Running away

[ians]

What my father did do for me ... was offer me a safe place to live and food on the table every single day.

I got up at 3 am in the morning collected my packs of newspapers and set about doing my rounds ... as I got stronger so I expanded my routes ... which allowed me to generate funds to eventually buy my own bicycle to make my delivers easier.

[ians]

The fact that the only pair of shoes I owed were my second hand school shoes ... which were used only for school ... on the odd occasion we got to go on the blue bus to town ... window shopping on a friday night and sunday for church.

I spent most of my life walking around barefoot ... I got to walk on the pavement ... I was still privileged.

[tec0]

What my father did do for me ... was offer me a safe place to live and food on the table every single day.

I got up at 3 am in the morning collected my packs of newspapers and set about doing my rounds ... as I got stronger so I expanded my routes ... which allowed me to generate funds to eventually buy my own bicycle to make my delivers easier.

The fact that the only pair of shoes I owed were my second hand school shoes ... which were used only for school ... on the odd occasion we got to go on the blue bus to town ... window shopping on a friday night and sunday for church.

I spent most of my life walking around barefoot ... I got to walk on the pavement ... I was still privileged.

a label is created and implemented for a specific reason. One must question "motive" and establish what the consequence will be. At this point i digress. You do you... It is your world i just live here.

[ians]

I thought maybe I misunderstand the word privileged ... so I googled it ... yeah I forgot about that one ... I also got to vote


privileged
/ˈprɪvəlɪdʒd/
Learn to pronounce
adjective
1.
having special rights, advantages, or immunities.
"in the nineteenth century only a privileged few had the vote"

The more I think about it ... man we as whites were privileged ... what a good life we had.

Some of us paid dearly for the privilege ... I was forced to spend 2 years of my life away from my family ... in a bush war in Angola ... then 12 months making sure the white mans bubble didn't pop in the suburbs ... then got blown up in Magoos bar by the same terrorist/freedom fighter who is now the chief of police and shifted the privilege to people who are being rewarded for their acts of violence.

At the end of the day ... the only people who haven't gained any benefit from the privilege shift ... the poor suckers who are still suffering.

Yeah BBEEE has been implemented ... but who gains from it ... certainly not the man on the street ... just the privileged few.

Just my opinion ... right or wrong ... who knows and who cares ... the only thing that really counts at the end of the day ... certainly not comments on social media.

The question you need to ask ... what are you doing to improve the state of this country ... what action have you taken to improve the lives of others.

Enough rambling for today ... let me go do some work ... it looks like we back to working weekends again.

[Justloadit]

At some point in anyone's life, one gets the benefit of being "privileged", what one does with this gift is what is important.
Don't condemn me from getting where I am because I made use of the privilege, you don't know where I came from, nor do you know what my parents suffered to get to where they were able to offer me some state of privilege.
That privilege was handed to another group of citizens in 1994, but due to no fault of mine, the privilege rendered was squandered by the 'elite'. That same 'elites' who new their actions and ensured that only they would benefit from the prevelige, then concocted a number of phrases to fool the masses that they failed because of their greed, such as privilege, white monopoly capital, and many other words.

As Caesar said, “Divide et impera”, divide and rule.

[ians]

How people take ownership of items in SA ... its our right to take from the privileged people of SA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QW0Wf7n1F0&ab_channel=ecologicaltime

[Derlyn]

When i look at the statement below:



No... The motive here is clear... i lost my respect for this person because he made a choice not to respect every single person that has it hard and is in terrible situations. He doesn't have to look far or look very hard to see the truth. It is all around us each and every day. i for one will not "cheapen" someone's suffering by debating this blatant lie. a great many people of all races are born into poverty. This i know to be true. Many people worked for years and years to earn what they have. Now that hard work and sacrifice must be overlooked? No...

Debate is all fine and dandy but in this situation the intention was very clear.

Ian my brother. You and I are both not respected for having an opinion, but I still love the brother that doesn't respect us.

Peace out ... Derek.

[ians]

Let me clear up something ... I am here to share my thoughts or views on stuff ... nothing more nothing less ... if you agree with me or dont agree ... I dont care.

I have no personal interest in loving or hating ... respecting or disrespecting ... I am taping on a piece of plastic ... looking at screen ... sometimes referred to as a keyboard warrior/troll etc.

Lets not get all personal ... it just the internet.

Aliases come and go ... thats all we are ... just an alias on a screen.

I am going to say it again ... this is the WWW ... you can be whoever you want ... you can be a billionare or a hobbo ... nobody really cares.

People are getting tooo personal on this forum ... nobody really cares if your dog dies ... or you have a drug problem or dont want to wear a mask or an anti vaxer.

If you dont like it suck it up and move on.

[Blurock]

Should one not distinct between privilege and opportunity? Everyone has choices in this world. Some people lift themselves out of poverty by their bootlaces, not by waiting for someone to give them a hand, but by doing it themselves. I have some black (mostly middle class) friends who tell me that their parents would never allow them to go out in the streets to join demonstrations etc. They were told to study and better themselves, which they did and today they enjoy the fruits of their labour.

A black industrialist tells me he has never been poor. At school he used to make sandwiches and sell it to other kids. He also started growing veggies to sell to the community. After school he expanded and later sold his fruit & veg and started his current business.

All of these people saw the opportunities and grabbed it to better their lives. Were they privileged? Maybe yes, privileged to have parents who gave them the right advice and privileged to see the opportunity and make the most of it.

[Justloadit]

Should one not distinct between privilege and opportunity?

Unfortunately the two are bundled together as one to suite a political narrative, where the word 'privilege' is used by the politicians to raise the inside dissatisfaction with the way the people hearing the word feel that they are being overlooked to have improved their lives. It has nothing to do with privilege, but rather the opportunities being squandered by the politicians, and looking for an escape goat.

[ians]

The way I see privilege ... I will use myself as an example ... I was offered the opportunity other people were not ... sitting on the soft seats in the front part of the train why ... because I was white or travelling in the blue bus (also had soft seats) rather than the green bus ... it had nothing to do with class ... I am sure there were black people who had more money than my parents ... when one group of people are prevented from doing something others can ... just because we didnt have money or live in a fancy house or own a car ... we used the public services doesnt mean we were not privileged ... the only reason I got a job on the railways ... was because I was white ... the Indians were only white enough to get jobs/apprenticeships from around 1984 (they became privileged over blacks ) ... at which time they flooded the trades to a point that when I finally qualified after all my years of service to the country ... there were no longer jobs available for us white youngsters ... 1650 electricians had not positions when we qualified ... We had a choice either resign or take a 50 % pay cut and work as a trade hand ... Indians are now black enough to be privileged (they qualify for BBEE)

I chose to leave the railways and venture into the real world ... worked my butt off for a couple years ... studied to become an installation electrician ... then a master electrician ... then started my own business ... which grew faster than I could manage ... so I just put my head down and took one day at a time ... by the time I looked up ... 10 years had passed ... I had almost a years worth of work lined up ... over and above the contracts with the councils etc.

the bubble I refer to is not a privilege ... its merely an environment people live in ... some white people have not idea how black people live in SA ... and now many white people also live in poverty.

I am no longer privileged ... in fact the colour of my skin has now become a curse ... it doesnt prevent me from achieving great things in life ... in fact I havent even got started yet

By the way I am going to say this again ... "you cannot help people who cant help themselves ... privileged or not"

[Blurock]

The way I see it is that you are dealt a hand and what you do with it is what makes the difference. We cannot choose our parents and we cannot choose where we grow up in our formative years. A good education and the will to do better is maybe what makes the difference. A Good education does not necessarily mean going to a private school or university. How many stories do we not have of people who have risen above their circumstances because they were able to see the opportunities and were willing to work hard to get where they wanted to be.

Tony Factor was a legendary dyslectic retailer who could not finish school. Branson was a school dropout and so were many others who learnt from the university of life. Opra Winfrey saw the opportunity and is a mega rich media icon today. All these people became masters at what they are doing, whether it is art, commerce, a trade or whatever. God gave each of us a talent, some even more. Become a master welder, carpenter or painter. Just pursue that one talent and passion that you have.

I feel sorry for the guys sitting at the factory gate, waiting for an opportunity to fill a vacancy that is unlikely to come. Is sitting at the gate and waiting for a job not just wasting precious time? A Kenyan visitor once told us that Africa reminds him of a bridesmaid, always waiting on the groom (who never comes).

I can see why, waiting on the bus, waiting on the grant, waiting at the factory gate...

[Justloadit]

Thinking about this thread, has made me realise that the word 'privilege' bandied by the politicians, is more to do with where you are today, and has nothing to do what you have done with the opportunity given to you, and the amount of work, dedication and sacrifices made to achieve the position you have now.

[ians]

Everyday its another system failure.

The driver license renewal system is broken ... I wonder if the same company who got the tender for the port IT system ... has the license renewal contract

Home affairs is broken ... license renewal is broken ... ports system is broken ... it had to all catch up with them eventually.

[Blurock]

I never knew I was poor

I was orphaned at 10 and sent to boarding school. We have lost everything and my mother had to rent a room and look for a job.
I never realised just how poor we were, as we wore uniforms and all looked alike. The only difference is that I could not buy sweets etc or take sarmies to school.
Holidays were spent with friends or family and you ate what was on the table. Hand-me-downs were not always so nice, but there were no other options.

As a professional musician we also lived from hand to mouth, but we were all in the same boat and saw it as part of life. We were free, we travelled and played gigs all over. We saw places and met interesting people. Hardships were part of the game, but there was always someone to help out when things went haywire. It was a real privilege to have caring friends. Life was uncomplicated and we had fun.

I wanted to study art, but could not afford it and eventually realised that playing in a band is not going to be enough to support a family. I entered the very bottom rung of the corporate ladder and did as many internal courses as possible and so worked my way up in the organisation. Eventually started formal studies (while still working) at a mature age and achieved my Masters at age 50.

Now I'm wondering, was I privileged or just lucky? I am still not rich, but content with what I have. Thankful for the opportunities that came across my way and for the people who cared.