Amelia Halgren’s Reviews > Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood > Status Update

“People always lecture the poor: ‘Take responsibility for yourself! Make something of yourself!’ But with what raw materials are the poor to make something of themselves?

People love to say, ‘Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.’ What they don’t say is, ‘And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.’ “

“People are willing to accept you if they see you as an outsider trying to assimilate into their world. But when they see you as a fellow tribe member attempting to disavow the tribe, that is something they will never forgive.”

I wonder if this also explains some of what’s happening in our divisive political climate with people ostracizing family meme era that disagree with their ideology...

“Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being.”

“You do not own the thing you love.”

“We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited.”

“...language, even more than color, defines who you are to people.”

“Racism exists. People are getting hurt, and just because it’s not happening to you doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”

...I found it interesting that the ‘you’ in this case, is Trevor.