The Acne to my melanin

We often see revolutionary acts as major events such as the Soweto Uprisings, Montgomery bus boycotts, and the Arab Spring. What we often overlook is that a revolutionary act can be an individual decision based on a political decision. And if you are wondering why everything has to be political, it’s because I’m black, my very existence is political.  A dark-skinned man intentionally choosing a dark-skinned woman in a world where dark skin is frowned upon and has been bred out of the population for centuries is a revolutionary act. A man with concerningly tight pants, blue hair, and piercings in unconventional places in a conservative, hyper-masculine society is a revolutionary act. There are a lot of defiant “small” actions, that you can decide upon in your life based on your beliefs that can be your flag in the sand to make your stand. In your life, the things you believe in and believe to be right, that you can do, are your responsibility.  "Some are born great, some achiev...

Emotions, like almost everything else, exist on a spectrum. They vary from overwhelming, chest-thumping joy, to earth-shattering heartbreak. There are far more emotions than happiness and sadness and we experience them all. Not acknowledging them does not change anything except hinder your ability to deal with them in a healthy manner. It is impossible for you to only experience pleasant emotions, and unpleasant emotions are more than just sadness and heartbreak; envy is a valid emotion too. Feeling envious of others is not a sign of witchcraft or cruel intentions. It is a perfectly normal and healthy response to seeing others be abundantly blessed while your well runs dry and it is not due to a lack of effort on your part.  Envy is not only a green monster that overwhelms you to experience feelings of hatred towards your pretty sister with glass slippers and a Harry Windsor of her own. It can simply be a “why can’t I have things come easily for me like so and so…”. If you are clos...

People’s opinions are either informed by lived experiences or learned ones, and we sometimes bicker over which holds more weight in terms of the validity of opinions.  Those who are well versed in literature often disregard the lived experiences of the subjects of their study unless it is as research material for their studies. And those who’ve done the time, sometimes feel that opinions formed from outside the of the ring hold little weight because everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.  This divide, like most things, is usually between the haves and the have not’s. Middle and upper-class people often sit behind high walls, in air-conditioned homes and lead the discourse on poor people and the effects of poverty on the social dynamics in townships. They, without any true knowledge of what it is like down in the trenches, get a platform to speak on behalf of those they don’t know and they do so with a confidence that is symptomatic of couch quarterbacks and ...

It is not by accident that almost every atrocity committed against humanity has found refuge within capitalism. Racism, colourism, sexism, exploitation, and slave labour all found a home within the capitalist system. The face of the villain has changed from European nations to multi-national companies that are coincidentally from those same countries, but the rules of the game remained the same, capitalist in nature. We’ve been convinced that it is no longer Western nations that pillage and plunder the world but greedy multi-national companies with no soul. Periodically, someone is chosen as the face of this corporate greed; first, it was John D. Rockefeller, then Bill Gates, and now it is Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. The actions of companies have been divorced from the foreign policies of their homelands and they are painted to be acting of their own accord without state encouragement or influence. What is often not mentioned is that it was not the Dutch government but a private co...

The systems and rules we live by were made by man and therefore can be changed by man. “It is the way things are” and “that’s how it’s always been done” are no longer good enough. If we could all unanimously agree that slavery was unacceptable and that no human should own another human no matter the circumstances, or religious/political, and cultural justification, then surely we can amend other aspects of society.  The people who put certain systems in place were ordinary men who had personal agendas, be they racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or a combination. These systems were set in place by those who were historically in positions of power and I do not think it would be a stretch to say that these people did not exactly have the best interests of mankind in mind when creating these systems. A simple visit to the history section of any library will shed light on this. We have already started to challenge and have changed many of their systems from colonisation and slavery, all...

Entitlement – The fact of having a right to something (Oxford Languages via Google)  Entitlement is a word often reserved for those who have done us wrong and is used negatively. It is commonly associated with those who are selfish and inconsiderate. It is not a title that anyone wants to be labeled with.  Those who consider themselves ahead of the curve and wise, often say that no one owes you anything and slap the shameful tag of entitlement on whoever dares demand or expect anything from anyone. If you expect nothing, then you will not be disappointed they say. This is a defense mechanism to protect oneself against disappointment and heartbreak. The world is a rough place and I place no blame on someone for wanting to prevent pain and protect themselves. What I will not accept though, is the notion that no one owes you anything. That is not how communities work. That is not how humans have survived for thousands of years and that is not how healthy interpersonal relationsh...

 I, personally, do not care if you think I am racist. I believe that I am not and I am pretty certain that I give all individuals equal standing regardless of their race but if you feel like I am coming up short, I do not care. I have enough reasons to be racist that do not reflect badly on my character so my striving to ensure that I am not is more than you deserve.  I have 368 years of reasons to be racist. I am in a perpetual state of anger that messes with my quality of life because of you. Every time I turn on National Geographic and the narrator speaks of the dwindling North American buffalo I am reminded that they were almost wiped out of extinction because the Native Americans were dependent on them for survival and Europeans weren’t too happy about them being alive.  My blood boils when I listen to prominent white people such as Bill Gates and Prince William speak about how overpopulation, and I remember the British hero, Winston Churchill allowed million of Indi...