THERE IS FUTURE HOPE OUT THERE ...

[Paula Gottsch (Willson)]

ok,   

[SandyB]

With reference to Jnr comment  using the  word  like a penulum that swings back and forth .. In the news today .. Govt to review BEE and AA policy cos its doing damage to the economy  vis loss of skills etc ..
My opinion  firstly all " freeborn children " ( those born after the change of power)  should be treated equally  as far as opportunity goes .. any BEE share deal should include  all employees .. i mean how loyal would you feel if only the ' previously diasadvantaged " got shares  ??/  as has happened with some companies  .. latest being if i remember correctly Vodacom ??   indeed a flawed  philosophy ..  well if i  had a contract with them i would cancel ..  anyhow a story .. our company went through BEE buyout 2 years ago .. our directors had management contract for two years to ensure smooth transition .. Tessa our bosslady  has a structured deal via her own  personal wealth  and  a womens  empowerment consortium that has  something 5000 black women benefitting by it ..  she knows only too well that she as CEO  has a financial responsibility to those others that through the consortium  helped back  the deal .. we are  Now a fully BEE compliant  .. Tessa as head  .. but guess the structure  of  the new management  .?? .  GM - Afrikaans male ...  Financial manager -  afrikaans male .. sales manager - afrikaans male .. HR -- white jewish  woman ..  factory manager - white  english  male  ....Middle management team -- total  6 ... split equal white / coloured ..  furtherdown the line most foreman and superisory positions coloured or black ...  Artisans equal split ..
In one of our after hour  drinks dinner occasions  she was quite blunt , saying  .. " I have a responsibility to  the shareholders and each employee of this company  to ensure the financial success and stability of this company and i dont give a damm who i hire  pink  cream  brown black green  so long as they competent  , I cant be playing the numbers game .. and if anyone on the  board  has anything to say  I will tell them to take a long hike "  -- " the team I have is competent  and will make it work .. long term yes  we must grow  new talent , but if it is not forthcoming or wont take the pain of responsibility then I  stand  by my new team " and she devising a new incentive scheme to give all  employees a better sense of ownership ...

[georg ruf jr.]

Oky. I found out what BEE means.
Bu what's AA (other than Autom. Assoc. or Annonymous Alcoholics) hihi and CEO mean?

[SandyB]

AA  affrimative action ...  CEO  chief executive officer ... 

[georg ruf jr.]

Thanks Sandy.

[barb (Fry)]

To add to this I'll use quotes from other people
as Paul said
Everyone is a prisoner of their own experience no one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them - Edward Murrow
Hate no one - hate their vices - Branard
As Sandy said
All men are equal it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference - Voltaire
We hate some people because we do not know them and we will not know them because we hate them - Coltron
As Cherry said
Never try to reason the prejudice out of a man it was not reasoned into him and cannot be reasoned out

Sometimes when we are generous in small barely detectable ways it can change someones life forever

Compassion is the basis of all morality

That is my 5c

[SandyB]

A nice  5c   lucky packet of  worthwhile quotes  .

Compassion is the basis of all morality ... best one ..

[georg ruf jr.]

Must agree with you there Sandy.
By the way. Did you notice Barbs bid casualy rising from the general 2c to 5c... lol

[barb (Fry)]

Yes compassion the greatest virtue

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

Smile.......it works.
MY 10c worth

[SandyB]

Aah  yes the power of the smile .. takes me back to my mums expression .. she kept her good looks to a good age  despite being  in earlier years the party girl  see   .. what our  parents got up to  topic  ...  I note not  many comments on that  .. come now ..  theres one or two interesting observations i made ..  and more so ..  anyhow she always told me  .. " my boy  never frown .. always smile . and moisturise , moisturise .. "

[Paula Gottsch (Willson)]

 Here's how I moisturise 

[SandyB]

    no , no , potions, potions .. thats what me Mum  used ...  no good passing out in the plate of  food   thats to feed the stomach not the face  .. although if it was a good pasta  sauce .. then the olive oil and tomato should   help  do the trick ...

[Florrie van Zyl (Muir)]

Paul you summed it up perfectly. I do generalise and no you shouldn't, but as you said, it is difficult not to. I know not all black people are bad and not all white people are good. I have met some fantastic black people but like I said, they are few and far between. You just need to be hijacked or robbed etc, and you will see how your hidden racist feelings come to the fore. I don't know why, but I have just gotten to the point in my life where at the cost of offending others and becoming unpopular, I have to call a spade a spade. We don't just categorise blacks, we do this with everyone. I am totally against apartheid and wish it had never happened. I believe in treating everyone with respect but I am guilty of thinking badly of most blacks and I blame it not on my upbringing or my marriage but on them. I think due to our inherent propensity to categorise, most people are guilty of racism, they just don't admit it to themselves and certainly not to others.

[SandyB]

Good  honest words Florrie .. and yes   the deep down in our  souls , we dont all know what we gonna think till  something hits ,  by admitting ones humanity  and our tendency to categorise  you are then an aware soul ..
Yes  this subject could have gotten sticky but actually did not as we all stated  points of view  and engaged in healthy debate and above all  were not  judgemental ...