Wednesday, 6 July 2016

Goodbye Density : My departure from The Density and AmbitionZAR

  Goodbye Density.

My departure from The Density and Ambition.




Well ,it's been real. It's been really really REAL!!

A decision I didn't make overnight, a decision I didn't want to make but had to. It took me quite some time to actually reach this point,which explains my rather strange silence.

Due to personal growth and other factors , I have decided to stop blogging in co-relation with Vaal's Number 1 media collective AmbitionZAR. Meaning, The Density will be no more.

It has been such a lovely few months with the team and with the role models I interviewed! I will forever cherish all those moments.

Reaching almost 5000 followers on The Density , believe me it is such a hurtful experience to let all of that go!!! My heart bleeds and I just want to crawl and run away to cry my heart out. I saw loyalty in all those people who actually sat down and read my posts. For that , I will forever be grateful!!! I am really thankful for all those followers.

However, Prudy Blue won't stop blogging. I will share on my Facebook wall , a link to my new upcoming blog titled "Miss Blue's Corner". Same old princess of talk , same old critical rationalist, continuation of role model of the week and entertainment , just on a new site, under a new name and also rather independent.

It really will take a lot to bring my new blog up to the same standard as The Density but you never know how far you can go if you don't try.

To all my followers ,hope to see you on the flip side!

I have moved to wordpress now, still building the blog and will continue to share my links on my timeline - for easy viewing and quicker access and because the site isn't indexed by Google as yet.

So yes, goodbye and do best to all my loyal followers.
You guys showed me so much loyalty.

Mwaah mwaaah!!

Prudy Blue.

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Why I refuse to turn up on the 16th of June : Is it necessary for the youth to celebrate June 16?


Why I refuse to turn up on the 16th of June.

Is it necessary for the youth to celebrate June 16?

While many were getting 'turnt' or 'blazed' on the 16th of June, I was indoors. I sound boring right?  Ha-ha well it works for me but really. What drove me to not call anyone and ask them where they were for the 16th June 2016?

For those of you may not know why the 16th June is a public holiday in South Africa, let me enlighten you.

The 16th of June is known as Youth Day. The history lies behind a student uprising in Soweto, a township in the Southwest of Johannesburg, which happened in the year of 1976. Students of colour were protesting against Afrikaans language being implemented as a medium of instruction within schools all over South Africa in non language subjects such as Mathematics and Science.The issue, however was not just primarily about the language of learning and teaching but also the inequalities of the then education system, namely the Bantu Education System which characterized separate schools and universities, poor facilities,overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers.

Yes, that is what it is all about.

Now, why I chose to stay indoors.

In my own opinion, such momentous days should not be celebrated but rather commemorated. The Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of international students (2010:225) defines celebrate as  “to show that a day is special by doing something special on it”.  The Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of international students (2010:286) defines commemorate as “to remind people of an important person or event from the past with special action or object”. Celebrating only means that we are enjoying the day whereas half the people don’t understand it. Commemorating is deeper than that; it means although we are enjoying it, we alert people of what it’s about. We need to enlighten that other half that doesn’t know or understand. 

It goes beyond hundreds of students protesting for the future of South African students of the next generation.  Hundreds of students sustained injuries while others lost their lives: Hastings Ndlovu and Hector Pieterson. How many of our current students are willing to die for the next generation, coming after us?

Would the students back then still have protested if they had known years later the youth would be more involved in drugs and reckless celebrations?   Well, I believe that they would have, but would they have done it wholeheartedly if they had known how we would turn out? Think about it...long, hard and critically before you answer.

 
Photo: Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo. His sister, Antoinette Sithole


https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiwpOP8pLvNAhUqBcAKHbZCBsIQjB0IBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2016-06-16-editorial-four-decades.-forty-years.-14610-days.%2F&psig=AFQjCNFLP9JBOYj9NFC0mIzGO2C-dnTBQQ&ust=1466673037161577


The students of 1976 were not only considering themselves and how much they disliked the unjust system. They had our best interest at heart when they peacefully marched towards the Orlando Stadium that morning.

The 16th of June today, in my own view, is the best day to march and raise educational issues such as high tuition fees, textbooks delivered late and unjust bursary systems that we hear about within the perimeters of  our South African education. Instead we use the day to get drunk, blackout, and have no idea where we will wake up the next morning. Is that what Hector died for? We protest all year round but on the day we are actually supposed to, we run to the streets (ironically) and to the pubs.

Why are we filling clubs up instead of education programmes?

In fact, I firmly believe this is the one time schools should be opened, not for a normal school day but to inform learners and focus entirely on the history of South African education. I don’t think it’s only the Education students who should understand the curriculum changes within South African education. I don’t think only the History students should understand racial segregation in South Africa. If we are all citizens, it should be shared to every one of us.

I remained indoors because it would break my heart to know that I fall under the category “youth” of South Africa yet I’m wasting the day away with alcohol. I can drink on any other weekend, my calendar has 365 days. Out of those 365 I exclude religious and South African holidays, how many other weekends do I have to get turned? Yet I choose this one day that could have been used to enlighten me...

Resources



  • Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of international students.  2010. New 8th ed.  Oxford University Press.



Prudy Blue
xx