Women's Day Disables Women

Women standing together for a common course at the union building on the 9th August 1956

Looking at the picture above even as a man, I feel proud and honoured to know that our country had and still has some courageous women. Celebration of National Women's Day for me feels like it is inspired by the International Women's Day. The local special day has a more personal feel for women who were present on the day were South African women marched to the Union buildings in unity for a common course/believe. For such organised acts and standing for what they believe in proves to me an organisation or federation was found were women can as a collective stand tall for what they believe in.

 As women of today reflect and celebrate the "special day", in my ear there seems to be a voice which echoes from a lot of different women:

• "Today is my special day I am not cooking, you man must cook for us"
• "You forgot to wish me happy women's day"
• "This is a day for all women to feel special"

One can clearly observe the word women shares same platform as the word 'special' in many phrases. My question is, do you not think associating women with words such as "special" renders them disabled in a way? I believe it does, even though that was not the initial objective for when days were set aside to remember and honour women all over the world.

 I also have to state that by no means is this blog about the battle of the sexes as some may think. It is about magnifying the unintended meaning Women's Day presently carries along with other meanings and views every individual has. "Men do not understand", a reply I get when I verbalise the issue and voice my concerns about what the future role of continuous celebration for women on a particular day  have on little girls when they too grow up to become women. I hate to think the same issues that plague women today in society will still recycle themselves in the unbreakable circle chain of human ignorance.

 Women rights groups will therefore agree with me when I say women equality in a society full of male dominance is an objective! Again these possess a few questions as to the type of equality which is desired? Would that mean equality with special conditions? Or are we offering that a special day be set aside also to celebrate Man Day?

 On the other side of the spectrum I have personally observed and researched the drastic changes noticeable in the way women today are treated, which is totally different to women of yesterday. Do we credit the endless struggle and fight for women's rights for this achievement of were women are today? And at what price has the battle for equality are women currently paying for?



Picture mocking Women's Day which has gone viral on the social media



The picture above was send to people and forwarded by same people with the intention of appealing to the humorous side of both men and women. My thought are that the initiator of the picture did not think twice about the implications a simple photo will have on years of struggle and fight for women equality it would have on society. It makes one wonder what triggers this type of insensitive humour. This results in more questions than answers at some instances. As I conclude I am reminded of a phrase which says "inside every joke there is truth". To me every day is women's day and no special day needs to be set aside to remind me about just how important and vital are the women of the world are. Nor do any women need a day to celebrate what must be a daily thing.

Related blog : http://overberginfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=798:2007-womens-day

Youtube video of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga

Whats in a book?

Is it words only or is it knowledge I ask myself! in Limpopo textbooks are not a neccesity nor are they an immidiate need! why do schools,principals only cry mid year that they do not have material that shapes a childs mind?

What is in a book for me is : Empowerment

                                           Dreams

                                          

                                           Literacy

                                          Independence

The Basic Education Minister cannot take full blame for the embarrassing saga that has plagued the Limpopo province for more than six months. I grow up knowing that in January when schools open I would receive all the relevant study materials I would need for the rest of the year! Has procedure changed since my last day at school? I doubt it! But I sense a culture of relaxation has infiltrated the broader education system. Why do I say so? It is human nature to believe when people take responsibility for their own actions they would not point fingers at one individual for being at fault for all that has happened. Our Minister did not fail the schools, the system did. I am not about sides, but I am on the side of perspective.

Our dear Minister Agie Motshekga is only at fault for one thing, and that is her cunning ability to stand firm for what she believes in within her confidence as a woman and as a leader! We all know that human behavior that seems to project a certain high level of confidence other people can mistake that for being too pompous or arrogance. Many people like me at first can misjudge this character in the Minister as a blind fold over her eyes from seeing the truth and absolute truth about the matter at hand. I would love to challenge the Basic Education ministry public relations and communications team to better project the Minister's public image, so that she can better her work without any distractions, as I am a firm believer in the notion that says "The is always room for improvement".

The saga of textbook in limpopo only highlighted the importance of books in society. Even professionals in the department of Basic Education can confirm that they too are were they are because it all started with a book! Lets help each other as a community,as principles,as Ministers to restore the Dreams of many children in order to Empower them within a high Literacy rate that gains them Independence in the near future.

5 LANGUAGES OF LOVE applied to Business

In the current world of technological advancement and innovative business practice, it comes as no surprise that human behaviour has evolved over the generations to accommodate the different levels of generational functionality. I personally think people are putting too much pressure on themselves to assert themselves and conform to the norms of the day. Business innovation occurs with the help of set business values and systems. The type of business practice is mostly driven by the different elements compiled by experts in that particular field. When I look at the various business elements, using Public Relations as an example, one can observe that the core value of executing all elements relies heavily on appealing to the basic human emotion. My question is if we use all the elements that project and evoke the human emotion of LOVE and we use those same elements in conjunction with already existing ones to use in business function to better project organisation brands and other aspects for a successful business practises.

I one came across a book called “THE 5 LANGUAGES OF LOVE – the secret to love that lasts”. Can you image what power any organisation can have by applying the same elements that go into the basic yet strongly effective emotion of LOVE by duplicating them to function and help in a business context. To me this book on love represents an innovative outlook on finding generational solutions of organisations and their respective customers or clients. Total client satisfaction is the desired form of achievement by any organisation.

Book by Dr Gary Chapman

Let us briefly look at the “five languages of LOVE”

1.   Word Affirmation (People who love hearing the words “I love you” as to seeing the action of that specific love).

2.   Quality Time (Some people treasure and view the time you spend with them as a validation that indeed they are loved).

3.   Receiving Gifts (the receiver of the gift thrives on the Love that the gift represents and what it means symbolically).

4.   Acts of Service   (Going the extra mile to help the one we love thus making them feel special and important).

5.   Physical Touch (Human emotion of showing compassion).

To sum up all that was discussed, the Five Languages of Love as stated above can easily be duplicated and translated to fit in the business context when it comes to dealing with customers and clients. Anything is possible with creativity and different innovative minds coming together to modify and utilise the elements of LOVE in order to achieve the ultimate business objective of total customer/client satisfaction.

F:\Public relations.mht

Public Schools No Place for Minister with “fancy” words!



cartoon interpretation by Zapiro

I had the pleasure of reading and being entertained by an article in one of South Africa’s prestigious newspapers, the “Mail and Guarding”;were the Minister of Primary Education Angie Motshekga and Mamphela Ramphela, former vice councillor of University of Cape Town and World Bank Director were having a go at each other through the media. As I read the reporters detailed article I noticed how the "kid gloves" came off the Minister’s hands as she hit back in a reply statement made by the academic Ramphela .The main issue between the two educated ladies was about the level of South Africa’s Primary and Secondary public schools.Have we not all expressed a view about that issue?  Read more

The “Cat fight” to me looked like it was sparked by Mamphela Ramphela when she delivered a lecture at the sixth annual Solomon Mahlangu Lecture at University of Johannesburg held on 22 March 2012. She said, "Maths Literacy, what is that?” I was particularly entertained when the “Minister of Defensive” as she was dubbed by one individual commenting on the Mail and Guarding online article. She reacted by saying, “We may not be where we want to be. But it’s wrong -- I think treacherous -- to say we’re going back to Bantu Education.” Talk about a two-way asymmetric communication (little or delayed feedback by receiver to the sender of the message).

I believe it is high time South African public schools imitate what other African countries, like Zimbabwe have done, in adopting the British O and A Level system. The qualification equips primary and secondary children to prepare for a University entrance with a reasonable literacy rate. If I compare a Zimbabwean’s literacy level with that of South African, the later is put to shame dismally. Zimbabwe’s Examination Council before the fall from grace had long since partnered with University of Cambridge International Examination GCE systems, in order to deliver quality scholars. I ask what is stopping us from giving our children in public schools one of the best educational O and A Level systems our neighbours are using.Read more

In terms of the Public Relations angle, we can clearly see that emotional dialogue entertains and it fails to bring constructive solutions to the public school tables were children could learn what the Minister said when she used the word “treacherous”.

• Cartoon interpretation by Zapiro
• http://www.ace-sa.co.za/a-levels.html

Gang Rape Scars Get Elongated

http://www.iol.co.za/

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/04/20/warning-over-rape-video

One of the worst forms of violating a fellow human being is through rape. Rape points out the line between moral and immorality in terms of human behaviour. The law is put in place to help remind and enforce punishment if such violations are made such as rape. Some human beings need protection to and from themselves.

In the recent news a devastating incident occurred to a mentally disturbed 17 year old girl from Soweto, Johannesburg, in which she was gang raped. Let stop right here and ask ourselves where was her mother? As I read through the different articles, I was quick to notice that even when the little girl disappeared from home, her own mother did not see it necessary to report her mentally disabled daughter missing at the police station.

• Did the mother just brush it off as a stunt her daughter is used to pulling by being away from home?
• Was the mother careless about creating a security net for her child?
• What other issues are at play in this story that lead to the gang-rape of a 17 year old girl?
• In her own defence that 48 year old mother was quoted as saying she did report the rapes occurring to her child as from 2009 to the police but they did not open a case of missing as the 17 year old had tendencies of going missing and then turning up.

As I read further on one article in the Sowetan newspaper published on 20th April 2012, the 7 men not only are there minors among them but they took a video as well. I am flabbergasted as the reporter stated that the men had smiles on their faces as they took turns raping. At the back of my mind I am saying ''the reporter saw the video too''. It does not come as a surprise as this story is on everybody’s lips where ever I go in Johannesburg. The video went viral ladies and gentleman.

Immorality was passed on from person to person even now as you read this blog; the ugly side of social media communication is taking place.



5 of the 7 chraged men who gang raped the 17 year old girl hiding their faces as they enter the Roodepoort magistrate's court in Johannesburg



Not only is social media being used to promote and get the world connected, it is connection and promoting immorality as well. As human beings we should never forget that once a good thing happens or is discovered, that same thing will start having a few rotten apples in the ''social media communication basket'' in the case.

At the Bottom of the Barrel you will find Credibility



source

Credibility is defined as
"the quality of being believable or worthy of trust" of  ”. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/credibility.

A credible person is said to be an experienced, qualified, intelligent, skilled and trustworthy human being. “Charisma can increase credibility”,some may say. Does it mean people who are not charismatic will not appear to be credible enough? And how does one measure charisma on paper? As I blog about this particular issue the credibility of this specific article I have compiled is being observed under a microscopic eye and questioned by every reader who comes across each blog article, it is the basic natural reaction of human beings to question and individually evaluate  what is presented to them and conclude if whether it is factual or fictional truth I am presenting.

For many years human credibility was the decider of whether a person’s views or words are authentic or not, even in many judicial systems of the world when credibility boils down to one person’s word against the others, individual credibility will be scrutinized to the letter. If everyone of us did not question, then we would not find people wondering if the same courts who are suppose to find credibility in a person, if they themselves are credible enough to serve the people. In all spheres credibility is questioned, from the gender gap of the courts to credibility of the witness. My question is does questioning bring results or truth?

I came across a book written by a woman and the book is said to have sold more than 1 million copies. When I accessed her credibility I am directed to a statement on the author's website which states, “Choo Thomas is a simple, down-to-earth Korean American. She is married and has two children and four grandchildren.” http://www.choothomas.org/ .

To summaries her book which was published in 2003 objectively, she claims to have had visited Heaven and she describes all her experiences in detail in the book.

 Moving closer to home (South Africa) in recent months an elderly man named Sibusiso Mthembu, who claims to have visited Heaven also, I cannot sideline his story and the similarity to that of Choo Thomas' story. They both claim similar encounters but amazingly their stories in the general public are received differently. This is a direct result of their credibility being perceived and projected differently by people. I would not be surprised if Choo Thomas’ story is trusted more than that of Sibusiso Mthembu, a man who claims to have visited Heaven; only because of trustworthiness. When I look at the article written about Sibusiso Mthembu, it is clearly visible that the writer of the article is not at all objective as they started the article with a statement which reads,” The self-proclaimed prophet, 64-year-old Sibusiso Mthembu, says there are 11 heavens, each of which he has visited, with his first heavenly journey having taken place in December 1998.”  

Sibusiso Mthembu

We can see how the beginning of an article can steer people’s perception about a certain individual in order to shape that particular person’s credibility through impulsive pre judgements from the general public. If you notice, the positive statement about Choo Thomas was taken directly from her official website.Obviously one would never paint a less credible picture of themselves. In my view, credibility is formed by opinions of others who question to get results or truth. The above two stories are only a reflection of many similar stories across the globe. Credibility to me is only made up of “subjective truths”. As public opinion is lead to the truth by already subjective research and views of others. Truth is out there, we all just need to dig a little deeper and at the bottom of the barrel we will find credibility of that particular individual.






Right or Wrong only depends on which side of the Equator you fall under!

http://www.africanviews.org/pundits/2012/03/01/race-in-south-africa-still-an-issue/

Morals and values guide human beings to make the right or wrong choices in the eyes of their peers or society they leave in. What is deemed right or wrong and most importantly who chooses what is right or wrong? Those are the questions aimed at an ever changing global culture. When we observe the issue on a more global setting, we have to consider other aspects involve, like culture, geographical location as well as different languages in decision making irrespective of what is seen as right or wrong. Cultural differences play a major role in the topic under discussion. An individual’s background and upbringing has to be considered when that same person behaves in a certain manner which falls outside the general norm of other global cultural behaviours. Neutrality and understanding of a different behavioural pattern has to be the basis for cohesivenes. Any statement made which is not understood,before the individual is classified as doing right or wrong we have to have dissected and categorised as to what did they mean and from which angle their statement is coming from before that person is judged. Just like culture, a person’s geographical location plays a major role in how they interact with the world in general.
 People in Africa, China, North America or Europe have their own set of morals and values. In African cultures it would be deemed right to slaughter an animal in the home backward whereas in other parts or the world it is seen as cruel and sometimes barbaric. So in geographical terms in Africa the practise is deemed right and elsewhere it will be seen as wrong. Language also plays a major role in bridging the gap of understanding and tolerance of our many diverse languages of the world. Languages translate our different cultures, though globally the English language is one of the most preferred means for communication purposes between two or more different language groups. So does this mean the English language is responsible for setting the standard on what is deemed right or wrong in society? Many may argue that it is a “temporary setting”, because as the different cultures with different languages terminate a particular meeting or gathering for instance, they each go back to their own cultural norms and behaviours.

In South Africa a person who has a black and a white parent we refer to them as coloured and that is how they refer to themselves.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4tbtFzdsPQ
As one moves above the Equator into North America or Europe, the word Coloured has a different meaning and it is viewed as a derogative word than in South Africa. In most parts of Europe Coloured people are called “Mixed Race’’ and in North America the Coloured race includes Blacks (African-Americans). Clearly a distinction is made in South Africa as to who is classified under Black or Coloured, but the issue of whether it is an offense when one calls a mixed race person in Europe Coloured that is based on cultural and geographical standards of interaction and communications.

Next time you are offended, stop and ask, “Am I really offended, and who is actually doing the verbal offense” before saying something is right or wrong. I believe a word can be right or wrong only in different contexts. Therefore when in Rome I will do as the Romans do.