SA Rocks

I have done my level best to keep you, the SA Rocks audience happy. You asked me to find more information about the Million Man March and I have tried my best to do that.

Below it seems as though the date of the march hadn’t been released yet. However if you visit the website, you’ll see in the header that the march is scheduled for the 10th of June 2008

Desmond Dube has been kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for SA Rocks! Him and his team have also been kind enough to honour me and SA Rocks with a feature on the Million Man March website under the “Why March” section of the site. Go and have a look, while you are there, sign up under the “count me in” section and show your support. Enough from me, let’s hear what Desmond had to say:

Hi Desmond,

First off, just want to thank you for letting me interview you, I promise I’ll be asking you some different questions! Secondly thank you so much for placing my post on your site. You can’t understand how important and gratifying it is to be apart of this project!

So let’s get in to the questions!

Firstly let me say thank you for initiating the Million Man March. I am 100% behind the project and support the entire thing. I am going to ask you some questions that my readers have been asking me.

1. Do you have an exact date set out for the March and is that date going to be over a weekend?

Yes! we do have a confirmed date the march thank heavens, unfortunately the committte thinks it would be more effective to have the march mid week to make a statement. The aim is to raise the public profile of crime and we might make lots of excuses if it’s a weekend. Crime affects us all and business South Africa will be making a statement of their own if they don’t employees off on this day.

2. What about police endorsement? Is there going to be some sort of police presence?

There will be 1000% police presence. The good policemen of our country are affected just as anybody else, and they want what’s best for this country. So, there will be more than a presence.

3. Where exactly are we marching to and from?

The very best logistic people are working on a suitable gathering point with the metro police of Pretoria or Tshwane. More details about the march will be released later and put on our website: www.millionmanmarch.co.za

4. What sort of response in terms of actual people committing to march have you had so far?

I think we have passed the 500 thousand mark i am not too sure, check the count on the website. The post letters are probably in the region of 10 to 15 thousand, they have filled three big dirty bins. A clear sign that people have had enough.

5. Do you believe that you can reach the target of 1 million people?

Our fear is that we might go waaaayyy over a million at this point and our media have not done it’s roll out yet.

6. Have you heard from the likes of the safety and security minister or the police commissioner regarding the march?

NO! Not yet!

7. What sort of high profile people have shown their support for the march? Can you give my readers some names?

The list is broad, from top sportsmen to the religious elders, i would refrain from naming celebrities because we have stressed that this march is for the Citizens it doesn’t matter who they are and where they come from. A big part of this march is to Unite us, so we would be sending the wrong message if we single out the high profile people.

8. I am imagining a demographically representative and diverse march, am I right in this assumption? Or is it going to be a bunch of privileged people complaining about the country?

I guess i answered this one. The media campaign covers everyone and their living standard measure.
As i said we are all affected by crime.

9. How can we be sure that the march will remain a peaceful and valuable one?

We are throwing 90% of our attention ,resources and messaging on PEACE.
God is in the front line of this march man!, that’s how you can be sure.

We’re almost done, now lets get down to the nitty gritty stuff!

10. Where is your favourite place to visit in SA?

That is an unfair question man! but if i had to choose, i would say God’s Window in Mpumalanga, when God comes back that’s where we are going to meet him.

11. Can you tell me about the most interesting person you’ve met in your profession?

A boy (6)who had never been to school but could read from Alexander, He freak me out.

12. What is your favourite local food?

I am a darkie bro, anything that goes with CHICKEN.

13. Can you tell me, in a few sentences, why you love this country?

I have travelled the world over and i still think it’s the most BEAUTIFUL country i have ever seen. The most dynamic people, The forgiving nation and you got to love the music here.

Desmond, thank you so much for giving me the chance to talk with you. You are doing SA a great service at an integral time in our history and I am proud to say that I will be placing my feet where my mouth often is and taking some positive action!

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On Tuesday I was listening to the Fresh Drive on 5fm. I have not heard such a heated show in a very, very long time. Fresh prompted a discussion about the 12 year old boy who was murdered by his victim. yes that sentence is a bit screwy, but true.

The boy had just robbed a man of his cellphone. The man apparently chased the boy who dropped the cellphone in the process. The man picked up the phone, fired a warning shot and then shot the boy in the upper body which killed him.

The debate on the Fresh drive was fought, and I mean fought, between Catherine and Ruben (two of Fresh’s team).

Ruben was in favour of the murder. He was emphatic that the 12 year old got was coming to him and that crime has gone unpunished for too long in SA.

Catherine was fighting for a humans right to live and believed at the time of the conversation/debate that no one person has the right to take another humans life.

I must say I sat in my car and was grateful for the traffic for the first time ever. The traffic allowed me to catch most of the debate and I was absolutely involved in the whole thing. I was even talking to them and their callers. Some of the callers were exceptionally ignorant and even this morning someone phoned in and contributed to the conversation on Gareth Cliff’s show.

My opinion is extremely torn. I am extremely torn.

Let me begin by stating that I do not in any way, shape or form agree with or condone the death penalty. I believe that a person’s right to live supersedes almost and just about everything. This is a principal that I believe in, however I am well aware of the fact that this opinion could easily be changed by various violent circumstances. If I have to choose between my life or my attackers life, they die. Simple. And I know that this flies in the face of what I have just said, but so be it.

I do not believe that the man should have murdered the boy, and let’s not forget that this is what he did, murdered the boy. Catherine’s argument on the radio was that we do not have the right to judge the boy, his actions or his future because we just don’t know. This I agree with. She felt that the man should have taken the boy to the police. This I agree with. But at this point let me use Ruben’s rebuttal; there is no system in place in SA that is effective enough for people to know that if a 12 year old is taken to the police, a correctional service or any other educational facility, he will be helped to become a contributing member of society in a positive manner. Ruben is spot on.

This boy would’ve been taken in to a correctional service, or prison and become more of a criminal. Then when he is released 10 years (or however long) down the road he would become an educated, desolate youth with no future and no choice but to return to crime and develop this skill.

And with that let the catch 22 kick in. What is a person to do? Take the law in to their own hands? Become vigilantes? Rule with an iron fist and lead bullet? I cannot agree with this.

This man needs to be found and put away like the murderous criminal he is. The law is clear about this:

Researcher and retired police commissioner Johan Burger, of the Institute for Security Studies, said the law was clear on when people were permitted to shoot.

“You can only shoot at a person if your life or the lives of people in your immediate presence is in danger.

“So, only if a robber threatens you in a way that is serious enough to believe that a life is in danger can you use a firearm,” Burger said.

And this is my opinion. We MUST let the law be effective, we must HELP the law to do so, we must not take it in to our own hands and create our own sense of justice. This is not good and will not turn out well. Ever. Anarchy is not an effective situation for any coherent resolution. Ever.

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UPDATE: A very kind reader guided me towards THIS WEBSITE. Million Man March is the official website for the march started by Desmond Dube.

The site says that apparently there isn’t any official date set yet so I’ll keep checking in there for more information as it appears. Also, visit the site to register and count as a number towards the million.

I am still not exactly sure where we are going to be walking from. But I know that we are walking to the Union Buildings in Pretoria and I am sure that the march is now on the 24th April.

The more people that attend the more affect the march will have. Media coverage has sort of died out which is dissapointing. Hopefully closer to the time things will hot up again and the coverage will become more expansive and in-depth.

For now you can do your part by joining the Facebook group that I set up and spreading the news about the march to as many people as you know!

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A few days ago I posted about a Million-Man March that Desmond Dube is trying to organise. I think the idea is an important one and a potential mind-shifting, nation-building one. I’ll explain why just now.

But some disagree with me in every respect. I had this debate last night with my girlfriend and it became fairly heated. Then Karin commented on the original post today and I thought that it warranted my response.

So here goes.

I am a fan of marching when the cause is something close to my heart or worthy of a fight. I see marches as a massive and relatively quiet version of a brawl. People march because they can’t brawl with an issue. Like crime, we cannot and should not become fighters in the sense of murderers and revenge-seekers, that would not end well. So we march and protest and show our feelings.

Let me take you back. In 2005 I went overseas to do some freelance photography. I went to the G8 summit in Edinburgh. I think it was close on 250 000 people marched to lower the deficit of third world debt. And it worked. the G8 leaders came out of their conference and had made their decision. Some debt was lowered or written off (correct me if I’m wrong here please!). But it worked.

Ghandi protested, Mother Theresa lead her protests through her action and many more. Let’s look at the Million Man March held in the USA in 1995. This was the outcome:

“According to voter registration statistics, one and a half million black men registered to vote in the months following the March, leading David Bositis of the Joint Center for Economic Studies to remark, “In reviewing the sharp increase in the black male vote, I might find it highly implausible that there was another factor that rivaled the Million Man March in bringing about this change.”

And this was their goal: “The event included efforts to register African Americans to vote in US Elections and increase black involvement in volunteerism and community activism.”

Mission accomplished there too.

But the argument here in SA and the one that Karin put across is this, and I quote Karin:

Been there, done that! So what have these marches accomplished except public hooliganism and more offending? Did they ever after a march implement tougher measures or change legislation? Why don’t people start changing in their own backyard by fighting crime in their own communities and working TOGETHER to put measures in place that will change their circumstances there where they live? Be pro-active in your environment with local authorities input? Why wait for “government”?

So let me ask you this: Is marching not the start, the beginning, the recognition of a unified problem that is bringing people together and forcing them to join hands and walk beside one another? Is this not the case? Do all marches end in hooliganism? I don’t think so.

Why don’t people start working together to put measures in place that will change things? This is the start of that, is it not? Is it not a unified sense of discomfort that can bring about a unified solution to a problem? The people who will march (me being one of them) are not waiting for government to organise a march, they are organising it. And they will march and I will join them.

When I started SA Rocks a year ago I did it because I firmly believed that there was a mind-shift-change taking place. One from negativity to POSITIVE ACTION. That is where we are. No one said this march would be about violence, anger, oppression, hooliganism and by implying this you are expecting and willing it to be so.

One million people. Take a second to stop and think about that. Have you ever seen one million people in one place? I’ve seen close to 300 000 people in one place at one time and it was moving. Imagine the sense of belonging and unity that people will feel, imagine the shift in consciousness that will take place. One million minds sharing a common goal and unified purpose, that is life changing and solution-starting right there.

If nothing more comes of this than people feeling like they are OK and they will be OK then I think the march will have achieved a greater purpose than anything else has in this country of late.

I spent about an hour looking for graphic representation of one million people. Have a look:

And finally, a million people is the population of East Timor and Swaziland respectively. That is a lot of people!!

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On the front page of The Times today there is an article calling for people to march against crime.

It’s happened before and will happen again but I still always feel the urge to get involved and call people to action.

“I’ll organise the celebrities. We’ll lead the march if needs be, but we need the ordinary people to join us. Let’s do it. Let’s get a million people to tell the government that we’ve had enough.”

This is what Desmond Dube had to say regarding the movement. “Now is the time to organise a million-man march on Pretoria – To let the people responsible know how we feel, to make the accountable.”

I couldn’t agree more and if it takes a celebrity leadership to do it, SA Rocks is right behind them.

As you can see in the top left of the new site design there is a motto, “Positive Action”. This is what I have decided mould SA Rocks in to, Positive Action.

I think it’s time we took some action, make it positive and let the government know that we are unhappy and not leaving, we are going to stay and fight for what we love. fl

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Last night I had drinks with some people at a pub. I was shocked and astounded to find out that parents of the one people were planning on immigrating from SA to Australia.

Why the blog post? Well let me put it to you this way. In my experience people like to talk about how crappy their situation is, how unhappy they are and how they want to leave. When the truth of the matter is that they neither want to move or are able to move financially. Not to Australia or anywhere else for that matter.

It seems to have become trendy to discuss where you want to live when you leave. It seems to have become dinner party chatter. I think it’s crap and it irritates me.

My immediate take on immigration is that it is such an extremely personal choice that it shouldn’t be thrown about like a game. It’s not a game. It’s not a game for you, your family, friends, country and lifestyle/livelihood.

I say it’s not a game because most people really don’t think it through in its entirety. Immigrating is not about escaping crime, it’s not about the political state of the nation that you live in, it’s not about power cuts or anything other than your personal outlook on things.

You need to move if you personally feel that your quality of life would be improved anywhere else (or the place where you intend to move to). You should not be leaving any country or lifestyle for one factor alone. It needs to be you deciding to better your life. If you are running away, trust me, your problems will follow you.

Then another friend of mine decides to mention that when he completes his studies here in SA he is leaving to go to the UK. Why? Because he will never find a job here, he’s white, young and semi-privileged, thus he believes that he will never, ever, ever find work in SA.

Let me clarify my stance on this point; yes affirmative action is around and yes it affects some people at some point. But in my personal experience (including my friends and associated friends groups) it has not affected anyone detrimentally. At all, ever. All of my friends graduated from university and got jobs. Not within a year, not within five, but from the time of graduation within months.

There are exceptions to everyones rule, there are cases that defy what you think is normal, or actually taking place. In the end the most irritating part of the entire discussion was that the end result is personal. The best part is that there are people in SA who are passionately, defiantly and overtly proud to be here, live here and build a life here. That makes me happy, that keeps me going.

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I received an email yesterday from an SA Rocks reader. She seems pretty upset that people moan and don’t offer solutions. This is what she had to say:

A post for SARocks

Yes we have a crisis, yes we have unacceptable levels of crime, and yes the majority of us will suffer. Do we wail, weep, gnash our teeth, pack for Perth, or do we actively seek to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem?

We are still mostly a nation that complains bitterly about our respective lots in life, but expect the problems to be solved by others. We are way behind our European counterparts in this area. And yes, I do believe that each individual no matter our position in life or current role we play can make a difference. If we are each one of us putting positive thoughts and energies out there, we will turn the tide of negativism, and actually help to change things around us!

Can one individual make a difference? The answer is a resounding YES! History shows us that since time immemorial much change has been wrought or instigated by one person or small group challenging or inspiring others.

To quote the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama:

“If the individual acts, society is changed. Society is a combination of individuals. To change, whether right or wrong, good or bad, the start point, the initiative, must come from the individual. So it is good what you do. It is very important. Sometimes people feel a problem is a huge problem and even though you see something wrong, something that need change – then, they think, too huge. One person can make a difference. It is very important.”

If you yourself are at a loss, go to the following sites ( Some of thousands on the net about how one person or can start to make a difference) and learn more:

http://www.angelfire.com/ne/1canmakeadifference/

http://www.cac.co.za/modules.php?name=Sectpolice

www.timesurl.at/1ce2fa

www.timesurl.at/46ce74

www.timesurl.at/b1135a

http://www.ngo.grida.no/soesa/nsoer/general/watucndo.htm

http://www.audubon.org/globalWarming/BePartSolution.php

http://www.hmd.org.uk/files/1149796207-18.pdf

www.timesurl.at/b1135a

http://www.rootsandshoots.org/aboutus/getinvolved

http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/truth/tr-sbd3.htm

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/25984

Be informed, be observant, be involved, most of all be connected!

I would like to quote Margaret Mead:

Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

And in closing repeat the story of the starfish, which most of us have heard before:

The Inspiration of Starfish®, adapted from the story “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley:

An old man had a habit of early morning walks on the beach.One day, as he looked along the shore, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. As he came closer he saw that it was a young woman and she was not dancing but was reaching down to the sand, picking up starfish and very gently throwing them into the ocean. “Young lady”, he asked, “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” “The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die.” “But young lady, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You cannot possibly make a difference.” The young woman listened politely, paused and then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves, saying: “It made a difference for that one.”

African Rose

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Bilal Randeree wrote an incredible post on ThoughtLeader a few days ago. He has given me permission to republish but I wont. I think he deserves the visits for that great piece of writing.

What I will do is firstly Link to the post. And secondly give my two cents worth on the topic.

A little disclaimer here: I am in no way stating that crime in SA is not a massive, massive issue. I am in no way condemning people from leaving or doing with their lives what they want. I am not condoning crime in any way, shape or form. I am merely expressing a thought and opinion.

The basic premise of the post is to illustrate the rising international crime rate. We all know the stats and we all know that SA has a major crime problem. But what we, as South Africans, are not willing to admit is that the problem is not local to SA alone. Australia is not the answer, England is no better, teenagers rape and massacre in the USA and poverty is rife the world over.

I know I am going to get heat from this post and get people emailing me telling me that I live in a dream world, blah, blah, blah. But you know what my honest feeling is? We have crime, so do others, ours is worse, but they have other things that are worse than here.

The grass is always greener my friends. Wherever you are it is always better somewhere else for someone else at another time. Maybe humanity has progressed to such a point that our ambition is our greatest downfall and preventer of contentment?

Here is a snippet from the end of the post:

I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but I am currently living in London and all these news reports come from the newspapers here in the United Kingdom. The crime problem is so serious, I even overheard a lady on the bus-replacement service (buses used when the train service is not functioning) the other day saying: “This country is going to the dogs! I am going to emigrate to Australia and live there coz it’s much better …”

Now do yourself a favour and read this post!!

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Will it or wont it? Can it or can’t it? Support it or hate it?

Jacob Zuma is a smart man, or at the very least he has very smart people around him who make him look smart…enough.

Why do I say that Zuma is a smart man? It’s fairly simple, he has started his presidential race long before any other potential candidate. If you haven’t noticed you best begin to take note. Zuma has not marginalised many kinds of people in SA, in fact, he has done a sterling job of attracting very unlikely voters over to his camp.

The death penalty is the perfect example of this. White South Africans seem to be ignorantly afraid for the country if Zuma gets in to power. I am not, but many are. So what does Zuma do? He calls for the death penalty to come back. Why? Because this is what many white South Africans (and black) are looking for. Immediate revenge, swift action and definitive justice in SA.

I am kind of here to suggest that unfortunately Zuma’s statement for the death penalty is merely a presidential card that has been played to swing over a marginalised minority.

I am very proud of the SA constitution and I understand a fair bit of it. Enough so that I understand that the death penalty will never be brought back to SA unless the ANC win a 65% majority and have the stupidity to change the constitution.

The very basis of our magnificent and groundbreaking constitution is that of the freedom. To further the concept of freedom one needs to look at the types that are provided for in the constitution. The one stands out for me is this: Every South African has the right to live.

That alone condemns the death penalty in one movement. There are others such as the right to dignity (which would be overridden if the death penalty is put in place). Thus I firmly believe that 1. Zuma is a smart man, 2. The death penalty wont be back anytime soon and 3. I am smarter than Jacob Zuma so he needs to catch a game!

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I read on Jacaranda’s news blog that the Freedom Front Plus have called for citizens in Pretoria to come together at a crime summit.

According to Jacaranda’s blog this comes after “a family in Pretoria East was robbed three times on the same night and after another family in Waterkloof Ridge was robbed twice in the space of four days.”

I think this is an interesting idea and one that I have been talking about for a while. Community involvement is essential in the betterment of our country. Many will argue that it is not our job to curb crime, that the government should be doing it and all that jazz. I agree but don’t think that we can be standoffish. We need to band together and take our communities back. This does not imply violence of any sort, this implies unity, community and ownership. Own your problems and make them go away, own protection and start a neighbourhood watch and own your safety and that of your family.

I think this sort of initiative can work very successfully. What do you think?

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