Tomorrow people, where is your past? Tomorrow people, how long will you last?Tomorrow people, where is your past? Tomorrow people, how long will you last?

If you don't know your past, you don't know your futureEveryoneDon't know your past, don't know your future everyman Don't know your past, don't know your future, come on Don't know your past, don't know your futureHow many nations How many people did that one catch How many nations did that one catch Don't know past, don't know your future Don't know past, don't know your future – Ziggy Marley and the melody makers

The rains have come and winter is here, yet today it seems as though its not. The sky is blue and the mountain in clear view streaks of white clouds add colour to the sky. The orange rays of the sun pierces the skies illuminating the earth

I hope all is well with you all. No worries this end other than a visit to the hospital later today to have a troublesome tooth attended to, oh how I hate hospitals and BANKMED! 2 new lovely ladies to add to the mailing list Malumbo and Tasneem, welcome to our email community, I try and send out an email at least once a week, should you at any stage think this is a waste of valuable storage space please drop me a line and I will remove you from the list, should you have any comments on the weeks email, mail me or go to www.mondaymail.blogspot.com

Monday was a pretty interesting day for me we had a cultural diversity workshop which we all had to attend. Initially my thoughts were sheesh another one of these things, at the end of it all I thought wow this was well worth the time.

We all claim to be so proudly South African, and this that and the next, how many of us know the full SA national anthem? Or even what the words mean. We all profess to embrace this new South Africa, but how many of us actually attempt to really embrace all parts of this New SA? You have to forgive me if I harp on about this topic a lot, but it’s a topic that is quite dear to me, but even I have fallen into the trap of lets get over our past and move on, but I now realise that we have to embrace our past as part of who we are and it also helps us in terms of where we go.

You cant just brush aside such a long past of segregation which was institutionalised through laws such as Group Areas act, Land act (white population of 1.5mil were allotted 90% of the land and the ‘africans’ got less than 10%), Bantu affairs, pass law (where as a black person u had to carry a pass book that detailed your race group, employer place of dwelling and if u had permission to be in a white area), prohibition of mixed marriages act and the immorality act (both of which prevented inter racial marriages/relations), separate amenities act, Bantu education (which forced blacks to follow an educational system that provided skills only for menial labour), liquor act.

So now there are other laws being institutionalised to counter this and they are Employment Equity, Affirmative action, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, Skills development and Skills development Levies act, and the preferential procurement act. People hear these laws and they cringe, but I don’t think it’s the first time we have had these laws in this country, I think there was a job reservations act back in the day that had the same effect as AA. Some might say well why don’t we just move on without any of these laws, because the government preaches non-discrimination yet these laws promote discrimination. Well the lady giving the course gave a simple example to counter this argument which made a whole lot of sense. Imagine a soccer game, 2 sides A and B, the pitch slopes. The whole of the first half side A has been playing downhill, everyone realises how unfair this is and at half time side A says ok for the next half we play on a level pitch…does that seem right?

We all have our stereotypes, all whites are racists…all blacks are lazy…all Indians/Greeks own shops…all mulims are terrorists…all Nigerians sell cocaine, all women are bad drivers (if I am not mistaken, women pay less in insurance than us guys, and if you see a speeding bafoon, more often than not it’s a guy). So how do we overcome these sterotypes, well what the lady said was for us to see how easy it is to find a person who breaks the sterotype.

Am I a racist? I don’t think I am, but growing up I saw the movie Roots, then Cry Freedom then Give us us free (Amistad), I hear and read about Muslims and hijackings and suicide bombs, I watch tv and all I see are crimes on movies or in the news being perpetrated by black people (who most of the time are working for the man). In my little town where I grew up every corner café was owned by either a Greek or an Indian (except Willies Take away). Your parents are always dropping hints, like those people are nice blacks etc. All these things plant a seed in your head.

As per the workshop and it makes a lot of sense how do you help yourself break the mould?
Listen to what people have to say
believe that people can change
check out people, see what rubs them the wrong way, see how they react to u, notice of yourself what rubs u the wrong way
steer clear of the sterotypes, judge people as individuals
maximum respect to yourself and others
see common ground
patiently persistent with people

Bottom line, learn about other people, learn about their cultures, I mean did you know that Muslim women can ask the guy for anything (car, house, etc.) before she accepts his hand in marriage? And that is hers, not theirs or her family’s?
Here is a little poem by Oscar Hammerstein:
You've got to be taught to hate and fearYou've got to be taught from year to yearIt's got to be drummed in your dear little earYou've got to be carefully taught You've got to be taught to be afraidOf people whose eyes are oddly madeAnd people whose skin is a different shadeYou've got to be carefully taught You've got to be taught before it's too lateBefore you are six or seven or eightTo hate all the people your relatives hateYou've got to be carefully taughtYou've got to be carefully taught
The world is a hugely diverse place. And that in my mind makes it all the more interesting. Embrace diversity, suppress your hang-ups and insecurities, give of your culture and receive of anothers. A bad person is not bad because they are black, white, pink or purple, they are bad because they are bad!!!!

Busy Birthday week this
20th Jacob, Kgashane
21st Hamish
22nd Cader, Simone V
23rd Peter K, Red head Ed
24th Gretchen
26th Kemi P

“life changes when you least expect it to. The future is uncertain. So, seize the day, seize the moment, and make the most of it”

And if its your birthday and I didn’t mention it, please forgive me but have a happy happy none the less, remember people RESPECT, that’s what its all about.

PS Credit for this email must go to Brigitte, who took us for the diversity workshop on Monday

Maximum respect.

Yaw