Dickinson to Durban » Archive
Violence, Only When There is Nothing Else
Explain the reasons behind the creation of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Do you think adopting violence as a method strengthened or weakened the anti-apartheid movement? Umkhonto we Sizwe was created to combat, literally, apartheid and to be military support for the ANC. Nelson Mandela in his “I am prepared to die” speech states that “as a result of Government policy, violence by the African people had become inevitable, and that unless responsible leadership was given to canalize and control the feelings of our people, there would be outbreaks of terrorism which would produce an intensity of bitterness and hostility between the various races of this country which is not produced even by war”. I feel that the formation of MK was unfortunately necessary for the equal treatment of the people in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
The Talking Heads Are Not Always Right
Have public media and journalists contributed to confusion and doubt about climate change? What can/should they do to present science and scientific debate accurately on this topic? Yes, Public media and journalists have contributed to the confusion about climate change. Though I would not attribute all of the confusion to the media nor would I say that they are entirely at fault. The media has an obligation to report news and facts, but when they are fed poor information they add to the confusion. Media is often feed information and those when they are told by an expert that “cigarette smoke does not cause health issues” or “climate change is not a problem” and they report that information on the word of said expert, it is hard to blame the media … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
Tactics of Last Resort: From Peaceful to Violent Protest
Mandela had long supported non-violent protest against apartheid. In 1961, however, he co-founded the MK to act as the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He arrived at this striking reversal in methods only because it was forced upon him. Events like the Sharpeville Massacre, where police used lethal force on peaceful protesters, and the banning of the ANC in 1960 convinced Mandela that the anti-apartheid movement was at risk of utter defeat unless it resorted to violence. Despite the circumstances, Mandela was committed to avoiding any human casualties in his new efforts. Thus, he planned to begin with acts of sabotage that targeted buildings rather than people. This was an important strategic decision, as it would undermine the power of the system without brining condemnation upon them for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
Weapons of Mass Deception: How the Seeds of Doubt in Climate Change Were Sown, and the Consequences We’ve Reaped
Is there strong scientific consensus that human activity is changing the climate? The answer is likely to depend on whether you ask the scientific community or the general public. Why the discrepancy? Because the deliberate efforts of a small few have drastically skewed the public’s perceptions about the science of climate change. The methods involved in generating this misperception are certainly not new. In fact, they bear a striking resemblance to those employed by the tobacco industry to deny and downplay the link between lung cancer and smoking. The strategy used in both cases is a simple one: take scientifically valid facts and give the general public reasons to question their validity; and doing so is not hard given the cautious nature of the scientific method, which rigorously questions facts again … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
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