Knuckleheads

You know there are many types of fools, but leading amongst fools are two. Number one is the one that is not exposed to reality, but pretends to be on top of everything and number two is the one who is certainly exposed, but blatantly refuses to accept reality.

Fool number one’s perception is illusory, everything they think they know is misleading; and number two’s is delusional, or perhaps same difference, because I guess the pea-wit, the halfwit, the nitwit, the twit and the foolish-wit are all of questionable intelligence, they’re all knuckleheads.

DIGANTEH HAACHI AK DORR, LUNEH HEJ NA SI

At our home away from home, we had a conversation on the subject of presumption and prejudgment, and my boy Ousainou told us this story that moved me. The story was about a marabout that married a renowned prostitute, and everybody including his disciples thought he was losing it. They started having feelings that he probably wasn’t as truly virtuous as they thought he was.

The thing was rumoured until it got to the marabout; and you know these holy people and their way with issues, he tasked his disciples to clean up the village dumping ground for him, and said he wanted to embark on a little project. Within a few days the place was as if it was never littered.

The marabout started his project, which actually was the construction of a new mosque; and to cut a long story short, a magnificent edifice was constructed on the newly cleared site, one that you wouldn’t dare to set foot in with your shoes on. Now on the day of its inauguration, the marabout stood at the pulpit [mimbar] to deliver the inaugural sermons and he said: “Who would’ve thought that that repulsive mess could be polished into such an awesome sight? Wouldn’t it stand to reason that people and their circumstances can be afforded this same transformation? Is this not what GROWTH is all about?” – Apparently hinting at his wife of ill repute.  

I know lately my writeups are so not in favour of prejudice, but it is not like I am on a campaign to find appropriate ways of legitimising inappropriate doings. It just so happens that the more I am growing up(old), the more I see and overstand the odds of preconceived ideas and notions, and that not everyone that throws the first stone is actually free of blame; sometimes it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

I believe each and every one of us, unashamedly or otherwise, is guilty of one or two failings that we do not take pride in, and that’s only natural, humans are inadequate. We have our individual moments of recklessness, misguided moments that will deceive us into doing things that are short of acceptable ethics, and I believe that’s why God recognises sincere repentance. Don’t be quick to condemn anyone to hell yet, for there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. 

Just mind your business

What someone wears to whatever fiesta is none of my business, whether short-shorts, booty pants or whatever; and I don’t care if the legs are likable or abominable, but I have a problem with men who perhaps think that every female in such clothes is some bitch that they can easily hit or get head from, or else cause a mob of protest; disturbing the peace.

LISTEN! If such clothes make you keen or eager to hit it, for fuck’s sake just don’t show your face, stay indoors and do your prayers for a change…these things aren't outlawed yet, and hopefully not so soon. You cannot censor every lifestyle you find nonconforming to yours, and especially not under duress.

Some people will never change

No matter how hard you try to reform everyone, some people will still be a malfunction, even if they’re born into the most highly regarded family. That’s the pits of misfortune (Yaradal), but what can one do… If you’re familiar with nightlife, you’ll overstand the kind of immoderation I am talking about.

Perhaps being more than usually discourteous and being constantly in bad taste, or not playing anything safe has turned out to be the hottest definition of ‘Living the Life’. Fine, in that case I rest my hopeless case.

I guess ‪‎Wolof Njie puts it so well that sometimes “one is born a camel, and suckles on a donkey” [Juddu Si Gaylem Nampa Si Mbaam] and the person becomes ‘heehawed’ – Some people will never change. 

When the moon is jealous of the stars...

Some folks can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars, because they have a tendency to believe that praise, recognition and eminence are their exclusive birthright, and anyone in comparison is seen as a threat. They can claim to be working for a team and for a certain noble cause, saying it doesn't matter who gets the credit, provided that the team will collaboratively achieve its ultimate goal.

If you ask me, don’t take their word for it. They have this cerebral cancer that is never satisfied with anything short of unequalled standing; and the moment someone within the team is seen to be picking up recognition or even wins a tiny applause, their ailment will pump up. They’ll turn out to be overly competitive, and that person becomes a target of jealousy and hostility.

Now instead of focusing on the team’s goal, shit becomes an individual struggle, with everyone setting sights on who’s going to outperform who. The team becomes secondary and a showground for infighting, backbiting and bickering; and instead of joint efforts, solo acts will float up, egos inflated, friendliness devastated, purposes defeated, individuals made, others broken and disgruntled, and at the end of the day, the team will suffer because the spectacle of teamwork was selfishly thrown out.

Bob Marley, my favourite philosopher said: “Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!”

Belief!

The Message that conveys the essence of our faith is contained in one inclusive book, which sacred writing’s apparently interpreted a million different times, in a million different ways and by a million different cults. Now how can we ever be in agreement on what’s forbidden or permissible under such circumstances?

Perhaps I am not with it, or maybe I am right that faith has turned out to be a ‘tug of war’, and sometimes a very lame excuse for intolerance. Even those whose version is evidently a ‘con-version’ are trying to bait everyone into conversion, and in preference to judicious persuasion, they resort to imposition, intrusion, disruption, incursion and invasion.

Some are genuinely seeking the truth, whilst others are claiming to have found the truth, but in preference to being agents of the concept of that truth and striving to the Will of the Creator of that healthy truth, they’re striving to the will of their individual egos, impatiently drawing on very coercive and devious measures to institute their thing. In the process, they devour every grain of harmony that decent society is striving to arrive at.

May the Creator deny the cravings of the wicked, protect us from all those who've totally lost their grip on reality and pretending to be followers on a mission. May we be afforded a full strength overstanding of The Message and be shown the most orderly path to spiritual glory…HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! May 2015 be a bigger and better year for all of us...Blessed love!

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

I was told you bring gifts to homes every night before Christmas Day, and that’s tonight. Please, if you’re not just an imaginary figure, I beg you to bring me a bag full of patience, if I am to continue to deal with prejudice and insecurity, and a crate of ‘Humourates’, I know folks who really need some sense of humour. I also want more friends come 2015, but let their lives be based on a true story.

When coming, please get me one mighty scarecrow to scare every hypocrite and senseless bickerer away from my business. For those folks I see on here who do not know the difference between ITS and IT'S, make them overstand that ITS is the possessive form of 'IT', and IT'S is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has' – BUT, never mind, I have done that already.

I know it’s a pretty long list, but December 24 doesn’t come so fast, so also get me an Encyclopedia, ‘Britannica’ preferably (2010 edition), I need it for folks with encyclopedic ignorance...and last of all, for all those holidaymakers whose intention is to come ‘Ayard’ and discredit the image of every other holidaymaker, tell them it’s BETTER NEVER THAN LATE.

Thank you Santa and I hope you’ll do something fast.

Sincerely

Omar Touray

Disgruntled Subordinate Staff

I have never seen a people as constantly disgruntled as a subordinate staff. They’ll be like: “boss this, boss that, boss did this, boss didn't do that.” LIKE BLOODY HELL! What amount of incentive or positive working environment will it take to make some people feel excited, eh? Some folks behave like toddlers fighting over a single toy, and it makes me sick.

It appears that folks don’t overstand that dealings do not have to be one and the same to constitute fairness. ‪‎Aristotle wrote that "equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally," meaning "individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involved."

Wait, let me give an example. If for instance you’re working at your corporation’s manufacturing unit, it is your employer’s duty to make your necessary gears readily available, e.g. gloves, overalls, raincoats, safety boots, helmets, dust masks, safety goggles, etc, and perhaps a rewarding Heavy-duty Allowance. Now the managerial staff or your boss wouldn’t have the benefit of such provisions, but unless they are overly stupid, they wouldn’t grumble about it, would they? No, because your job demands that you be treated that way.

Same way, if your boss or manager’s privileges arise, like boss travels on a justifiable assignment and gets paid a fat per diem, or your supervisor gets a raise after his Master’s degree, has a new car or a computer unit to facilitate his work, my friend all you need to do is to shut the fuck up and be happy for them. God willing, your turn will come. If you’re not contented with that, then get a new job, where you’ll probably be the person in charge.

If you ask me, and in the interest of making progress, let those who’re paid to think do the thinking, let the PR people do the talking and let those paid to use the spanners, bolts and nuts reason in that line and do just that. Get to work and stop meddling or poking your nose in a domain that you know nothing about. Blowing unproven whistle to pull down the person over you is morally wrong. Let ties based on mutual respect and overstanding be built, it will make everyone effective.

On sms4smile.com, I saw a text that says that “NOT all fingers are of same LENGTH, but when they are BENT, all stand in EQUAL length. LIFE becomes easy when we BEND and ADJUST to certain situations.” So perhaps God didn’t cause the imbalance to the fingers for nothing. If at the end of the day you think you’re where you’re because of a certain unfortunate decision, learn from it and make sure your kids do it differently.

P.S - and about that cute young lady, I mean that one that the CEO won’t leave behind when he sets out to the corporate board room for a meeting, don’t blame her neither him. Appreciate the fact that beauty can take the possessor many places, especially if she’s got a good head on her shoulders…Happy holidays everyone! May 2015 be a bigger and better year for all of us...Blessed!

Social Media Wahala!

Apparently social media has become a stage where everyone is a player. We all gain right of entry the minute we sign up for an account or a profile, and no one exits until that account is deactivated. Some will play their life as it is lived in reality and others will play multiple roles, but mostly being who or what they’re not.

The likes of Omar Touray will play the guru that cannot pull his own shit, and some will take part in subliminal hatred. Some will be relationship wreckers and others pretending to be holier than everyone. Some will play meek whilst others playing the flamboyant destitute, as in those whose lives are not as awesome as represented on here. Some will seek significance by being sycophants to certain leading actors.

Some supposed friends and BFFs will develop into traitors, backstabbers and arch-rivals. Their every word or action is directed at bringing another friend down. I see intimidating goodwill, idealistic activism and very bizarre admirations. I see folks faking allegiance and devotion to anything communal, but will never put their money where their mouth is.

I see con artists, and passive aggressive critics who do not have the nerve to be openly aggressive. I see bandwagon jumpers mindlessly going with the flow. I see conspiracy theorists and agenda analysts discrediting virtually every worthwhile thing. I see pseudo-yuppies, intellectual-masturbators and bogus political analysts, an those who pretend to have interest in intellectual matters only; outwardly acting as if they see further than the ordinary man.

I see genuine celebrities, impending celebrities, celebrity-wannabes, celebrity-haters and celebrities hating on other celebrities. I see bullies playing victims of onslaught. I see genuine people fighting for the rights of those who allow others to walk all over them as if they were doormats, whilst others are busy speaking ill of them. I see folks pretending to hate what they secretly love and vice versa.

I see fake ass drama kings and queens captioning their photo collages with borrowed quotes, and with no quote marks; like taking credit for someone’s effort, to portray sweetness whilst being a complete idiot.

In spite of this unfinished list, one role we all have in common is ‘PLAYING NORMAL’, but I guess that’s because of the difficulty in seeing what’s in front of one's nose. We can poke our nose into other people’s businesses, trying to find out what theirs is really like, whilst being exceedingly secretive about our own, particularly the flaws and failures.... I think all things considered, SAVING FACE is what we're all doing.

Word to all Posers, Walking Billboards and Pseudo Fashionistas

I remember mom (God bless her soul) at one time took some of her soft flowing ‘Kala’ (scarf) fabrics and tailored her own Abaya; and before long, all those ‘fashion victims’ around her started emulating.

Mom was a leading light. She used to dare to be different and to not always doing what everyone’s doing, as if the accomplishment of their life’s purpose is helpless without doing that thing. She was never scared of doing things derived from her own choice. She’ll usually give rise to a path that she finds comfortable and will ultimately leave a trail.

So it stands to reason why I can't stand a people who’re at the mercy of society’s prejudices, a people who’re vulnerable to faddishness; a people who cannot have or be pleased about their own loveliness, always waiting to be told what to do with their lives…If you ask me, the sooner you get rid of your fear of what folks will think or say, the sooner the withdrawal of that feeling of nervousness about what you want to do. That’s simple logic. 

‘Ken Du Yaakar Nit Beh Parreh Yabb Kor’

It is said that your failure is not really a failure until you get down to blaming someone else for it, because “it is human to err” or to fall short, but having the guts to blame someone else for that natural thing is like insensitively trying to absolve yourself from responsibility

Same way, the African should overstand that his problems are his problems; stop paying too much attention on the unconvincing notion that every bad thing that happens to him was a secret plot by powerful foreign conspirators; because even if the ‪‎conspiracy is authentic, the onus is on the sufferer to stop talking and deal with it - not the one meting out the suffering.

Unfortunately, we have a very vulnerable mental state and that is primarily why many Africans have a sad outlook on being African, we cannot see ourselves as people filled with possibilities and solutions, and that sucks

If you ask me, until we grind all these to a halt; until we stop blaming our misery on foreign, or on God and the natural balance, we will continue to count on the same foreign people for support and backing, hence we’ll have no rights to point finger at them anymore.

‘Ken Du Yaakar Nit Beh Parreh Yabb Kor’ – [you cannot chew out or turn your back on someone who invariably comes to your rescue in all your difficult situations]

Even if we succeed in making foreign feel uncomfortable about our problems, say this ‪#‎Ebola epidemic for instance, will their guilt change our unimpressive tactics? Will it decelerate our obsession for purposeless qualifications, intellectual-masturbation, bling-bling and titles of nobility? Will it help us to grow out of our past and get to work; you know, find solutions? Couldn't this age be an age of commonsense; or do we want to say that many years ago, when they came to Africa, they also sailed with our stock of commonsense, unseen?

Living amongst petty people

Living amongst petty people, if you happen to be in control of yourself or uninvolved in foolishness, they’ll say you’re unsociable or full of yourself [Hamulor Sa Bopa], [E’may Fang Long]; they may even hearten other fools to pass judgement on you, to set you up and toy with your conscience, even if in their hearts they know you’re as demonstrably innocent as a nun or monk

If you ask me, don’t even lose sleep and don’t go anywhere trying to shed light on your innocence, that’s a complete waste of valuable time, because the unfair bunch is almost certainly preconceived and wouldn't trust your story. So stick with yourself and no one else. You’re not obliged to prove your innocence to anyone.

Their lies and conspiracies are aimed at taking you on their misguided ways, but don’t worry about it, stories that are fabricated to damage an image are naturally very weak in consequence, and they stink more horribly than the truth, hence it shouldn't be long before their falsehood is exposed and the liars busted; the false accusations will die away and your rightful self will be the ultimate victor

That’s the reward you get for having a steadfast loyalty to yourself; and once your victory is won, do get ready to be kept amused by the beginning of a new drama; I call it “drama” because it is entertaining to see how the conspirators fallout, how some of the connivers will confess out of their own free will, ask for forgiveness and claiming to have been misled by person so and so…Forgive them anyway.

“Shame on a nigga, who try to run game on a nigga”

Shame on anyone who doesn't like you simply because other people love you; shame on a person who’ll pretend to like someone simply because you said you can't stand that person; shame on someone who will say or do nonsense, not because he is nonsensical, he only cunningly wants to make you feel terrible, his best day or ease is contingent on your worst day, perhaps

Shame on a companion who’ll pretend to hate a certain fashion simply because you love it and it looks good on you; shame on the buddy who’ll say no to a planned hangout at the eleventh-hour, simply because you've suddenly become a threat to his notability; shame on all naysayers and success-haters, particularly those who tend to embrace humility simply because they don’t have shit, but the moment they run into some bonanza, they become extreme haters of moderate value and ability.

…. Is like they’ll say in Wolof ‘Yaroo Ndik Yorroh’ [people who’re well-mannered and dutiful only when they’re flat broke]

*AND how did I forget the ‘CARRY GO BRING COME’; shame on him – I mean the one who’ll bring gossip to you the same way he’ll gossip about you, and may the Good Lord have mercy on a hater that hates for no f’kin reason, such people have hate in their DNA, their souls are haunted by the demon.…I can still go on, but let me just wrap up this piece with some Wu-Tang Clan– “Shame on a nigga, who try to run game on a nigga”

‪Fatwa [Ruling]

In this digital, information or computer age, being a smart person is ‪Wagib [a Necessity], some people say it is ‪Fard [obligatory], and if you’re a young person or young-adult who grew up in this age, yet lacking ability in the use of basic technological gadgets, or features like the internet for instance, you have committed a ‎Makruh [a dislike].

Using the internet for good reasons rather than excesses is ‪‎Mustahab [a desirable act]. Owning a classy smartphone when you’re deficient in the required operational savvy is ‪Haram [Unlawful]; and buying such an expensive smartphone for a non-smart user is ‪Mubah [neither commanded nor prohibited], you have no reward for doing it, and no punishment for omitting it; that is why some people say it is ‪Isaat [necessary to avoid].

You know you’re suggestive of a ‪Martyr [one who willingly suffers for a noble cause] if you happen to be part of those creative minds behind today’s high technology, if you’re part of those who develop applications that allow us to do our daily legitimate tasks with ease; your line of work is ‪‎Jihad

Last of all, you know you’ve committed a heinous sin if you decide to lay back, claiming that your daily life is unaffected by the evolution of technology, or when you refuse to acknowledge the validity of this soon to be recognised ‪Fatwa [ruling]

Religious-looking Rogues

I feel really, really sad when I take a look at the ugly charm of today’s sense of God and particularly how it’s being displayed by certain religious-looking rogues, whose willful intimidation and coercion of harmless people is believed to be on behalf of a Merciful God.

It is so disheartening to pick up some of their spiritually shrouded hateful discussions and their prescription of barbaric solutions to uncomplicated issues; see that ‘self-declared Islamic State (IS)’ for instance; or see how one satisfactory scripture is being interpreted into twenty-ten arguing versions.

Perhaps the only thing that unfurls my heart in worship up till now is the awesomeness of the natural scenery, and my existence of course; I am a grateful type. This is what nourishes my awareness of the fact there is a Creator behind those beautiful creations that I said I cherish; a Maker and Master Architect that needs to be well-regarded and highly praised.

... perhaps that’s the way to go, maybe our spirituality was intended to be realistically simple; maybe all we need is to be a forgiving and tolerant people, to be brotherly, to not despair, brush aside insincerity and the double standards of supposed holy-men who’ve turned into yes-men, learn from sources that we consider authentic, speak our honest two cents when necessary and pray to the extent that we can.

Maybe the ‘Halal’ [lawful] is that which pleases the sense of right and wrong, and perhaps those things that the conscience is naturally uncomfortable with are the ‘Haram’ [unlawful]. Maybe this is what religion is all about; orderliness, restraint and obedience, and not to force anyone to be partial to any camp or cult, each dressed in different names, causing so much divergence, confusion and division.

May the Most High forgive our transgressions and give us the wisdom to overstand and to act upon the right path.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, two friends, a lady and a young man, who’ve been so ‘tight’ since high school decided to move from what they initially said was a neutral stance, to a feeling of love;a feeling of unbridled fondness; one that everyone thought was a complete waste of time simply because it was absolutely free from heed

Not many years into their adoring relationship, the young man secured an academic grant and had to leave home to study in a foreign country. Whilst abroad, he met a group of young Muslim brothers from other parts of the world, who were actively engaged in ‘Da‘wah’ [calling people to piety]; the young man became captivated, and before long he was already a very strong ‘Dayee’- mash’Allah!

After his studies, he came back totally reformed, but to everyone’s surprise and as fate will have it, he decided he was going to ‘walk down the aisle’ with this same young lady, who was at the time so wild that she was dubbed "‪The Baddest Bitch"; but the boy assured his relatives that the lady will change, and so they got married.

For starters, the two had an accord kind of; the lady was like: “man, I love what you have become and all, but the truth is, I am not prepared to give up clubbing yet” and the guy replied: “no problems sweetheart, I will drive you to the club and sit at a quiet lounge until you’re done, BUT before we go, I have to read out some ‘Hadith’ [sayings of the prophet Muhammad (s.a.w)] and you’ll listen” - “Okay, Deal!” the lady concurred.

Regularly, the guy will pick out sayings from the ‘Hadith’ in relation to decorum, restraint, the principles of wedlock, the gains of positive transformation, and so forth, and the lady will listen with special attention; sometimes she’ll ask the man to read one or two more before they’ll go, claiming that the excitement at the club doesn’t start early.

So the two were like that until one Saturday evening; the guy didn’t see the lady show any sign of club readiness, so he asked: “Nakala Nak Sohna Si, aren’t we going tonight?” and the lady in an uninterested tone of voice said: “Denga Forg, Man Yeufi Club Sah Defma Sorf Taayi” [I am not too thrilled with clubbing these days]; “let us just read some ‘Hadith’” she said.

The guy smiled, knowing that victory is in close proximity, so he intensified his recitals and narrations; but to cut a long story short, the young lady didn’t only renounce clubbing out of her own free will, but she started reading ‘Hadith’ on her own, she got herself an ‘Oustaz’ [an Islamic teacher]; and started with what I call a Rita Marley ‘Hijab’ [veil], then she graduated to a regular Kairaba Avenue type of 'Hijab’ and now ‘mash’Allah’ she isn’t comfortable going anywhere without her wonderful ‘Niqab’

The point of this story is that whatever you cannot get by means of courtesy, maturity and good judgment or with a nice smile; you wouldn’t be able to get through coercion, incivility or with a grim face; that the processes of perfection especially in matters of faith, and particularly in a society teeming with detractive influences will naturally be a slow progression, and not some target that you can instantly get to....anyways, Allah knows best!

TOO MUCH WAHALA!

Whatever’s happening to this world, from climate change, United States' police brutality, the bloody Sydney siege, to the massacre of those Pakistani kids (my heart goes out to the families of all the victims), everything is our doing, not God’s.

We have in our lustful ways dented this world, and God permitted the process (progress) because it was sought after; but I am the hopeful type; I believe the righteous shall never pay for the sin of the wicked, and no matter the level of folly and 'fuckery', I believe this world will survive it.

Remember the narrative of Noah; remember when mankind’s evilness moved God to destroy the world by means of the flood. God probably got pissed off at humanity's misdeeds and returned the Earth to its pre-Creation state, but you know not everyone and everything vanished, remember the ark?

The way we're increasingly making anomalies normal, tolerating intolerance and closing our eyes to our responsibilities is really awful. Is like the threshold for evilness is so compromised that anything goes; from the pervasive loss of innocent lives to crimes committed by sadistic and merciless 'nutcases', whose sense of God is to more willingly prey than to pray; their needs are filled with hate.

Blessed be the Almighty - bless all clean hands and pure hearts; bless those who shall not lift up their souls unto vanity; re-establish conscience and unleash the fire pon conscious sinfulness, thoughtlessness, greediness, unfaithfulness, prejudice, 'downpression', partiality, intimidation, every evil thought, tongue or eye, but most importantly, BLAZE MORE FIRE PON BADMIND - Amen!

Bare Rhetoric Is Not Good Enough

If power of speech, eloquence or having the way with words, regardless of the sincerity of meaning is all what it takes to develop a people, I believe Africa would’ve been the most industrialised and economically developed continent, but unfortunately bare rhetoric is not good enough.

...and so long as eloquence remains empty of action or isn’t let off the hook of pretence, deceit and hypocrisy, the desire for progress “will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained.”

For instance, what do you expect if a keynote speaker on stigmatisation goes home to forbid his kids from associating with a certain group of innocent kids, and as a consequence of a certain failing of their parents; if an activist who's seemingly devoted to the cause of getting drop-out kids back into school has two of such kids in use on his ranch; if a 'generous donor' who sets up a charitable thing supposedly aimed at fighting a certain social ill, can end up feeling bad that the venture wasn't able to turn a profit?

What change do you expect if that preacher that preaches about kindness is so conceited that his conduct cannot inspire others to practice kindness; if the family planning educator tells the wife how impious it is to control the interval between births; if a welfare worker that teaches other men to behave well towards their wives and children is a bully and a wife beater?

What difference will it make if a volunteer for a certain social cause has “what personal benefit is in it for him” singing in the back of his head; if I can pretend to be on the side of modesty and modest clothing, when in my heart I find Miss Gorgeous' tight ass and perky boobs exceptionally attractive, well-defined and desirable...the list is endless, I just hope we'll someday be afforded the wise mind to overstand and to relate to those standards and beliefs that we verbally pride ourselves on...I just hope!

Keep Feminism Afloat

Nice!!! It seems there is headway; very refreshing to note that some of these young women are really aware of the fact that one doesn’t have to be a woman to keep feminism afloat. I have talked to more than a few of them, and I'm glad that they respect the fact that there are men who perceive women and gender fairness in an even more sincere manner.

‪Shout out to you if you believe there are men who will always be promoters of equal recognition for equal capability, and equal compensation for equal labour; men who do not think women are insubstantial or second-rate, men who believe in fair and merit based treatment, and the fact that everyone, regardless of gender, should be given what they rightfully deserve.

I guess that’s what’s up!!! I solemnly affirm that I’ll unfailingly be there for you, if you’ll uniformly not waver in being there for me, seen!!! More like scratching each other's backs

However, y’all genuine feminists have a serious disincentive to your good cause and you probably don’t know it. The “disincentive” being those PSEUDO-FEMINISTS, those whose handling of issues is not unlike the conduct of this one that prompted this post.

Apparently, their facts about feminism are so badly lit that they think being one means having the notion that ALL men (including Omar Touray) are savagely cruel, ‘Nyaka-Ewu’, rapists, female-haters/beaters and pedophiles that must be destroyed at any cost.

They probably believe that feminism is about asking for seventy-ten times more privileges for them than their male counterparts, or expecting the entire women community to stand up for them against ALL men and at all times, even if they’re completely in the wrong...If you ask me, such people need ‘Dawah’ – call it ‘Dawatul-Feminism’; let them stop the pointless generalisation. Ah!

...and this is not like a crush!

I think I know that feeling that Dr. Yousou N'Dour was trying to touch upon in “Souvenir" [from his ‪FattelikuI album]; and it is not like a crush or something, I believe it is because first impressions are usually the most lasting.

Like Dr. N’dour, I only met this mystery lady on social media and once at some forum, speaking her unfettered mind with assurance and in English like Ya-Eli the Queen of England; she’s got no visible indication of insecurity about her ability, and knowing my ‘people’, I mean that union of individuals who will not know book, but still have the boldness to discredit every form of brilliance, I appreciate her ability to discount envy, malice and petty criticism. Her gift of self-expression is right up there; something that a good number of us are empty of

I am not being cruel to myself, I’m serious; I know I can translate my thoughts into words and all, but such an unconstrained writing and speaking spirit at her age was something I woefully failed, no matter how hard I tried, it just couldn’t work, perhaps the knack was inherently not there

WORD IS, let us give confidence to our young folks, let them feel worthy of attention, let them be given their right to be heard, let them voice their objections and concerns without hesitation, even if in the end we’re going to get the last word; it will take us far.

I am of the opinion that the enemy of progress these days is not lack of talent, but the failure to make talents obvious, either by way of motivated reluctance, needless suppression or fear.