Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Ok, so I REALLY need to get better at keeping to a set schedule, trying to do this on a daily basis with a full-time day job isn't the easiest, as a result I think I'm going to try cutting this down to a once a week type deal.

So there area a few things I wanted to chat about, firstly if you remember I was talking a while ago about rapist Bob Hewitt and his appeal to the constitutional court to try and block his incarceration after being convicted of rape, well thankfully sense has prevailed and his appeal has been overturned, meaning that he now has seven days to present himself to a police station to be put into prison.

Next up is the American Baptist Pastor Steven Anderson who had applied for a visa to enter the country on a soul winning mission. For those who don't know, Stevie boy is a bit of a cunt, in his own words he celebrated after the shooting in Orlando left 50 gay people dead, "there are 50 less paedophiles in the world". More than that, he has also publicly called for the execution of all homosexuals. So you know, all round great guy!

Well the South African Minister of Home Affairs has denied his visa application on the basis that he will most likely incite social violence. personally I'm very much in two minds about this, is the guy a complete twat? I don't think there are many that would disagree. Does that mean that the South African government has the right to restrict his travel and free speech? Technically yes. According to the South African constitution, freedom of speech can be limited if it discriminates and incites violence, lines that Anderson clearly crosses.

My problem is that I have a very difficult time whenever free speech is impeded, I think that the argument could definitely be made that neither Anderson, nor any of his ilk would have the balls to actually DO anything and thus doesn't actually pose a danger. That's just my view though and certainly doesn't line up with the constitution.

In other infuriatingly ironic news Richard Keenen, formerly the mayor of Hubbard, Ohio, who was quoted as saying "I'm a Christian. Dedicating my life to Jesus has changed my life," going on to say "Don't preach it, but live it". That was back in 2010 after being sworn in as mayor holding the position for two years. So what's the wanker been up to lately? Why nothing other than raping a four year old of course! He voluntarily admitted to this after checking himself into a psychiatric facility after feeling suicidal. Even worse the arsehole blames the victim, saying that she initiated the acts and was a willing participant. Here's a free tip Richard, I'd actually respect you if you had gone to a psychiatric ward and admitted that you had an attraction to kids BEFORE you raped a four year old, that way you could at least get some help!


Well, that's all folks, as usual, comment and subscribe. Have a good one!

Ta,
G

Discrimination in modern South Africa

Evening all,

Well, I'm the sad sack sitting at home trying to think of a first topic, and why not dive right in to something that affects every South African, discrimination. I've chosen to label it that specifically because I intend to touch on more than just racism, though being an obvious point, I'll take the easy way and start there.

Racism:

I think it's fair to say that every South African faces it on a daily basis, though rarely overtly, (the fucking morons who were been charged with forcing one of their workers to rape their dog comes to mind). Whether it's the white man turned down for a job because of his race, (please note that I am by no stretch of the imagination against affirmative action, though that's a topic for a later discussion) or the innocent black domestic worker who is accused of stealing and fired because her boss refuses to admit to himself that his kid has a drug addiction, we all experience it every day in some form or another.

Before I continue I feel I need to clarify what I mean when I say discrimination. Discrimination is an act, not a thought or vocalization, I agree wholeheartedly that Penny Sparrows opinions are vile and that we, the people of South Africa should boycott any business that even vaguely associates itself with her.

What I disagree with on a fundamental level is the South African governments attempt to criminalize hate speech. Incitement to violence is a very different animal all together and is and should be grounds for a criminal conviction. Criminalizing hate speech on the other hand is censorship at the very least. South Africans enjoy, (or endure, depending on your point of view), the fact that our government is bound by one of the most progressive constitution in the world, a constitution that specifically protects freedom of speech.

(http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights#16)

Comparatively, if we are happy to criminalize Penny Sparrow because of her personal convictions and utterances regarding race, we open the flood gates to include the religious right for speaking out against homosexuality. I admit again that not all of the religious right are outspoken against homosexuality but let's be honest, that's a pretty hefty majority.

Note that the constitution specifically excludes the right to freedom of speech should it constitute advocacy of hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, AND that constitutes incitement to cause harm, (I will point out the glaring absence of the mention of sexual orientation). The point is that Penny Sparrow cannot be effectively accused of inciting to cause harm. Are her views backward and idiotic? Of that I have no doubt, but I for one believe that she is entitled to her opinion, and to express he opinion in whatever medium that she chooses, provided that she doesn't also incite others that share her opinion to cause harm.

I've used a few choice words and I hope that by reading the above, the reader gets a good idea on what my point of view regarding racism is. Something that I always try and do is back my opinions up with a few hard facts and/or case studies. I've recently had the disconcerting experience of being subjected to the kind of vitriol that one often encounters, sadly enough, particularly in older, white South Africans and realized that, much like homophobia and sexism, is VERY difficult to debate from a logical point of view with people who hold to the irrational ideas of yesteryear. Having said that, I do feel it's my duty to try:

1. There is not a single study using the modern scientific method that links race with a propensity towards violent crime. Indeed, a study conducted between 1995 and 2002 in America found that far and away the biggest contributing factor towards a life of violent crime was socio-economic circumstances. (https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/www/external/labor/seminars/adp/pdfs/adp_ajph.pdf)
2. The idea that particular races are either superior or inferior is simply absurd. Humans have studied the genome to the point where we can tell individuals within our species apart and have come to the following conclusion: "IT'S JUST FUCKING SKIN COLOUR!!!" There is NO reason on a genetic level to believe that a Nigerian is all that much different to a Thai. Indeed, the Thai may well have more genetically in common with an Ethiopian than the Ethiopian to the Nigerian, (or German, or Indian, or Native American) Race is indeed nought more than a human construct. For a more in depth look at research pertaining to this:
   (http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n11s/full/ng1435.html)

In short, there is absolutely no scientific data that correlates the feelings and opinions of those who discriminate based on nothing but race with reality.

Onto a lighter subject, though no less frustrating for me, smoking;

Is it just me, or do we smokers seem to be driven further and further away from the rest of society? I've noticed, (in Gauteng particularly) that there seems to be less and less smoker friendly restaurants, and when they do have a smoking section, (I'm looking at you Wimpy in Centurion Mall), it's absolutely tiny, and stuck next to the children's play area. It used to be that you could enjoy a smoke and some nice peace and quiet, now, not only do you have to put up with being squeezed in like sardines but also have to endure the eardrum popping squeals, crying and shouts of, "mommy, look at ME!" that comes with being seated next the play area for the spawn of others.

Here's a tip for restaurateurs, yes, we may be in the minority, but I'd be willing to bet that if you properly looked at it, your smoking section generates more money for your business than any other section of equivalent size. And yes, we get it, smoking is harmful, I'm not saying that we need to be able to sit in the non-smoking section and puff away, but we as consenting adults have decided to continue smoking despite knowing the consequences. It's essentially the same as deaminizing overweight people because of the choices they make. In short, discrimination.

Homophobia;

If you've been watching the news coming out of America for the past while you will have noticed this has reared it's ugly head again, personally I hate the word, it's not a phobia, you aren't afraid, you're just an arsehole, and I think that some of the more popular psychological theories on the subject are correct, homophobes are simply secretly worried that dicks are delicious, perhaps the better word would then be sexualism? 

Something I've noticed is the prevalence of sexualism within the christian black community. I'll be honest and say that black christians confuse the fuck out of me for a start. You are worshipping the very god that ordered your enslavement in the first place! IF the Abrahamic god exists, (and that's a pretty fucking huge if) why the fuck wouldn't you tell him to go fuck himself? Many a time I've had discussions regarding homosexuality with black people and the bible is almost always pointed at as the reason they feel that it should be criminalized, yet when I point out that the very same bible not only advocates slavery but gives specific guidelines on how to practice it, I'm suddenly taking scripture out of context.

Unfortunately sexualism in South Africa is alive and well, from "corrective" rape of lesbians to the physical assaults and murders of gay men, it's something that in our country ruled by a wonderfully progressive constitution needs to be rectified with immediate effect.

Another thing that irks me about both sides of the debate is the heavy importance put on choice. What difference does it make? In almost all other aspects of our lives we are given the right to choose, provided that our choices do not have negative consequences to those around us. I would love for someone to explain to me how my decision as to where to stick my dick has any bearing on their life whatsoever. In fact, there are many studies that show that statistically speaking, homosexuals make better, more considerate citizens than their straight counterparts.

As a side rant to this is the flip side to the coin, I know of people, (straight guys specifically) who have been accused of homophobia purely because they turned down a gay man hitting on them. WTF??? You have extra parts where I don't like extra parts, period. Just because I don't want to fuck you doesn't mean I think you are a freak, it just means I don't think dicks are delicious!

Sexism;

Another form of discrimination based on absolutely zero evidence whatsoever is sexism. I'd like to preface this section by saying that I am by no stretch of the imagination a feminist, (at least not in the modern sense of the word).

Men and women are different on a biological level, that's a fact that cannot be escaped. Do I believe that women should be afforded the same opportunities as their male counterparts? Of course I do, your life, your choice. Having said that, I'd love to challenge any feminist that insists that women are the same as men to find a female rugby team that would be able to PHYSICALLY match the Springboks. Not gonna happen. Why? Because physiologically, men are stronger than women.

With that in mind, one need only look at the world of business to realise that women are just as, (if not often more) competent as men are in their chosen field.

Religious intolerance, (apparently there is no 'ism' regarding religion);

As an atheist, this is something that I personally face on a reasonably regular basis. I've been told I'm going to burn in hell if I don't repent, (the irony of which seemed lost on the person I was speaking to at the time). My girlfriend has been told by friends parents the same thing because at the time she held to the wiccan beliefs, (it was only out of respect to the friend that I managed to bite my tongue and not ask why her parents imaginary friend was any better than my girlfriends).

As mentioned in the bit about racism above, I have no problem with my friends parents right to hold their opinion, sure it made dinner a little awkward, (and diminished my view of them as people) but whatever. What I DO have an issue with is when that religious intolerance manifests itself in real world situations, I know of people who have been fired for "coming out" as atheists, I've seen video footage of muslims being assaulted and we've all seen the terrible things muslim extremists do to people of other faiths, (I've mentioned the two biggest Abrahamic religions but you can find similar examples globally by *insert random religion here* against *insert another random religion here*).

Something I do want to do is comment on something I have found good in the world for every post, as such I guess I should give a shout-out to this kid: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/im-not-gifted-sa-pupil-who-scored-highest-maths-mark-in-the-world-20160419 who blew international competition away to score the highest mark for maths in the world, (as measured by the international Cambridge AS levels.)

Another thing I’m going to try and do is find videos that I find amusing and are hopefully pertinent to the topic at hand, as such, I give you, Tim Minchin’s Cont(exct). It should go without saying that I don't own the content, and please do check Tim's other work out, the man is damn funny.

Well, I think I'm going to leave it there for the moment, if anyone disagrees with anything I've mentioned above, or just wants to add a rant of their own, please feel free to comment. If you like what you read, please subscribe and share.

Ta,

G