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Showing posts with the label activism

On 'natural'

I don't think 'natural' is good. There are many things that we apply (some almost arbitrary) (some ignorant and backward ideas of natural and not-natural agenda-propagating) rules of morality. I think 'natural' is a political rhetoric, profoundly abused.  'Diversity' is the only defensible rhetoric for 'thinking' beings. We are not, of course, the only creatures that do thinking, but we are the only creatures with the power to oppress others and other creatures whose languages we don't understand.  Us (badly) thinking creatures, slowly, ponderously gathering the evidence of our badness (I see no reason for your (god's) patience with us), have the ability to decide to be better than (the fashionable) 'natural' of the day.  It is our responsibility to transcend our vileness. Just that. That one task. Our thinkingness I believe is for that. A world (constructed by god) to demonstrate this point. And we will find every rhetor...

South African Referendum 1992

If You've Ever Heard Someone Unjustly Talk About Reverse Racism You Have To See This South African's Response http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/05/30/youve-ever-heard-someone-unjustly-talk-reverse-racism-see-south-africans-response/ This white woman is an idiot. But I do think this is a very ungenerous representation of what happened in the referendum. Politics is a process, history is a process. I don't think 'whites ended apartheid'. That would gloss over the many lives of many black activists changed, ruined and taken, not to mention the lives of the few white anti-apartheid activists here, and the many many many activists of all colors everywhere around the world that acted against apartheid. Thank you. You made it happen. ONE of the things that happened was the referendum. The referendum asked "Do you want to end apartheid?". 76% of white people (those who had the political power TO END APARTHEID) in South Africa said that they didn't want it. ...

When people defend posting pics of hurt-by-human animals

And you need to tell us HOW to stop this. The sites that have the actions have the pictures so we will never know what to DO. So - It's more effective to give us a task. Don't post a picture of an animal hurt by firecrackers, report the person, open a dog shelter for the evening if you have a suitable yard, donate to a NAMED anti-firecracker organization, provide a complete list of Ward Representatives email addresses we can write to, organise a rally/lobby/toyitoyi/picket we can attend, tell us where we can volunteer the day after, tell us what calming things to do, organise a posse for the next day with a suitable car to find wandering animals, organise a posse with no animals to trawl for monsters and report them to the police, take pictures of the perpetrators cars and give them to the police, stage a sitin at the police station to demand that all cars on site are used to find perpetrators, take the police doughnuts for a year to extort a promise of help, tell us how to tra...

Help required ~ Pretoria Art Museum

Help required ~ Pretoria Art Museum has no guards who can exclusively look after the parking lot - so car stealers just wait patiently until the guard goes off to patrol other areas. They have no on-site person who answers the two telephone lines they have. The area around it is a mess with papers and rotting food. Their website...(s!) are all neglected. I have sent through a note and got a shrug back. I have suggested: "Have two-day exhibitions over one weekend a month. Take the money you would do the whole month's worth of guards and employ two on overtime for that weekend. Get an extra person to man the phones on those two days. That way we can come to the exhibitions, feel safe, get the full service treatment guaranteed. I for one would rather have one good weekend to go to Pretoria Art Museum than none at all." Anyone like to support me and send a note through to Mmutle Kgokong (MmutleKg@tshwane.gov.za) who is at least prepared to forward emails to the shrugger? ...

When to speak up

SPEAK if your silence can be damaging, especially if others are being damaged if you have a clear desired outcome if you can clearly identify the behavior you want changed if you find you keep having to explain yourself over and over, you're not doing it right you have nothing to lose SILENT revenge personality based comment - you're selfish if you haven't considered what you have done in the situation Source: Susan Fee, Jill Johnson

NetProphet 2012

Took place in Cape Town, I listened online - which another listener called listening in morse code because it was so choppy. And it must have been from their side because a 10 MBps guy in England experienced the same thing. And I followed the #NetProphet hashtag on twitter. It was fabulous. I was almost there. Here are my jumble of notes SPEAKERS #NetProphet ~ #RichardHardiman Richard Hardiman: Internet Radio in South Africa. Why it shouldn’t work • a differentiation happens online • consultants from overseas tell you how to do it • focus on client, not the end user, the client is the advertiser • Tim Bishop: Too many (Digital) Entrepreneurs= fragmentation of best brains into 1000s of small entities. We must #ENTREPRELABORATE • working for yourself you mind the hours and small salaries less because you are passionate • when you set out to do something different, people question it. • Average time spent listening to 'normal' radio is 23 minutes but internet radio is ...