No cure for being a cunt...

Evening all,

I trust you all had a good day, I know I did considering that tomorrow is Friday, can't fucking wait! The first thing I want to talk about is Andre Slade. For those of you who don't know, Slade is the owner of Sodwana Bay Guesthouse who it appears has some rather archaic ideas when it comes to race, OK that's a little inaccurate. Basically the man makes the AWB look like an anti-racism organization. He's written a book, "Where to from here, Cognition" which explains his theories in detail, he sights some interesting scientists, namely Carelton S. Coon, an American scientist who's work on the origin of races has been widely criticized by multiple scientists from multiple disciplines.

I would also like to point out that the entire premise of the second chapter of his book, (Ironically entitled Scientific Fakt) is based on Coon's theories, which in turn rely heavily on evolutionary science. The funny part is the fact that on the books website, (wtfh.org/chapters.html) says that the third chapter completely disproves evolution, (still getting there, should be an interesting read).

The reason Slade is in the news is the fact that he sent an e-mail to a black lady who wanted to book into his guest house. Essentially the e-mail informed her that the Sodwana Bay Guest House was no longer accepting either blacks or government officials. Now I know some of you may be thinking that the man deserves the same protection I have pointed should be implemented for Penny Sparrow. The problem for Slade is the fact that he took his racism from thoughts and speech into action. I only hope that the courts can pick this up and prosecute Slade to the full extent of the law.

I would also like to make a personal appeal to anyone reading this, first and foremost, please don't threaten or do Slade or his loved ones any harm. I am simply asking that you spread the word that Sodwana Bay Guest House is to be avoided at all costs, let's hit this fucker where it hurts, his wallet. Having said that, I somehow doubt he will change, as Bron from Game of Thrones said of Jeoffrey, "There's no cure for being a cunt."

On to other matters, there's been an incident in Viernheim, Germany where an armed gunman took hostages inside a movie theater late this afternoon, no one died other than the gunman though over 29 people were injured. Details are still sketchy at the moment but police seem certain that the motive was terrorism. What I wanted to talk about was a comment I saw from an American, something along the lines of, "So how's that gun control working for you Germany?". As someone who is very much pro-gun control I can't help but say, "Pretty well? our shooting ended in one death, that of the gunman's, remind me how yours ended again?"

I really don't mean to take the Orlando Shootings lightly but one really does have to wonder when America as a nation is going to wake up to the fact that making guns easier to get hold of is making the problem worse. Of course there will always be guns available illegally, but when someone can happily walk into a shop and but semi-automatic assault rifles without a background check it's no wonder you end up with tragedies like Orlando.

Last but by no means least is a story about a 10 week old baby named Isabelle. Isabelle's mom isn't an idiot, she plans on getting Isabelle vaccinated as soon as she's old enough, but Isabelle has contracted whooping cough. Isabelle is too young to get the vaccine, but she should have been perfectly safe except for one problem. Not everyone is as smart, (or simply not stupid) as Isabelle's mom, and so some fucking moron has now endangered poor Isabelle by not vaccinating their child. Please people, there are mountains of evidence that show that vaccines are safe and harmless, with little to non showing that there is any link at all between vaccines and autism.

The video for today is another Tim Minchin piece, a nine minute beat poem entitled Storm:



As always, I don't own the above, please do check Tim's stuff out, the man is funny as all hell.

Well, that's my rant over for tonight, please feel free to comment and follow. Also please remember to like the Facebook page.

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