Limpopo corruption piece still in progress. For today though, I write about the DASO poster "scandal". Enjoy:
I'll start by saying this: if you were offended by the DA Student Organisation poster, which shows a "naked" couple embracing, then you're an idiot.
The poster depicts a black woman embracing a white gentleman. They both appear to be topless in the shot. Because of this, all the ignorant perverts have decided to crawl out of the woodwork making statements like "the DA is promoting promiscuity" and "does the DA think the struggle was just about cross-race dating?!".
The tag line for the poster states: "In OUR future, you wouldn't look twice". As I generally do, let me break this poster and the ignorance of the idiots who made the above statements down.
The aim of the poster, as unoriginal and cheesy as it may be, is to get people talking about race and I suppose to become more comfortable with people who may not share their skin color. The first objective has clearly been achieved, and as for the latter, well, as long as people see sex in a poster about race then...
As a starting point, a dictionary definition of promiscuity is "indulging in promiscuous (casual and indiscriminate) sexual relations". Let me point something out here, if you take a closer look at that poster you'll notice that you can't see wedding rings on either of the models hands, not because they're not there, but because YOU CAN'T SEE THIER RING FINGERS. Erego, how do you draw the conclusion that they are being promiscuous? I doubt I need to make the point that the same people screaming promiscuity are probably the same ones walking around donning thier "Kill for Zuma" tees.
As for the comment about the struggle not having been about cross-race sex/dating, I'll say this, people fought for thier rights. This INCLUDED the right to date whomever you wanted. Maybe DASO should've had a photo of a super wealthy black guy in front of huge mansion with a huge assortment of luxury German sedans parked outside with the tagline "In OUR future, you wouldn't have to investigate"...
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Objectively Speaking
I wrote this piece because I was/am pissed about "racism", politics and our "education" system. Read it, give me your thoughts. (Note: I know some of you had issues leaving comments before cause you had to login, but I changed the settings so hopefully it works now:) Happy New Year by the way. Enjoy:
South Africa's matric results came out on the 4th of January. We achieved a 70 odd percent pass rate. If you celebrated and creamed your pants when that was announced, you're a dumbass and you're part of the problem. I hope that offended you. My second point of offense (to you) has to do with people forever more bitching and whining about how racism prevents them from getting certain jobs or living in certain cities. Get over it! If you feel that statement makes me a self-hating, model-c coconut please refer to the latter half of the third sentence of this paragraph.
Let me break down my two statements economically for you, since everyone in SA is a life taught economist. People go on and on and on about how racism is rife in certain parts of the country and they could never work there. I'll take Cape Town as an example since it was recently in the "news" regarding how racist it is. I have met many a black professional who has said to me "I could never work in Cape Town, there aren't any blacks there (especially in senior positions) therefore it must be racist." Hmmmm. Fair comments, but did you ever stop to think that black people leave places like Cape Town because they're chasing money in Joburg? Did you ever imagine that the large majority of blacks in SA aren't from Cape Town, THEREFORE they choose not to build their lives/careers there? No, you default to racism.
Now let's bring in the economics of the pass rate. People jump up and down like monkies when they see a 70% pass rate. Great, but what does that really mean? I'll tell you what it means: jack shit!
Granted, we broke the mystical 70% pass rate, but that was based on lowered standards. I quiver to think what the pass rate would look like if we used the tertiary standard 50% pass mark. Above and beyond that, the percentage which actually matters, the exemption rate (those who qualify for tertiary) is at 24%. That means, and follow closely boys and girls, a whopping 76% of our matriculants are walking away from high school either empty handed or with nothing more than a glorified piece of paper. Let me not even get into the fact that roughly 50% of kids who started Grade 1 with the class of 2011 didn't even make it to matric.
Now we all know that in South Africa you need one of two things to get ahead in life. You must either have a reputable qualification from a reputable institution, or you need to have contacts. I won't even get into work experience because that's a whole other kettle of fish.
So here's the bit where I need you to apply that life taught economic thinking of yours. Let's say you're in a position to hire (read empower) an individual for a summer internship, knowing full well that your aim is to maximize profit and efficiency for your business/company, so objectivity is key. You have Sipho, who goes to a "black school". He's top of his grade and he does this by following a ritual everyday. Go to school, come home and study. No TV, magazines or Internet because his parents can't afford them, and no friends because they're a distraction. On the other hand you have Mandla. Mandla goes to a former model-c school. He's an average student, but he is well read and up to date with current affairs. He comes from a middle income family so he can afford a good tertiary education - Sipho does not, and he was hoping to save his earnings from this job to pay his registration fees and work his ass off so he could get a bursary (but you don't know this). Given that typical interview questions can include things like: "What's your take on the death of Bin Laden?" or "Do you think it's fair for Iran to withhold oil?" or "What effect do you think the tolls will have on trade in Gauteng?", who do you think will answer the questions better/with more confidence? Now that you've answered that question, I doubt I'd be wrong in saying that's the guy you would hire 10 times out of 10. That means while Mandla continues to thrive, Sipho will lose faith in hard work and most likely end up in a political party siphoning money from the state.
So let me ask this: is it really fair to claim that certain areas are racist because there aren't any blacks living/working there? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying lets shut up about racism, but maybe we should stop defaulting to it as an excuse everytime instead of doing some introspection into ourselves and our people.
I will conclude by asking this, if we define racism as the systematic degradation of blacks by a group of individuals, objectively speaking, is it not those in charge of the education and uplifment of blacks who are not only failing at their jobs but also keep shouting racism who are the true racists here?
South Africa's matric results came out on the 4th of January. We achieved a 70 odd percent pass rate. If you celebrated and creamed your pants when that was announced, you're a dumbass and you're part of the problem. I hope that offended you. My second point of offense (to you) has to do with people forever more bitching and whining about how racism prevents them from getting certain jobs or living in certain cities. Get over it! If you feel that statement makes me a self-hating, model-c coconut please refer to the latter half of the third sentence of this paragraph.
Let me break down my two statements economically for you, since everyone in SA is a life taught economist. People go on and on and on about how racism is rife in certain parts of the country and they could never work there. I'll take Cape Town as an example since it was recently in the "news" regarding how racist it is. I have met many a black professional who has said to me "I could never work in Cape Town, there aren't any blacks there (especially in senior positions) therefore it must be racist." Hmmmm. Fair comments, but did you ever stop to think that black people leave places like Cape Town because they're chasing money in Joburg? Did you ever imagine that the large majority of blacks in SA aren't from Cape Town, THEREFORE they choose not to build their lives/careers there? No, you default to racism.
Now let's bring in the economics of the pass rate. People jump up and down like monkies when they see a 70% pass rate. Great, but what does that really mean? I'll tell you what it means: jack shit!
Granted, we broke the mystical 70% pass rate, but that was based on lowered standards. I quiver to think what the pass rate would look like if we used the tertiary standard 50% pass mark. Above and beyond that, the percentage which actually matters, the exemption rate (those who qualify for tertiary) is at 24%. That means, and follow closely boys and girls, a whopping 76% of our matriculants are walking away from high school either empty handed or with nothing more than a glorified piece of paper. Let me not even get into the fact that roughly 50% of kids who started Grade 1 with the class of 2011 didn't even make it to matric.
Now we all know that in South Africa you need one of two things to get ahead in life. You must either have a reputable qualification from a reputable institution, or you need to have contacts. I won't even get into work experience because that's a whole other kettle of fish.
So here's the bit where I need you to apply that life taught economic thinking of yours. Let's say you're in a position to hire (read empower) an individual for a summer internship, knowing full well that your aim is to maximize profit and efficiency for your business/company, so objectivity is key. You have Sipho, who goes to a "black school". He's top of his grade and he does this by following a ritual everyday. Go to school, come home and study. No TV, magazines or Internet because his parents can't afford them, and no friends because they're a distraction. On the other hand you have Mandla. Mandla goes to a former model-c school. He's an average student, but he is well read and up to date with current affairs. He comes from a middle income family so he can afford a good tertiary education - Sipho does not, and he was hoping to save his earnings from this job to pay his registration fees and work his ass off so he could get a bursary (but you don't know this). Given that typical interview questions can include things like: "What's your take on the death of Bin Laden?" or "Do you think it's fair for Iran to withhold oil?" or "What effect do you think the tolls will have on trade in Gauteng?", who do you think will answer the questions better/with more confidence? Now that you've answered that question, I doubt I'd be wrong in saying that's the guy you would hire 10 times out of 10. That means while Mandla continues to thrive, Sipho will lose faith in hard work and most likely end up in a political party siphoning money from the state.
So let me ask this: is it really fair to claim that certain areas are racist because there aren't any blacks living/working there? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying lets shut up about racism, but maybe we should stop defaulting to it as an excuse everytime instead of doing some introspection into ourselves and our people.
I will conclude by asking this, if we define racism as the systematic degradation of blacks by a group of individuals, objectively speaking, is it not those in charge of the education and uplifment of blacks who are not only failing at their jobs but also keep shouting racism who are the true racists here?
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
What is racism really?
So, my other tweep Obi_Mike_Dexter (@Oobakeng) requested I write something more "tangible", so here it is. It's quite topical, but I believe it's relevant. It's a bit long, but I rate you'll like it. Enjoy:
What is racism really? Is it people looking down on you because of the colour of your skin? Is it your boss not letting you take on projects because you’re black and THEREFOR you are incompetent? Is it people rolling their eyes at you when you go up to present or offer a suggestion at a staff meeting because, well, what do black people know? This it would seem, is the post-94 brand of racism that’s being bandied around our “Rainbow Nation”.
Julis, his ANCYL cronies, senior COSAS members and certain ANC members and their tenderpreneur buddies run around, inciting furor in the masses of poor, black South Africans making statements like “We must declare an economic war on the white capitalists and burn down their businesses if they refuse to give us our dues” and crying foul every time someone questions their lavish lifestyles. “Is it because I’m black that I’m not allowed to live in a Sandton mansion or drive around town in a luxury German saloon? After all, I don’t own these things, the bank does, right?” Right.
My personal view, in response to the question I posed at the start of this piece is that the so-called “racism” we experience as described above is nothing more than ignorance. Stupid, idiotic, narrow-minded ignorance. The worst thing about it though, is that we as black people perpetuate it. When we sit in staff meetings with answers to questions or really pertinent points to raise but don’t, we perpetuate it. When we don’t put our hands up to take on projects that would showcase our skills and talents, we deepen the perception that blacks can’t do anything. When we mimic the cries that the media and the “opposition” parties are after our politicians “just because their black”, we further tarnish our image in the eyes of “the others”.
We need to realize that the majority of our leaders are of the mindset best described by a Smuts Ngonyama quote from a few years back: they “didn’t join the struggle to be poor.” As a public, surely, we need to at some stage wake up and realize that regardless of the reasons people are pointing out fraud and corruption, the fraud and corruption is the issue at hand, not the colour of the perpetrators’ skin. Is a murder less of a murderer because he is black? I would like to think not. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish to deny our political struggle icons and leaders, present and past any privileges or luxuries that may come with their positions, but the air of entitlement that they have and are instilling in the new leadership is scary.
To hear an early twenty-something year old talking about “I deserve this, and the government owes me that” is a problem. For a twenty-something year old to be going on about the oppression and racism he has to deal with every day at work speaks to me of a nation headed fast into the obscurity and self-destruction that has plagued so many once great African nations. This attitude, this sense of entitlement is what leads to corrupt, fraudulent, ineffective BLACK people. How can anyone ever create wealth and opportunity if they are of the mindset that they deserve it? On what basis?
I say we, as a people, need to get up off our asses and say enough. Not with our feet, not with our mouths or placards, and definitely not through violence and vandalism. We need to say enough through our actions. Next time you have something to say in a meeting but are afraid the “other people” will look at you funny because you’re black, say it anyway. Prove them wrong. Next time a project comes up within your community or business, don’t sit back because you are of the notion that “they” will look down on you, volunteer yourself. Prove them wrong, and in the process learn from the experience, grow yourself as a person so you can move onto bigger, greater things. Finally, the next time you think of uttering the words “you’re attacking him and his riches because he’s black”, in defence of your so-called leaders ask yourself, “am I really helping the cause, or am I just perpetuating the stereotype and in effect, promoting the racism?”
What is racism really? Is it people looking down on you because of the colour of your skin? Is it your boss not letting you take on projects because you’re black and THEREFOR you are incompetent? Is it people rolling their eyes at you when you go up to present or offer a suggestion at a staff meeting because, well, what do black people know? This it would seem, is the post-94 brand of racism that’s being bandied around our “Rainbow Nation”.
Julis, his ANCYL cronies, senior COSAS members and certain ANC members and their tenderpreneur buddies run around, inciting furor in the masses of poor, black South Africans making statements like “We must declare an economic war on the white capitalists and burn down their businesses if they refuse to give us our dues” and crying foul every time someone questions their lavish lifestyles. “Is it because I’m black that I’m not allowed to live in a Sandton mansion or drive around town in a luxury German saloon? After all, I don’t own these things, the bank does, right?” Right.
My personal view, in response to the question I posed at the start of this piece is that the so-called “racism” we experience as described above is nothing more than ignorance. Stupid, idiotic, narrow-minded ignorance. The worst thing about it though, is that we as black people perpetuate it. When we sit in staff meetings with answers to questions or really pertinent points to raise but don’t, we perpetuate it. When we don’t put our hands up to take on projects that would showcase our skills and talents, we deepen the perception that blacks can’t do anything. When we mimic the cries that the media and the “opposition” parties are after our politicians “just because their black”, we further tarnish our image in the eyes of “the others”.
We need to realize that the majority of our leaders are of the mindset best described by a Smuts Ngonyama quote from a few years back: they “didn’t join the struggle to be poor.” As a public, surely, we need to at some stage wake up and realize that regardless of the reasons people are pointing out fraud and corruption, the fraud and corruption is the issue at hand, not the colour of the perpetrators’ skin. Is a murder less of a murderer because he is black? I would like to think not. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish to deny our political struggle icons and leaders, present and past any privileges or luxuries that may come with their positions, but the air of entitlement that they have and are instilling in the new leadership is scary.
To hear an early twenty-something year old talking about “I deserve this, and the government owes me that” is a problem. For a twenty-something year old to be going on about the oppression and racism he has to deal with every day at work speaks to me of a nation headed fast into the obscurity and self-destruction that has plagued so many once great African nations. This attitude, this sense of entitlement is what leads to corrupt, fraudulent, ineffective BLACK people. How can anyone ever create wealth and opportunity if they are of the mindset that they deserve it? On what basis?
I say we, as a people, need to get up off our asses and say enough. Not with our feet, not with our mouths or placards, and definitely not through violence and vandalism. We need to say enough through our actions. Next time you have something to say in a meeting but are afraid the “other people” will look at you funny because you’re black, say it anyway. Prove them wrong. Next time a project comes up within your community or business, don’t sit back because you are of the notion that “they” will look down on you, volunteer yourself. Prove them wrong, and in the process learn from the experience, grow yourself as a person so you can move onto bigger, greater things. Finally, the next time you think of uttering the words “you’re attacking him and his riches because he’s black”, in defence of your so-called leaders ask yourself, “am I really helping the cause, or am I just perpetuating the stereotype and in effect, promoting the racism?”
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