March 17, 2008

Manic Monday: Drink


Morgen asks that we blog about the word 'drink'. I would love to celebrate the positive aspects of the word. My favorite drink is sweet iced tea ... especially that which can only be found in the deep South.

However, my mind keeps going back to the horrific action of four white students at the University of the Free State in South Africa who forced five Black domestic workers to participate in beer-downing competitions, races and mock rugby games. However, the worst aspect of this public humiliation came when these four privileged white boys forced the domestic workers to eat dirty food and drink soup in which they had urinated while videotaping the whole thing. For those of us who do not speak Afrikaaner ... click here to see the video with English subtitles.



Many villagers joined us in celebrating the liberation of Black people in South Africa when apartheid was eliminated and Nelson Mandela was released from prison and lifted to the presidency of his country. Now we see that some people are still willing to denigrate other human beings simply because of the melanin in their body. I was glad to see the protest movement against these sick white South African students that took place a few days later in Johannesburg.



When will we overcome the madness of racism? When can we live in a world in which other humans are treated with respect and dignity for no other reason than their humanity? When can the act of sharing a drink with someone be a sign of comraderie and not something hateful?

14 comments:

Unknown said...

What great questions. We really need to work harder in regards to these efforts. Nice blog!

Cheerio said...

Great post for the theme.`

Ivanhoe said...

I sure hope that it's soon! Happy MM & St. Patrick's Day!

Sandee said...

Racism is alive in well in every race under the sun. Working those prisons all those years really opens ones eyes. Have a great MM. :)

Lee Ann aka Dixie said...

Happy St. Patty's Day to you.

Excellent MM post!

Sai Hijara - Ferraris said...

Sandee is right, racism happens anywhere...we have to be the change that we want the world to be...great post!

Happy MM!

Unknown said...

Have a great St Pattys! Are you wearing green???? Uh oh here comes the CYBER pinch!

Loving your drinks!

Come by and have some green beer at me pub!

anthonynorth said...

You raise some important points. It's a true problem.

TopChamp said...

that's bad.

maryt/theteach said...

You call a halt to the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, Wayne, and ask us to stop and remember there is still racism and hate in the world. It saddens me.

Liz Dwyer said...

I can't even watch the video. So horrifying.

When will we overcome the racism? When we can no longer take the emotional and spiritual pain that it causes, when so much blood has run through the streets that we can't take it anymore.

I hope that day comes soon.

Unknown said...

Lol about sweet iced tea, in san antonio thats all people drink

Mo and The Purries said...

You ask great questions here. I wish there was no hatred like this on our planet.
To denigrate someone like that - and to capture it on video - is just horrific, and there are, I'm sure, long-term psychological consequences for those victims.

Sorry I'm a day late visiting - a crappy sinus headache made my eyes hurt so bad last night I had to get away from the computer.
Wish I was there to share a glass of sweet tea with you and talk about some things - your blog always makes me think, and I'd love to sit and have a conversation with you.
Thanks for participating in Manic Mondays!
~manic mo

Unknown said...

Mo - First and foremost, please know how much I appreciate you for creating and introducing me to the MM and WW memes. I'm sorry that I didn't have the upbeat St. Patrick's Day response to this week's meme.

I would love to create a meme or an award that would honor those that use their blog to improve race relations in some manner. I haven't figured out how to do it yet...