The Black Pimpernel

Undoubtedly the best years of Madiba's life, for me were when he was known as the fugitive, terrorist, public enemy number one and The Black Pimpernel. For many who stood on the ruthless side of oppression he embodied hope and freedom. He was fiery, ferocious, sure, and carrying all anticipations of freedom. These were brutal times of bloody streets, silenced voices, shattered hopes and stolen livelihoods. Our heroes -sung and unsung- paid the ultimate price and it broke the many bonds of our society. It is so easy to be poetic about Mandela and forget the system that created him. It is probably convenient for the seekers of peace, a luxury for those who stood and watched and shameful for the perpetrators. But we have seen that at the end the euphoria of freedom lie some sobering realities. In fact the very definition of freedom is still illusive for far too many.

___Nolundi Walaza 

Confronting the Empire

“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe.

The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.

Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
― Arundhati Roy, War Talk

We can be new.

"You don’t know anyone at the party, so you don’t want to go. You don’t like cottage cheese, so you haven’t eaten it in years. This is your choice, of course, but don’t kid yourself: it’s also the flinch.
 Your personality is not set in stone. You may think a morning coffee is the most enjoyable thing in the world, but it’s really just a habit. Thirty days without it, and you would be fine. You think you have a soul mate, but in fact you could have had any number of spouses. You would have evolved differently, but been just as happy.
You can change what you want about yourself at any time. You see yourself as someone who can’t write or play an instrument, who gives in to temptation or makes bad decisions, but that’s really not you. It’s not ingrained. It’s not your personality. Your personality is something else, something deeper than just preferences, and these details on the surface, you can change anytime you like.
If it is useful to do so, you must abandon your identity and start again. Sometimes, it’s the only way.
Set fire to your old self. It’s not needed here. It’s too busy shopping, gossiping about others, and watching days go by and asking why you haven’t gotten as far as you’d like. This old self will die and be forgotten by all but family, and replaced by someone who makes a difference.
Your new self is not like that. Your new self is the Great Chicago Fire—overwhelming, overpowering, and destroying everything that isn’t necessary."

__Julien Smith

well..