Break Free

Ever noticed how people like bringing back the past no matter how bad or ugly it was. Most of us have remained bound simply because we refuse to let go of what happened years before we were even born. I'm talking about people who keep referring to colonial rule, people who do not realise how racist they are in ignorance, well I'd like to believe it's ignorance.

My Economics tutor cracked a joke in class one day of how racism will forever exist because of how white cars have black wheels and white bread costs more than brown bread. It's funny how people who come up with those jokes are "black" so I thought to myself maybe it's just an inferiority complex we have because of the race we belong to. The problem we all have is we've classified ourselves into "colours" unless one is Indian or Asian of course. We as "black" people remain prisoners of our past because even up to now  we speak of "white peoples sports", "white peoples food", "white peoples songs" etc..

Earlier on today I was thinking of how hard it must be to be white these days. I believe the end of black oppression was the beginning of white oppression. Why do I say so? The process of compensating the previously disadvantaged people has gone a little out of proportion, something that was not intended by the people that fought for our liberation. Weighty men like Nelson Mandela had hoped that we all live in harmony having equal benefits  and equal opportunities in a non excludable manner so what therefore are we trying to say when we speak of Black Economic Empowerment? I was researching information about universities and it struck me that most universities in South Africa have a white population of less than 5% and one would wonder, is that not oppression? Generations before us that actually fought for our freedom wanted equality but we seem to be revenging what was done to them all in the name of recompense.

It's quite sad that even up to now we have black people who resent white people and vice versa. As a foreigner in South Africa my medium of communication is obviously English and I've often been ignored because I'm using the white men's language. This is true for most African countries because of the assumption going round that every black person should communicate in their African language rather than English thus some people earn themselves the title of being "coconuts" simply because they follow the Western Culture. We tend to distort history fighting a battle that was won by those who came before us

You're probably wondering what I'm trying to say, well it's simple, let us as black people not forget the reason why multitudes of men and women sacrificed their lives for our independence. I strongly believe it was not for us to hold a better place in society but for us to live equally with every person not bearing in mind which race they belong to. Mandela said “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”  Therefore let us love one another, black, white, Indian Asian, and any other race cause when all is said and done we're all people.    

Hidden Tears

I've often been told of how I'm forever smiling and up to now I had never really come to understand the gravity of how there is a story behind every smile. Unfortunately most of those stories remain untold and with every smile that goes, little by little our heart's are torn. We tend to smile at those very people that cause us to cry when we're alone at night. I don't know if it's just me but have you ever felt that maybe if you did show that anger and frustration, those tears, it would be accounted for as a sign of weakness? We are often labelled as people with a strong character, the kind of people who have an "I don't care" attitude not knowing that it's all a façade. I've come to know that everyone has emotions it's just that those emotions are not all triggered by the same thing. You probably will never know how do handle other people's feelings until someone else fiddles around with your own. The problem is after we go through the hurt and pain we become so hard hearted to the extent that we seek revenge even on those people who have nothing to do with what we've been through. Try befriending a person who's been betrayed before or dating a person who's been heart broken and you'll understand what I mean. Why is it when people say nasty things to us we pretend to take it lightly even put on a smile yet when we get home it's the very thing that will delay us from falling asleep? The horrible thing about life, well personally, is that we're often attracted to the very things that break us. It's often hard to stand up to those bullies and say exactly how we feel. I believe every person has been hurt by someone because we live in a world full of people with characters that contradict ours so hopefully I'm preaching to the right crowd. I urge you, yes you, decide to be different, we've obviously heard the golden rule over and over again "do unto others as you would want them to do unto you". Many people go to bed at night in the most extreme cases thinking of suicide and for others just ways to withdraw from society because of what someone else has done to them or said about them. Don't be deceived, words have the ability to make or break someone, actions included so be careful what you say and what you do to the next person !!!