Monday 30 November 2015

The Changing of the Guard

Colour me black

Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP leader who resigned as president of the organization’s Spokane chapter after being accused of lying about her race, says she identifies as an African-American.  “I identify as black,” Dolezal said in an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer on the “Today” show Tuesday.

Dolezal — who has four adopted black step-siblings, was married to a black man and has two black children — attended the historically black Howard University, graduating in 2002.

Colour me pink

Olympian Bruce Jenner, 65, has undergone gender transformation.  He has had surgery to change his male genitalia into that of a woman.  He/she has changed his/her name to Caitlin.

Colour me Left

“Caitlyn” is a woman, and Dolezal is a fraud, and that’s that. Or, as the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart put it — in much-quoted Twitterspeak: “FTLOG, Caitlyn Jenner is not “pretending” to be a woman. Move along.”

Colour me Right

Dolezal’s story isn’t comparable to Jenner’s.  Dolezal’s is, in fact, more credible. Culturally and biologically, she’s blacker than Bruce Jenner is female.  Dolezal is, for now, doubling down on the identity she’s adopted for much of her life.

This is entirely consistent with long-held Leftist notions of race as entirely a social construct, a product of longstanding efforts to draw distinctions between fellow human beings.

Youth Day 2015


I am not sure whether Africa or America is crazier these days?!  Eish.

The past two weeks I have been worshipping in a church located in the same street where I am buying a house.  The community is predominantly black, which suits me fine.  The church is all black – I am the ONLY white person there, among hundreds.  Youth also outnumber their elders by at least 3-to-1.  I like to see young people going to church.  And to its credit, I have been made to feel totally welcome.

Recently I faced a personal crisis, in a relationship with a Zionist.  So I went on a short pilgrimage to Moria, ZCC headquarters, to ask for an “intervention”.  I was welcomed with esteem and can report a professional and prophetic reception.  I was impressed, and I can testify to seeing significant changes in the gridlock I was sensing when I went up there.  Why not?  Because I am not a member?!  They didn’t mind at all.  I remember Jesus teaching that when God sends the rain, He makes it fall on both the righteous and the unrighteous.

A new ANC policy on Youth has just been released.  Its theme is “We don’t want a hand out, we want a hand up.”  It’s a familiar one-liner.  It highlights the generation gap in employment, and the way forward.  Around 70% of the unemployed are youth and around 60% of the population is under 35 as well.  This does not bode well for the future.  Most of those with jobs are middle age.  For example over 80% of COSATU members are over 35.  And unions exist to defend their members, not for the benefit of non-members…

Nonprofits exist to champion their target groups.  In C4L’s case, that is Youth.  In previous C4L bulletins, we have promoted a switch from BEE (black economic empowerment) to YEE (youth economic empowerment). 

I have been asking myself today… if I had a Time Machine, would I want to make myself younger, to upstage both Caitlin Jenner and Rachel Dolezal? 

I don’t think so.  First of all you have a continent that 100 000 people have risked their lives to escape in a veritable flotilla across the Mediterranean.  They are crossing the wealth gap.

Then you have an attitudinal gap, not just a generation gap in employment, according to research conducted by Foshizi, reported this week in The Sowetan:

“If they cannot wear tattoos or clothes the way they want, they quit.

“Younger millenials can quit their jobs without handing in any notice because they have a back-up plan such as parents or elder working siblings whereas the older ones cannot because they have responsibilities.


“Young people cannot conduct themselves during job interviews.  They dress inappropriately or cannot answer questions in a correct manner.”


In previous C4L bulletins, we have promoted the need for more younger parliamentarians.  For that reason alone – without wading into politics – we were happy to see the election of 25 EFF members to Parliament.  They are certainly making themselves felt in that institution, as we predicted that having more younger faces there would.  They are shaking things up.

We are also delighted to see a 34-year old elected to the top leadership post of the loyal opposition party.  Even more so, because he is married to a white...  Now wouldn’t that be a new look for the country’s sagging image?!

But the fact remains that the disproportionately young population is creating headaches when it comes to attitudes.  Sure they think differently about race relations and what they want most is Opportunity not Welfare.  But they live in a society where 16 million people receive some kind of direct government support raised from taxing the 6 million people in the work force.  Those proportions are not sustainable, largely because they breed attitudes of entitlement and dependency.  With ownership, youth need to bear more responsibility. 

As the French say: “If you want to change others, first change yourselves.”  And you won’t change behaviours until you change attitudes.

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