Much to be grateful for

 And here we are 31.12.2021. 12 weeks in a restrictive moon boot, 4 weeks of which were non weight bearing, stuck largely on your back or bum, throw in 10 days of Covid isolation, gives you much time to ponder life and where one is.

The overwhelming thought or emotion was or is gratitude, because no matter how poorly things were going at any time during this year, I know matter of factly that it could have been so much worse. Yes sure my folks packed up (kinda) 38 years of living in SA to relocate back to Accra, but we were able to help them do what they have wanted to do for a long while, whilst they are still alive and able to enjoy it. Sure my achilles was ruptured, but I was doing a thing I most enjoy (playing tennis with good people) when it happened. I also got some of the best care out there, my bro is a radiologist, so scans happened the same day, he referred me to a specialist who is one of the best in the game, circumstances lead me to go the conservative route in the treatment and it seems to be working 20 weeks later, I am friends with a great physio who looks after pro athletes (so my skinny legged weekend warrior injury is a non event for her :)) and she has been guiding me through the rehab process. During the first few weeks of my injury, I got to stay at a family friend's house because he has a granny flat that has the bedroom and bathroom and kitchen on the same floor (and a butler...didn't know this at the time, but sure glad Aggrey was there :)) and some really good friends who came to check in on me and even gave me their moonboots to use....as I said, things could be so much worse....

Re Covid, well im still here I guess, so much to be grateful for, because I know a few good souls that have succumbed...We will remember!!!

I am sitting at my desk Wesgro as I type this, I have a few bits of admin I have been trying to finalise over the past few days but my good friend procrastination, Netflix, the bed/couch and the fridge have regularly come to visit. Today I decided to get my bum up, go to the gym and then into the office where I have fewer distractions, so I can at least get some of the admin done if not all. 

I digress.....what I was trying to say was whilst typing the above I looked out my window and that picture is exactly what I get to see every day I am in the office, sometimes it has cloud cover, once in a while a bit of smoke, many a time when I'm here and someone is sent by Lucifer to try and test my day, I look to my left, see that glorious piece of splendid rock and I smile and I generally respond not today Satan, not today! :)

But that brings me to another point of reflection of this year. The beginning of December marked the 6th anniversary of my being at Wesgro. Coming in, I thought a year or 2 max and then I'm back to what I was doing, but it sure has been an interesting ride. In the 6 years I have been here, there have been very few times where this has felt like work to me. I have tried to think about why this is and there are 3 things that have really stuck out for me and they are as follows:

1. #People: I learnt very early on in life, whilst working at a receptionist at the then Health and Racquet Club (now Virgin Active) that this is the most important part of any job to me. That job, opening the club on Sundays and public holidays, as a student was, let's say rough, but were it not for the characters we worked with....yoh it would have been death!!! This organisation has got some really good people that work here. People that seem to know their 'why'. There are some folk here who I believe could earn significantly more in the private sector or somewhere else, if they wanted to (some have left to do that and good on them and their families, but by doing this they have also create a space for the next person to show what they can contribute, it was sad to see some of them leave, others... it was their time I guess, much like most things in life). A lot of the people in the organisation aren't doing what they do for recognition, many do it because they care about what we are trying to do, they care about doing their bit, in government, to ensure that the scarce resources entrusted to us by the public, assist the private sector in creating the much needed #jobs that will reduce unemployment, well at least that is what I believe. Sure there are some challenges and frustrations when we deal with personalities outside the organisation, but that is to be expected because their why differs from ours. Also we may also not always get it right as an organisation and the key is to take those learnings on board and be better for it.

2. #Purpose: At the time of applying for the job, I was the furtherest from looking for a job. The prior 9 years had been me trying the entrepreneur life, 3 years as an employee/shareholder in a below the line agency and then 6 completely on my own. Whilst in Ghana doing a project, a friend had come on a mission with Wesgro, the gentleman bringing the delegation to Ghana, told me more about what the agency does and that is how a 14mth or so series of Wesgro popping up in my life, lead me to applying for the role I currently hold. Clearly someone was trying to tell me something and so I had to listen right. When I got here, I won't lie I wasn't too sure what to expect, being employed again, running quite a big team, currently over 30 people and working in government doing something I wasn't too familiar with. But soon after I got here it just made sense. Ever since I left the investment banking/corporate world I decided that if I am going to turn my back on potentially making buckets of cash doing what I studied, then whatever I do next, must help others in a positive way and not feel like work, because as soon as it feels like work or a chore, I might as well get properly remunerated if it is going to feel like work right? Or find my next non-work feeling job ;) I honestly believe I have the best role at the agency overseeing export, investments and film promotion as well as 2 new divisions I helped set up, the #InvestSAOneStopShop and #DistrictUnit. I have no ambitions for any higher honours at the agency at the moment. Every day I wake up, my job is to work with people that do what they do to help government grow the economy and facilitate job creation...the why can not be clearer

3. #Leadership: I was fortunate when I came in, to have a chairperson who was pretty tough but in my mind principled and fair and a largely private sector board. It was initially intimidating and I sat and listened and I still do because there are some really wise heads in that group, they don't speak all the time but when they do, you are like dayuummm!!! Key for me though was the CEO, he was a big part of the reason for me taking this job and I am grateful to him and the chair and deputy chair for thinking I was able and capable off doing this role. What I liked about what he has done with the place is he helped build the organisation's profile and built a relatively flat unbureaucratic culture, where people were free to try things, their ideas mattered even if they weren't implemented :). He allowed his executive teams to run their teams. He is an interesting personality in that he is seen as a blue eyed boy so in some instances it made our jobs easier when we were dealing with stakeholders, but in other ways it was one hell of an unnecessary challenge, but once again...people right. I was pretty fortunate in that when I joined I inherited some good team members. It has been very interesting for me to watch how people have come in and had a 'why' very different from the organisation's 'why' and they eventually worked themselves out of the system. I believe I have a very hands off approach to leadership, in a way it mimics how I like to be managed. My thinking is you have been hired because we feel that you can very ably do the job you have been hired to do, so we agree on what we need to achieve and I let you get on with it, else why are we paying you right? I might as well do it myself. I quite enjoy watching people grow into their best selves and if there is something I can do to be a part of this journey, sign me up. Outside of the organisation I have been fortunate to witness the leadership of the #WesternCape Premier, past and present, the provincial MEC for economic opportunities, past and present, the head of department of economic development and tourism and dept of agriculture, DDGs, Chief Directors, the past Mayors of the #CityOfCapeTown, the mayco member for the economy and his team, different consuls general, our foreign offices overseas, the DTIC, CEOs of the #SaldanhaBayIDZ, #GreenCape and #AtlantisSEZ. To say it has been interesting may be an understatement!

It sure has been a gas these past 6 years. A little over 2 months we welcomed a new CEO, a year or so ago we welcomed a new chair and deputy chair... The energy in the organisation is different, but that is change and why it is necessary. We hope that it takes us to a higher level and as the saying goes, growth happens just outside your comfort zone. 

So here is to the year ahead and whatever it brings, if I were to feel as if 2021 was a annus horribilis it would be allowable, but au contraire... truly blessed and rather grateful. #mindset #perspective. Wishing you all a year that is everything you make it

Does woke equate critical race theory?

 Man, if I had to tell you how many times I have written this post over the past month you would have a fat chuckle! It is such an emotive topic but one that id hope would result in dialogue so anyway heeerree goes… 

 

Over the last little while I have been bombarded with this term “Woke” and then recently another “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) Say whaaaa?!! Yes, exactly my thoughts too, but thank goodness for Auntie Google right?! See up until a few weeks ago when I attended an engagement where Helen Zille’s book “#Go woke, stay broke” was discussed, I admittedly hadn’t paid much mind to this term CRT. My interest was piqued however where it was said that the term woke in a way equated critical race theory. Also kindly note the room was largely filled with people that the equating of these 2 ideas would benefit, in my humble opinion. Yes, indeed another first for me. But let me help ya’all out with some definitions

 

woke, adjective: Originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice; frequently in stay woke. (Source: Oxford English Dictionary)

 

critical race theory (CRT), intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans. (Source: Britannica)

 

This term woke has been floating about for some time now, way before CRT stepped into my lane, so you can imagine my bewilderment when the 2 were likened. I’m a simple human and to me woke is woke and CRT is CRT. You are just complicating my mind by trying to make them the same, it feels akin to trying to fit a square peg into a rectangular hole, it kinda, sorta fits and you can make yourself and some others who like what you are saying believe it fits, but it really doesn’t fit. Now I’m no researcher but I know 1 or 2 people so I decided to conduct a small nyana survey. I asked them what their understanding of woke was. The older generation, like myself, struggled a wee bit with the exact definition but had the gist of what the term referred to but not one of the many people I came across over a 2/3 week period EVER linked CRT to woke. NOT ONE. 

 

My observation of this world we live in is that it is geared towards males and in some societies more so than in others. Case in point being having a room full of old men pontificating about reproductive choice. For real? I use this one because I find it theee most ridiculous of them all. Here we are as guys, we drop a seed and life carries on largely as ‘normal’, some of us even decide to make like Craig David and walk away, yet we want to decide on what a woman, who has to carry and grow this life form and nurture it till it is no more can do with it? haaibo 

 

The speaker at the event I attended was saying that being woke equates CRT which equates to the systematic dismantling of the role Caucasian heterosexual males play(ed) in society. Interesting equation. I am going to try and take a look at it a different way. #meToo movement, LGBQTI standing up, black folk asking to be seen. All these people are trying to raise awareness or a consciousness of the world where we see the Caucasian heterosexual male as the apex. It may not necessarily be a bad thing. Because there are more categories in this world than just that. Now please I beg oh, I’m not for one second calling for the elimination of anyone, but more the recognition of others. I look at this continent and I see that there is a strong race for resources. The west wants it, the east wants it. But one’s approach seems more right than the other’s, which I guess requires further investigation to determine the reality. But the rhetoric is out there and many of us lap it up without much research being undertaken to determine accuracy.  

 

Anyway onto CRT and my very limited take on it, Colonialism, apartheid, 1820 settlers, Zulu wars, Anglo Boer war, the Holocaust, world wars Vietnamese war, Cambodian war, ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, slavery….as much as we wish they didn’t, the all happened. Their effects still linger in society to this day. Do I believe those behind these atrocities should be revered? Ehhh NO! Do I think they should be erased from all spheres of life? Ehhh No! What I do struggle with is the idea that a certain way of being is the apex, a yardstick against which we should all hold ourselves. It may not always be overt, but it creeps in. 

 

So whilst doing my survey, I was having a chat with a good mate of mine who is pretty senior at one of our banks in SA. And he gave me an example of a guy who is brilliant at his job, but he added that this guy will never be a great deal maker because he doesn’t drink, mountain bike, play golf and talk smut, how will he connect with the dudes? He comes from another side of the tracks, different religious beliefs and his old man is a mechanic (this one got me a wee bit because why should that be a thing, but I digress in parenthesis). He just wouldn’t gel with the guys with the cash that you need to shmoooze to get the deals. I then engaged with another mate from another institution who was part of an interviewing panel. A host of people were interviewed, and he found one guy to be an absolute standout. The other manne (men in Afrikaans…written for effect/illustration) said nah bra, he won’t fit the culture because of his background and religion. (Sure there are those occasions where people are shoved into positions purely because of the melanin concentration mostly to address some of the injustices of the past because let’s be fair, were it not for laws compelling people to look beyond their norm or comfort zone, some of us may not have gotten a chance to show we are able and capable). 

 

I currently live in Cape Town and large part of our job is to host industry events to listen to and see how we can or are assisting industry grow the economy. I won’t lie I am always struck by the demographic in the room. Pick an industry, any industry...

 

These are a few snap shots taken from one lense, other lenses may show the beholders eye something else. But Some people still wonder why making statements like Black Lives Matter is relevant or necessary. Indulge me for a second will ya? At the start of the Euro2020, the English football team decided take a stand against injustice. This is a young team, a diverse team, a unified team lead by someone who seems a good human. Before every game they took a knee to take a moment to remind themselves and others that injustices have no space in their game and possibly lives too. Good on them and on the back of that and their ability, they managed to achieve something NO OTHER male English football team has managed in 50 odd years I think, and that is to make it to the finals of any tournament of note. They took this stance as a stance against intolerance, largely racism. They were booed, ridiculed, insulted… 

 

Well let’s just take a quick look at what happened on Sunday 11.07.2021, Euro 2020 finals 3 brave young men, one dark the other 2 mixed i.e. they hold Caucasian genes too, missed penalties for England against Italy, what happened to them? The weight on those kids shoulders when they stepped up to take the penalties knowing what abuse might befall them should they fail, was etched on their faces. It is going to sound prophetic, but when they were taking the penalties, I hoped they wouldn’t miss, but my soul felt that they would miss (Jorginho too for that matter). I sent my mate a message straight after that to say those kids are gonna get it, and just like clockwork…. 

 

In 2006, I can’t remember Rooney (sent off) Stevie G and Frank Lampard (penalty misses) getting any abuse when they lost to Portugal. And sadly it is not just them let the Springboks lose or a person who is darker than Caucasian play poorly, the abuse they have to contend with?! Those are very simple examples that I bring up to show where we are in this world. We have progressed much but many still see life in race, gender, sexuality, religion and we need to speak out against injustices wherever we find them. Had someone stood up and spoken out against Hitler and his rhetoric would the world not have been better off?

 

So am I woke? Ge-arrahere man! I’ve been out here speaking boxing for the longest time. Not a fan of the term, but then again I don’t like being pigeon-holed. There are things that speak to me and my soul and things that don’t. Kinda like most people. I despise things I believe to be unjust and those may not seem unjust to others and I accept that. Do I believe rhinos should be poached, hell no and I sometimes shrug my shoulders in a ‘oh this life sometimes’ sort of way when I read that a would be poacher was mauled by a lion. But will I take up arms to fight to save the rhino, not so much. Gender based violence or someone calling someone he doesn’t know, a woke lesbian bitch, (which in itself is all kinds of wrong so the reason for her drawing the ire of this man, makes it even more annoying) you can sign me the fudge up! 

Oh life

 Over the past few months, I have been fortunate enough to be introduced to a whole new world of people I wouldn’t ordinarily engage with. It sure has been interesting seeing how realities differ. A fair amount of them seem fixated on classifying people either as leftists, capitalist, communists or socialists. Much of the conversation gained momentum during the US presidential debate where some would gladly back Trump’s republicans and throw shade on Biden’s Democrats, calling them inept socialists. When I tried to dig deeper, from the little that I read, the a glaring difference between the 2 during the last 3 presidential terms is that it seems as if between the tax cuts, war mongering, sub prime crisis and the pandemic, the 2 Republicans on either side of Obama have racked up the biggest deficits the US economy has ever known. In fact the 3 presidents at the helm when the US experienced its biggest deficits ever were Lincoln (Civil war), Bush (funding 2 wars) and Trump (even prior to covid) read this article if you like https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump. I raise this point only because many of them tend to fall on the running of the economy as their central argument

 

But that isn’t why I write this blog. I listen to many of these people mentioned above and all I can think is that they are either a few years older than I am, smart or think they are smart or rich and feel they have much to lose, because in my 44, ‘middle class’ years on this earth, I have never spent so much time debating or conversing about these terms as I have in the past few months, and my background is finance but now working for government to aid their job facilitation efforts, (which by my summation would mean that I should have spent some time grappling with these things. If I had to ask say Agnes who helps me out over the weekends at times what she thinks about these things, I dare say she like me would say, do I have running water, is my garbage collected, can I go to a good hospital, can my kids go to school, you know stuff that matters. I listen and engage in these conversations hoping to throw out perhaps a different viewpoint, but I guess often times, stewing in one’s version of reality is just what one needs or wants, I guess the same could be said of me and my views right? Some people seem fixated on these terms socialist/communists and how evil they are. Who in 2021, of any relevance (with respect of course) conforms to the traditional definitions of socialists or capitalists? Those days of the red of Russia and China are no more. China has always featured amongst the fastest growing economies in the world over the past few years and it is the second largest economy in the world right now, have a read here to see how it places https://www.investopedia.com/insights/worlds-top-economies/ 

 

To be honest large economies such as UK, Norway, Denmark, France adopt some so called socialist tendencies through their healthcare and social welfare programs, hell a place like Sweden, you have to buy booze from a government run liquor outlet. Oh wait government bail outs, the kind that the world is dishing out right now, what of those? Are they not also forms of socialism? Or do we just call them stimulus packages and move along?

The world has changed or rather those black and white definitions many of us cling to in order to define, categorise or make sense of people or things are outdated and our minds need a refresh. Go on, join us !



“In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance.” George Orwell, 1984

 

Whilst I was hunkered down in my humble abode during over the holidays, I got stuck into an old book by George Orwell that I’ve been wanting to read for a wee while, called 1984 and a friend suggested I read A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley as well and I duly obliged of course, it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of places to go to or people to see right?! Dayum!!! Can you believe that those 2 books that were written the late 1940s and the early 1930s contained many concepts/ideas/situations/realities/imaginations written about in those 2 thought provoking pieces of literature are just as relevant then as it is now. What strikes me even more is that those opposed to totalitarianism and the worlds portrayed by both of those books, actually practice some of those things they oppose today and would love for it to remain as such. You look at how society is ‘tiered’ at the moment with the Rich living their best lives, the middle class working the hardest to ensure the system continues to function and the have nots who no one seemingly cares much about. In Huxley’s book they have 5 castes Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons, with Alphas being at the top of food chain and the Epsilons tantamount to slaves, I guess.

 

If I had to ask people who are against the mind control or ‘big brother is watching’ worlds portrayed by those books whether they would like to exist in those worlds, I’m sure their answer would be absolutely not! Poof! Disgusting! Damnit humans, are interesting folk! A lot of people who say argue against religion, say if God does exist, why does H/She give me free will, I must just be told what to do or think, ok live in the world of 1984 then, oh heeeeelll no!! ! Simplified example but you get my gist. I ain’t no shrink, but my observation of some of us is we identify with what suit our narrative and see it as the whole truth. In this brave new world, the castes mentioned above, are produced via embryos pumped with chemicals and hormones in order to determine their caste, I guess similar in a way to genetic modification efforts that we are currently pursuing in a way right?

 

Man, so many intertwined thoughts rushing into my poor mind at the moment ey so forgie me if I am all over the place. Let’s think about the wars that have taken place recently, I am thinking of the carnage in Syria and Yemen, granted I haven’t given it much thought but what is it all for, any war for that matter? What are they for? Are they waged merely to fuel economies? This world we live in, we seem to be building an environment where people want more new things in order to keep the economies running. Humans seem to be tending to live the lives they claim to not want to. People are getting rid of God or at least trying to, loads of free love and fornication being thrown around going on as opposed to the monogamy portrayed in Huxley’s reservations. Here is an extract from Huxley’s book that describes what I’m referring to “Not so far into the future, the world has become a single supranational state, ruled by a council of World Controllers. Consumerism has replaced religion, science has eliminated illness and ageing; the happiness of all is ensured by genetic engineering, brainwashing, recreational sex and tranquillizing drugs.”

 

Ideas such as big brother and the thought police seem to be playing themselves out in our world nowadays with social media an censorship. Right? It may not be exactly how it was meant, but this, dare I say capitalist free market existence we so revere could be interpreted as leading us towards parts of this totalitarian world we so despise. Big brother is watching and we have given them our permission to, interesting to see how it all plays out. And it seems like it isn’t the big brother we 

 

I was having a chat with a friend the other day and he asked me which parts of the books I enjoyed the most and I never really got to answer, but I must say in Orwell’s 1984, when Winston is given the book written by Goldstein and he is in his hideout and excitedly starts consuming its pages. Man the pearls that come out of that book. Take this one for instance… 

 

“It was possible, no doubt, to imagine a society in which WEALTH, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries, should be evenly distributed, while POWER remained in the hands of a small privileged caste. But in practice such a society could not long remain stable. For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance.”

Deep!

 

We are a contradiction a lot of the time right?! People claim to love law and order, but if you had to ask why choose to settle in Africa to do business they will quip, damn, it’s the wild wild west out here, less regulations than in the west so you can make a buck or two. 😂

 

So just to close it all out. These terminologies people throw out to define things that tend to not fit with what we want in life, I find to be a somewhat lazy argument. The world isn’t as linear as our training has lead us to believe, I guess this flows from last week’s blog too. We are but walking contradictions mostly and it sure is a beautiful thing. My hope is to listen to learn and hopefully share and then hopefully one day we will indeed occupy a Brave New World.

Duality that is the world

 Here’s to 2021, may we have the strength and ability to encounter whatever experience it throws at us with a smile, may we be blessed to listen, learn and grow to foster a better world for those that are left behind and those that come after us. May we live to see this better world if it is our makers wish 

 

I think I have rewritten this thing about 5 times now... So much has happened since I last wrote and trying to capture my thoughts in a way that those that don’t share my thoughts, will still want to read it, seems to have occupied my mind, so I’ve decided to just be and write ‘my truth’. Life is always easier that way. 

 

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly” Morticia Addams

 

Human beings fascinate me. Let’s go back say 12 years ago, there is hysteria growing around a young, learned man born of an American mother and a Kenyan father. He spoke of hope, he spoke to all, young and old, dark and light skinned, his words resonated not just with his countrymen, but across the world. He spoke not of division but of togetherness to build a better world. The man’s administration inherited an economy that had been decimated, seemingly by the greed of Wall Street. The world was in a recession and it would get worse during his 1st term, but over 8 years the literature shows that they managed to steady the ship and handed it over to the next lot. All that being said, as an outsider observing him as a leader, he seemed to me as an inspirational, caring and respectful person who built a team of competent people that on a whole could get things done. He not only spoke of being a man of God, but he acted in a way that displayed to us, observing from the sidelines that he was. He spoke and behaved like a family man. His words didn’t seem to discriminate against anyone based on colour, sexual orientation or religion. He seemed to fit MY definition of a decent human being. 

Was he perfect, hell no! He made a few military calls that I believe have had adverse ramifications to this day. His part in Libya, drone strikes, Benghazi attack, Snowden story to name a few. What is more is that I’ve been trying to google some random scandals that he was accused of and so far what I came up with was that he asked marines to hold umbrellas for him and the Turkish president during a press conference, he and his wife went on a date night to NYC to watch a broadway show, Dijon mustard burgers, selfie stick, riding a bike with a helmet… man watch this for a laugh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWxq80oze0

To this day I hear many people insulting him and his administration in favour of the administration that was to follow, which is absolutely fine because there are over 7bn people in this world and you will never be everything to every one.

 

I point this out because it leads to my theme of this weeks’ musings, which is the duality that is the world. 5 years ago the same country brought us a man different to the one described above, polar opposites some might venture, before taking office this man had a parade of questionable things that announced his arrival on the scene. (He was up against arguably the most qualified political person to run for office, but let’s shelve that duality conversation). A few sexual assault accusations, misogynist recordings. He spoke of religion but couldn’t even quote a single verse from the Bible, I mean John 3:16 everyone knows it, he watched a lot of WWE, that is Stone Cold’s mantra, I mean come onnn!! A Titanic full of blatant lies is what he sailed on. His campaign was built on division, attacking people, dehumanizing many, finding an enemy and being a winner, it was the theme of many a childhood sports field if I had to be honest. Truth be told he is a populist not too different from South Africa’s Julius Malema, he knows what to say to get his base fired up, but I’d go as far as saying in terms of intellect, Juju may be brighter than 45. But this man was to be the one. The same people that berated the one before, lay down coats and palm branches for the saviour to ride in on. I mean imagine a leader, who just uses soundbites and has very little depth in his answers other than insults where he feels uncomfortable, fires or dismisses you if you question or disagree with him, hires his family members and close allies in key roles, syphoning public money to his private resort under the guise of government business….and no I’m not talking about Jacob Zuma…but let me park that thought for a moment.

 

On 25^th May 2020, for 8 minutes and 46 seconds the world witnessed America. What the world witnessed wasn’t unique to America, because many people all over the world experience similar treatment, in different forms. In this case it took the form of a smug looking policeman who felt that he had every right in this world, to place a knee on the neck of another restrained human being, whose crime was to have allegedly made a payment with a counterfeit $20 note. Don’t get me wrong, the man who was being arrested had a checkered past, but from what I have read, when he got out of incarceration, he was rebuilding his life. Even if he wasn’t, what his end has no place in my world. 

This wasn’t the first-time police brutality against a certain group of people was witnessed and it wasn’t going to be the last neither…

It struck a chord in many souls, domestic and afar. It showed the injustice much of the world has to contend with. This injustice has not just sprung up, it lives and breeds amongst us and has for the longest time. I say this because I was privy to a few conversations throwing shade on the world’s protests. I implore you if you are reading this blog to google a few names, 1918 Mary Turner, 1935 – Rubin Stacy, 1955 - Emmett Till, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbrey, Amy Cooper. Watch When they see us and 13^th on Netflix. When I hear Americans say this is not us, my only thought is no friend, This IS YOU, it has always been you, only difference now is that camera phones are around and you had a president that emboldened you to unleash yourselves to the world. Let me be clear this isn’t all of America or Americans but 74mil people voted to say that it’s ok (I accept that this is a lazy deduction and in some cases their choice had a lot more to it than voting for 45, but I don’t approve of how the ANC has been running my dear South Africa over the past few elections so I don’t vote for them).

 

On the 1^st Sept 2016, a sportsman decided to take the knee during the national anthem. My interpretation of his knee was in protest of the subhuman treatment being experienced by some of his countrymen particularly at the hands of law enforcement agencies, who are there to protect. His knee was one to ask for life to be acknowledged and preserved, man did he cop some flack, he lost his contract, he was treated as the scum of the earth. The president weighed in hard. Same president was rather silent when one of his kin, kneed the life out of another human. The president and many supporters even here in South Africa were like blah whatever, but I guess because of Covid19 the world was at home, the world had some time to process this, and many corners of the world realized wait, this is actually not right?! People took the streets, mainly in peaceful protest, asking for lives to be seen as EQUAL no one was asking for special treatment, just equality. If you see me walking down the street don’t assume I want your stuff, if you see me at a restaurant, bar or a shop don’t assume I work there or I am a dealer, if I walk into a boardroom or on a sports field, don’t automatically assume that I am an affirmative recruit, if you see me in a flashy car, don’t assume I do dodgy work. This is my lived reality here in SA, so I can imagine being a melanin infused male in the states.

 

The world stood up and protested. The police presence was very visible and their treatment of some of these protestors was pretty severe, an image I can’t ever erase is watching peaceful people getting evacuated by force, so that a grown ass man could go and have a photo op in front of a church, no words, nothing, just a photo, with a Bible. HAVE YOU EVER?!

 

Roll on 6^th January 2021, those that don’t understand the meaning of the word privilege, google Capitol raid and watch every video you can find. I cannot think of anyone who was surprised that it happened. I must add though that not everyone who participated in the rally should be painted with the same brush because there were some that went there to protest a cause that was dear to them, some went to go and start what one woman who got pepper sprayed start…a revolution. WHAT A WOW

 

Unless you have experienced life in a certain way or been raised to believe a certain thing, one can never fully grasp another’s point of view. The protests for equality resonated with me because the evidence is clear to me. There is a culture where certain people feel they are superior to others. I have been on a group with some well to do people, some maybe not so well to do, but a lot of the same mindset that we are at the top of the food chain and we must protect it and anyone who wants to try and help those below us is a threat to our position and they must be insulted and dismissed. Same could be said of locals who believe that foreigners are a threat to their existence and resources. Some might want to debate that this is fact, but we can have that conversation another time

 

I know a fair amount of people that love 45, they have loved everything about him from the beginning, and they have every right to. But from even before he took over, he was never my kind of person, I don’t care how much money he had or claimed to have or that he was the president of the USA, I see character before position or wealth. I have as much respect for the guys working the floors at Virgin Active as I do someone sitting in some fancy boardroom, it’s your station in life, oftentimes a product of the cards you are dealt in this life, it doesn’t change your struggle or whether you are more or less human, well at least not to me. So, the protests for human rights I absolutely get, the vandalism not at all, but in this life there are always opportunists, right? The protests for 45, I don’t get at all, purely on what it was based on. It has been 2 months since the election and THERE HAS BEEN NOT A SHRED OF CREDIBLE EVIDENCE that has been presented to any court that they would consider worthy of hearing. Even the supreme court which one would think was in his favour. Secondly, what I say is that if you are a sitting president, who controls everything, some of the so-called swing states are republican run AND you let people that are out of government steal the elections, then you are not serious and you deserve what you get…tongue in cheek but it makes it all the more unbelievable. But hear me now, I’m not saying that everyone that attended this rally was a thug, because there were a fair amount of people that attended this call to mobilise, but a far smaller group did what they did.

 

The most fascinating thing for me is that for a few weeks there were largely peaceful protests but the military presence around them even guarding Capitol Hill was insane. You had people just getting picked up on the road and shoved into unmarked cars. People wer shouting the odds at these protestors. Slogans like ‘when the looting starts the shooting starts’. You had 45 tear gassing and stun gunning people to go take a pic in front of a church with a Bible. How dare they destroy our court houses, our statues, blaaah blaaah….

On the 6^th Jan, even after knowing about this for such a long time there was very little security presence, hardly a heavy hand in dealing with these thugs who were absolutely destroying property in the name of something that had no evidence. If they can let this happen to a house full of many of their own, I worry for inauguration day and for the safety of VP elect Mrs. K Harris in particular. One has to stop and wonder, were these thugs not who they were, were they say a minority group or a different religious faith what end would be the end that they have met? I mean would it have even gotten that far? Would they be taking selfies with security personnel? Helped down the stairs?

Where are these voices both local and foreign denouncing what happened, similar to their condemnation of the human rights marches? oh I know….silent, that is where they are.

I made reference to those lynching and deaths earlier on because in many of those cases they had police links. You see what happened that day defines privilege  

The mindset is entrenched, in the words of Childish Gambino “This IS America”.