The SA blogosphere is 'entirely' white

Not that it's worrying. But a small concern it is. The SA blogosphere is nearly entirely white - I realised since starting to blog. I went across many blogs on Amatomu, the SA blog aggregator, and you hardly ever come across a blog by a black person. I asked qDot, one black who features reasonably well on the SA blogosphere, what the cause may be. He briefly explained it this way:

Why the lack of [black] bloggers. I think...

1. Expensive bandwidth
2. Technophobic apathy
3. Some just don't know

I don't doubt that he is right about any of these, generally. But I really believe that anyone who wants to express themselves will find a way of doing so - all the better fast ways let me rather say. Even if it means stealing a moment of their own lunch time to propagate their own cause, their laundry, or the hot night they had yesterday with their unsolicited partner. Whatever choice of topic.

I suspect that, worryingly, black people may be turning more and more less expressive and opinionated in some spheres of life - so anti-1976 youth spirit. They maybe becoming less mouthpieces of their own cultures and somewhat feel a bit off-ish for laying bare their writings in a blog for fear of judgement. True, 'some just don't know'and I've come across them whilst publicising my own blog.

But they speak, mostly, of a phobia of reading and the lack of writing ability - the kind that may be of palatable chew to other people. I don't know if that's such a good shot that people love reading and writing less and less. And on chats with friends, I noticed that it is not really that - the issue I mean.

The problem is that of incentives. And yes, blogging is not very good or good at all in offering much of materialistic incentives or return on (time) investment - and us blacks, as Chika Onyeani of Capitalist Nigger fame said, we love material and we want to show it all off. Can you realy show off a blog? Well, I'm showing off mine. And in fact, it inspired me to re-incarnate that long lost dream of writing my debut book.

And more for, as this black man that I'm, I get incentives in that by blogging, I sharpen my writing daily. I discover new technologies of my generation and thus, am embracing them, such as blogging. I also get to write what I like (albeit responsibly because my name is laid bare here) and I feel, somewhat like Biko when he said, "I write what I like".

I feel that blogging can do a lot of good for the black people, notwithstanding the lack of resources to doing so. But one thing for sure, resources are available (limited of course) and are accessible. Down-town Johannesburg is laid with salon/internet cafes opened by ever-joyful and restless entreprising Nigerians and Sunnyside in Pretoria is also nicely-ridden with same salon/tech shops with cheaper internet-user rates.

More so, there is internet access of great bandwidth in companies where we all work and we can always spare a moment to Shakespeare or Biko a word or two. Especially if we are able, already, to spare time to read and forward all those interesting jokes in viral mass emails (which work nearly alongside blog concept, in terms of syndication and extensivity of reach).

I think apathy is rather extending itself from the black individual to the black mass - certain groups together, not entire mass as such. The struggle youth, those in Fred Khumalo's group/'generation', are the masses that embraced the prominent cultures and trends, although with caution, of their times and came out to be the kind of admirable writers they are today - and lead in other fields.

So the problem is only partially,

• 'Expensive bandwidth'
• 'Technophobic apathy'
• 'Some just don't know'.

The answer is more cultural than just resources access one.

I'm not choosing blogging for the black brothers and sisters for there is more to life than to blog. And I'm not speaking to those who don't like the arts or new technology - 'every man his own'. They can express themselves in other ways.

But would black people really want to remain under-represented in a phenomenon where interesting and insightful debates take place? I know Patricia De Lille didn't choose to be left out of this blogcake.

I didn't mean to write this entry. But the blues song In the mood by Glenn Miller inspired me to kill my fingers a little. Haaah, what relieve to write! You so maar forget it's cold outside.

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"Judge of a man by his questions, rather than by his answers." - Voltaire

Plato and the humbling, admirable, odd white man

A total rarity it is for one to come across humbling moments from complete strangers. Let alone one that leaves you in near-paralysis. More like arresting flabbergast that leaves you jaw-dropping as you try to catch your breath.

Well, I felt like that emotional cocktail was served me cold last week whilst I went to order my latest book, The Republic, Plato – at Exclusive books, Woodlands Boulevard. Whilst at my business, this odd looking, but interesting white man started talking on his cellphone.

For a moment I refused to believe what my ears were clearly hearing, until – yes I snooped on someone’s conversation – I confirmed my total disbelief. The old, odd man was speaking an African language. To add voodoo to my ears, the tongue was my home language, xiTsonga (Shangaan).

I admired that and him. I found it humbling that somebody from a race that popularly disregards indigenous languages could speak, not Zulu, not Xhosa (most farm whites speak those two), but xiTsonga. My admiration was dampened a bit with a pint of jealousy. Why? He spoke the Shangaan the real ‘makoya’ way. Like they speak it in Mozambique and Giyani (in the Northern Province), respectively.

I approached him with the barest confidence I could muster in a spare of the moment.
“Is that shagaan that you just spoke so eloquently and originally,” I asked in Shangaan too – although the watered down version which I felt didn’t compete with his. He spoke his with finesse. To paraphrase him:

“Yes it is. You see, we live together. In a changed world. And I work with people who speak these African languages… God meant for me to learn other people’s languages… God be with you...,” he bade me farewell as the phone rang again.

He said all that speech without allowing me to cut in with more questions. (I wished to invite him to lunch with my family, but the magical spell in the emotions carried me away – and as I write this, my wife asks me ‘why didn’t you get his number for now’).

And somewhat, I felt it in me that I was blessed to come across a man who saw value in other peoples culture. The indigenous and rich culture elements of South Africa that often go ignored by those whose culture our total educational and business system is based on. Not that I’m a complaining. That’s just a known statement.

This odd man just humbled me and I went on to remember the many intricate but insightful passages in Plato’s book, The Republic, which advocates the understanding of one another, the need for regulations and social structures that compel us to leave together in harmony.

Can’t wait to lay my hands on that all-time great piece of philosophy (by the way, I dropped out of my philosophy class thrice and flunked it twice back at Rhodes University). Let’s see if I will finish this 500-pager without dropping it.

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"Judge of a man by his questions, rather than by his answers." - Voltaire

Do white beggars have a say in the future of SA!

One familiar observation I've been making lately on the SA (South African) roads along traffic lights is the increasing number of beggars since democracy and BEE. Not that anyone hasn't been noticing them, but of interest to me is that the beggars have changed to be mainly Zimbabwean and often, blind and elderly, assisted by a younger able-bodied person. Of eye catching and thought provoking interest though, is the increasing visibility of white beggars at the traffic lights.

• I have noticed this in both Pretoria and Johannesburg alike. I always try to read a bit too much into it when I see a white beggar. Many questions spring up to mind.
• Where did he go wrong? Was he kicked out of a job?
• Is it the result of economic restructering in SA?
• Couldn't he outsmart the BEE engineers?
• Doesn't he have access to family, friends and relatives to help re job or small provision or newer guidance? Does this mean or say anything about where SA is and where it's going?
• Can this say anything about SA economic and social future?

Those are just the questions I think of and I have zero answers for each one of them. But nevertheless, they're interesting to ponder and the answers can be insightful. I can't even explain to myself why I never asked such questions re black South African beggars. I guess it's because it's a familiar face of any major city in South Africa to find black beggars across, but surprising to come across a white beggar.

My suspicions: a thourough thought around the presence of the white beggar can say a lot about where SA is and where SA will be in the foreseable future. It could say something about the working and destructive policies. This makes me recall a newspaper street-pole teaser screaming something like "BEE failed: Manuel". Trevor Manuel is the 10-year plus serving South African minister of finance. Probably the longest serving in the world. Makes me think of that white beggar on Atterbury Road and N1 offramp twice.

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"Judge of a man by his questions, rather than by his answers." - Voltaire