Last night Alice Walker gave the Steve Biko Memorial lecture at UCT. Her talk left me uncomfortable with the way the world sees South Africa. It also left me wondering why a foreigner can say these things and get a standing ovation, but when a son or daughter from our soil voices those same sentiments he or she will get boooed of the stage. Do we really attribute so much more importance to outsiders or are we just politely humouring them while reserving our true feelings for our compatriots? What was the significance of the shifiting on seats following statements about Winnie Mandela? And, this pedestal we are placed on, do we deserve that? Did we ask for that? She stirred something, and I am not yet sure what.  I need more time to work through my discomfort.