I recently read this passage from the Bible, and two things really struck me. Firstly how strongly it can be related to the recent Tory benefits legislation, and secondly to the fierce debate on Thatcher's legacy, and those that support it.
Taking that even further, Jesus seems to be making a point about supporting our ancestors who did wrong, making us complicit today. This is deep, and I have two words to bring to the table of contemplation.... Europeans... Slavery

Luke 11:37-54

New International Version (NIV)

Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute. ⁵⁰ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.

Difference

You can either embrace difference
Or stereotype against it.
Love what’s not like you
Or profile and portray shit.
For me…
I’m descended from one mother
Who’s lack of melanin at the Black Sea
Failed to produce human’s natural eye colour…
Brown.
And she’s descended from one of only two mothers
That crossed the Red Sea from the Mother Land where she was
Grown.
You see her mother is the same sub-Saharan Queen
As ruled my partner’s king and queendoms,
And should we ever off spring ourselves,
Each lineage of our children still points back to one continent
Even though history is bent
On prising them apart.
For I am the one who is not the same.
Difference equals different from the norm
Which means I have coloured skin.
As all eyes are supposed to be brown,
It’s my difference that makes mine blue.
My different skin paled to absorb more Vitamin D
From a weakened northern sun,
But I am the son…
Of the same mother.

You just have to look back far enough
And see with brown, blue and green eyes,
The stories that happened in between,
And before,
The exodus.

My interview by Naomi Woddis

Naomi Woddis interviewed me about my photography:

Sloetry interview by Naomi Woddis

Conflict Free Lap Tops and Smartphones

One of the things that has always been of concern to me is how complicit we all can be in rape and murder around the world through our buying of electronic products.

As a photographer, writer and phone user, there is no doubt more I need to take into consideration in my buying choices. 

Here's a link to a list of manufacturers and how they are rated in performance for tracking their raw materials etc.

The site also gives you the opportunity to easily email manufacturers to lobby them on their performance.

Raise Hope For Congo