)

This morning Prof Philip Tobias passed away. He was an incredible man that inspired loads of people and last year I had the privilege of having tea with him. In preparing to start this blog I contacted a few people who I find inspiring, including Prof Tobias. And he invited me to have tea with him... I was really nervous but he was so kind and accommodating and had even ordered petit fours for us. The longer I spent with him the more blown away I was by this kind man... He was a true icon and his office was like a mini museum, filled with pictures of him and loads of famous people... My real reason was to find out how he came to have such a heightened sense of equality. He was a man who stood up against apartheid. He told me how at some points in his university career he had undercover policemen following him! His answer was that he knew no different. He had been brought up in a very open and non prejudiced home. His school and university career was also before the laws that introduced legal segregation. he says as a result he knew no different! What an amazing thing- to only know integration! Prof Tobias will be remembered for his amazing contributions to science but he will also be honored for his amazing fight for equality in South Africa!

What would Gran say?

Been thinking a lot about my Gran lately... Not sure why? probably because as Aubbie is growing (and boy is he/she growing!) inside me i am thinking about things i want to pass on to him/ her...

My Gran- Mabel Abercrombie was born on the 11/11/ 1919- My brother Mike always loved her birthdate! She died 2 years ago, 1 week after her 90th birthday.

I love this picture of her because she looks so happy and is in a garden somewhere. She loved being outdoors and loved gardening.

i am sad that Aubbie wont know Gran  and i wonder what she would want to pass on to our Aubbie.

Gran loved the outdoors and was such an adventurer. Every year my cousins (as many of us as can come) get together to do a hike. the 1st year we slept on top of the amphitheatre in Mid June just like our Gran used to do yearly until she was about 85.

 Gran was much tougher than us! We moaned about the cold and generally didnt cope very well! it was  THE coldest night of my life! but in the midst of defrosting the next morning we found an even deeper respect for Gran on top of the Drakensburg! what an incredible woman  who didnt let anything stop her!

i guess thats what i hope Aubbie will get from Gran- a sense of adventure and a love for the outdoors. And a better ability to deal with the cold than his/her parents have!

Gran was also no- nonsense about things. She wouldnt have made a fuss about the cold or moaned but she'd probably have told us all to stop "playing silly buggers" and just do what needs to be done!

xxx

Crying Racism or crying wolf

This furore over the "spear of the nation/ JZ" picture has really got people stirred up, hasn't it? What I find most interesting is that people are calling the picture racist... I don't really agree... I couldn't disagree if they said offensive, disrespectful, inflammatory... But racist? Racist implies that one race is put above another or one race group is put down based solely on race... I think , we as south Africans need to stop crying racism whenever anything happens that we don't agree with. I am whole heartedly opposed to racism but I think crying racism too much is like crying wolf... People stop taking you seriously! And I won't even begin to comment on what I think about the painting... That's a whole nothing story for a whole other day...

Coward?

For a while I have been suspecting a terrible thing about myself...
That I am a coward!

Sad but true...

I hate racism, I hate injustice, I hate apathy and yet I so seldom find myself actually standing up against it or speaking up about it. Sure I blog about stuff and sometimes I throw in a fb status and I think about this stuff but I definitely don't speak up IN situations and especially with people who I find intimidating or who I don't want to offend.

Is not offending someone more important than what I believe is right?
No! Definitely not!

I don't want to be a coward and as a result am consciously going to try to overcome my fear of offending other people!
Here's to COURAGE!

Shadows

Went for a walk on Sat morning. It was early enough that my shadow was beautifully tall and thin. I love that kind of shadow... Tall and thin!

What it made me think of is our reputations or how people view us. Sometimes those things precede us, like a shadow, and it can be tall and thin and impressive looking or it can precede us but be short and round and not very big.
Or sometimes our shadows, or reputations come behind us... The impression we leave behind.
And sometimes they walk next to us, much more in line with our real shape and size...

The point of this pondering was to wonder what reputation or impression precedes me. If people hear about me are they impressed? Or what impression do I leave behind?

Is it any at all? Is it one I'd be proud of? Is it one I'd be proud for Aubbie or Philippe to know about?

Conversations with Aubbie

This weekend i was chatting with Aubbie- one of the joys of being pregnant, you can chat to "yourself" and its normal, actually encouraged- Just about the type of person i'd love him/ her to be when he/she grows up.

Something important to me... is someone who stands up for what is right, even when it is hard and you may be a minority.

Next important issue is HOW DO YOU INSTILL THAT IN A CHILD? How do we teach Aubbie to be that individual?
Modelling it...
Allowing Aubbie to be secure enough in himself/ herself to worry more about right and wrong and not so much about what people think of him/ her...

Sjoe... Hectic... Let the parenting begin!!!