Unbelievable!

Let's talk about belief. It's amazing - and also quite frightening - how some people seem to be more concerned with what other people believe about anything, rather than concerning themselves with their own private beliefs. Typically this is even more true when it comes to religious beliefs.

School Of Thought

Let's talk about the issue of educating or raising your children within your religion. 

Christians do it. Muslims do it. Jews do it. So do Hindus and Buddhists. 

Each of them has their own private schools, but only Christianity has encroached into PUBLIC schools to the point where you have public schools pushing Christian religion into the school values, ethos and curriculum, paid for by parents AND the state via the tax payer. 

Does this sound fair?

Bridging The Great Divide

The Constitution forms the supreme law of South Africa. It is a secular law which stands to prevent the persecution of people on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexual orientation - and also religious freedom. 

Of course, most of the time you need to belong to a minority group of some kind to confirm that the law and the letter are being carried out in real life as they are on paper. In South Africa I can attest to the fact that the gap between the paper law and the real life application of these laws - which once seemed to be narrowing, is now just as wide - if not wider than ever.

Interview With The Vampire Journalist

Concerning the article in today's Weekend Post, one which I was interviewed for on Thursday regarding the new SAPS anti-alternative religion unit, euphemistically called the "Occult Related Crime Unit". 

This unit, which is really just a bunch of Christian missionaries in blue uniforms and with police authority, gifted with a 5 day course on "the occult" to make them "experts" in the field (of harassing innocent citizens for their beliefs) and wearing badges. 

The whole thing just reeked of Christian fundamentalist propaganda, being an example of completely skewed and biased reporting. I felt I had to respond to the "journalist" who interviewed me for it.

SAPS 'Occult Related Crimes Unit': A Christo-fascist Threat To Religious Minorities In South Africa

Over the past week a serious issue has come to light over the reformation of the SA Police's "Occult Related Crime" units. In a press release last week, the South African Pagan Rights Alliance, representing the Pagan community of South Africa, revealed that the SAPS is forming these units to address so-called "occult related crimes", based on information obtained from a SAPS internal memo. 

Change Is As Change Does

The DA is virtually the only party in this country which includes the rights of people on the basis of gender, identity, gender identity and sexual orientation in its policies and manifestos. 

To this day, I feel that there is no viable alternative to the DA in securing the promises in the Constitution of South Africa, which pertain to freedom, equality and equal opportunity for all.

However, the recent events surrounding the matter of the Traditional Leader's Bill, and the careless statement made by Mr de Freitas as a representative of the DA - whether he himself is gay or not, have cast a different light on the Democratic Alliance and its stance on civil rights and protection issues.

Protect the Constitution Johannesburg Protest On SABC News

Kudos to all involved - this was a very unbiased video news insert.

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If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.

If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.

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Down Memory Lane

The following is an article I wrote back in 2010, and which was published by the National Secular Society (UK). 

I was reminded of it again this past week in an email, and thought as it didn't appear on my blog "Sour Grapes: The Fruit of Ignorance" the first time, now would be a good time to look back at how we got to this place in South African history, with conservatives vying to be the first to rip and tear human rights protection clauses out of the Constitution. 

Of course, since I have been writing and distributing my articles and warnings since 2008, there is a certain amount of "I told you so" in re-posting this article. Nevertheless, here it is, for your reading pleasure:

Stand With Us!

CALLING ALL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AND ACTIVISTS, of whatever association, be it religion, sexual orientation, gender, or cultural - it's time to stand together for our joint human rights! The SA government is debating the removal of sexual orientation protection against discrimination clauses from the SA Constitution - if they succeed in this, who will be next?

SA Govt Discusses Removal Of Sexual Orientation From Constitution

An article in the Beeld newspaper yesterday explains that there is a move in government encouraging the removal of sexual orientation protection clauses from the SA Constitution. 

Not to say "I told you so", but I've been warning about this eventuality for the past 5 years.

...So, "I fucking told you so!" 

The takeaway from this fact is this: A) There is a government body actually spending official time, money and resources to entertain a band of religious fundamentalist fanatics who have for years been pressuring government to remove constitutional human rights protections from the SA Constitution. B) a body which falls under the mandate of the SA Constitution and has a duty to DEFEND it, is ostensibly giving government support and serious consideration to what amounts to un-Constitutional efforts which would not only violate the human rights of a significant portion of SA citizens - but would also stand in contradiction to several important UN mandates on human right as well

 

This is cause for significant concern indeed. 

 

Should this farcical business deliver any rotten fruit, it would set in motion a cascade-effect that would collapse the culture of human rights protections for numerous communities.

It Makes Sense, Doesn't It?

If you look at all the weird and wonderful new Bills being tabled in South Africa these days - there is little doubt in my mind that the Constitution and the freedoms contained within it - are clearly under assault. 

And those of us whose civil rights and equality are protected by those very clauses in the Constitution which are under assault, somehow seem unaware that we fill the sights and scopes on the weapons being directed against us by those who would chip away at our equality.

System Failure

I think any system of government where human or civil rights depends wholly on the public opinion of the moment, is fundamentally flawed.

Where did that come from? Well, it goes back to before we had the present Constitution in South Africa, when as a teenager I was threatened with being labeled a criminal because being gay was illegal in this country then. That's right, I was threatened with jail because I dared to consider that I might not be your average heterosexual cisgender boy. And in those days, even being transgender was a very grey area in legal terms. 

 

Being caught in a raid dressed in women's clothing as a biological male was a risky business. It was "fine" to be a cross-dresser or drag queen busted at a gay club during a raid - but you better still have been wearing male underwear underneath your frock - or you would be thrown in jail for "impersonating a female". LOL. 

 

Go figure.

Blah, Blah, Click, Click

I don't think laws in South Africa are formulated by the SA people anymore - these days laws just break the news when they are about to be passed by parliament - like the POI and Media Tribunal - and as they clearly demonstrate, these are one-sided and extremely partisan, working against democracy. This is not transparency, this is not "due process". We need more "Glasnost" in South Africa!

Take A Stand

Many people are talking about leaving South Africa for greener pastures. Who can really blame them? With a government seemingly doing its best to ruin the country after the brilliant success of the Soccer World Cup a few short months ago, who isn't left with a sense of shock and uncertainty? 

 

With a multi-pronged attack on democracy and the underpinnings of the Constitution coming from various government departments, the future for South Africans seems bleak indeed. But never so bleak as when there is a realistic chance of standing up to the hijackers of democracy - and those who should be taking a stand are doing so in the emigrations queue at the airport.