Four agents/doers I have observed in this New Gambia:
1 - Low-key doers: subtle in approach and so evasive of attention. They're so reckful that theirs is often misunderstood as indifference. Their methods and routes can be so long and winding but usually practical.
2 - High-key doers: they must flaunt everything they do, and so loudly that it can be seen, heard, and talked about. You cannot but admire their gift for attention.
3 - The Trojans: appealingly disguised as genuine but spitefully misleading. Traits: identity politics, destiny-denying bigotry, covert tribalism (inventing instances of discrimination just to play victim and throw slurs), selective bashing, pseudo-empathy, bunch of flip-floppers and disappointed cherrypickers calling people hypocrites. You cannot even have an intelligent conversation with them without draining your energy. May we know them so we know how to deal with them.
4 - The rest of us.
Saturday, 18 November 2017
If you blame them, blame the courtiers...
I wouldn't blame the presidents entirely. Without all those self-serving courtiers around their presidencies - I mean those whose ambitions are driven by their greed to remain privileged, and so much that they're opposed to change, no president in Africa will have the balls to overstay, because power belongs to the people.
Thursday, 9 November 2017
Gambia social media community and bigotry...
Two can play the ‘ndoti-ndoti’ game. But it’s not a national day of bigotry so I abstain. Still, we need to overstand that system change is not a rap battle. In fact, initiating the process is one thing - having to deal with nerves, especially of those who are emotionally attached to what was is another thing.
We cannot attain the change we desire if we keep cheering each other into foolishness, irresponsibility, insolence, and the use of very blinkered, condemnatory, and generalising comments like the following among others that I pieced from an awfully bigoted Facebook thread:
One said to the other: "...for them it’s like a Mandinka is ruling, so we have to make sure that we defend him at all cost, because they're the rightful rulers of this country." The other said: "I am utterly disgusted and knowing how we all defended them last year when Jammeh said the same thing to them..." then the sheep rudely stuck his oar in: “the green youths are far better than these people." Now, do you have to be a Shakespeare to infer reference of the pronouns? Egg-zact-ly!
All who is genuine must endeavour to dead these reckless appraisals by calling them what they are: condescending, narcissistic, not realistic... sheer emotions excited by frustrated senses of entitlement, that’s what they are. I was so disappointed that the above comments were made by people I once respected; little did I know they were just pretending to be against the valuation of people according to preconceptions.
It’s fucked up how a good number of us who claim to be politically open-minded are just a bunch of pseudo-liberals, evidenced by illiberal thoughts and tendencies like the excerpts above. If you think I’m lying, just resist their resistance, even if teasingly so, and see how their inclinations, prejudices and preferences in the closet will come all up on you like bees. But that’s it; patronage is a thing of the heart; you can’t hide it for long - it must out.
Before I finish, here’s free advice: it’s natural that when change occurs, some thoughts are overwhelmed by emotions of what was, some minds woken up, and some hearts broken. But because events in life are not recordings that you can playback, fast-forward or rewind anytime you want, it is best to press the play and savour every minute of the moment, of course not losing grip on the degree of focus required for the future.
We cannot attain the change we desire if we keep cheering each other into foolishness, irresponsibility, insolence, and the use of very blinkered, condemnatory, and generalising comments like the following among others that I pieced from an awfully bigoted Facebook thread:
One said to the other: "...for them it’s like a Mandinka is ruling, so we have to make sure that we defend him at all cost, because they're the rightful rulers of this country." The other said: "I am utterly disgusted and knowing how we all defended them last year when Jammeh said the same thing to them..." then the sheep rudely stuck his oar in: “the green youths are far better than these people." Now, do you have to be a Shakespeare to infer reference of the pronouns? Egg-zact-ly!
All who is genuine must endeavour to dead these reckless appraisals by calling them what they are: condescending, narcissistic, not realistic... sheer emotions excited by frustrated senses of entitlement, that’s what they are. I was so disappointed that the above comments were made by people I once respected; little did I know they were just pretending to be against the valuation of people according to preconceptions.
It’s fucked up how a good number of us who claim to be politically open-minded are just a bunch of pseudo-liberals, evidenced by illiberal thoughts and tendencies like the excerpts above. If you think I’m lying, just resist their resistance, even if teasingly so, and see how their inclinations, prejudices and preferences in the closet will come all up on you like bees. But that’s it; patronage is a thing of the heart; you can’t hide it for long - it must out.
Before I finish, here’s free advice: it’s natural that when change occurs, some thoughts are overwhelmed by emotions of what was, some minds woken up, and some hearts broken. But because events in life are not recordings that you can playback, fast-forward or rewind anytime you want, it is best to press the play and savour every minute of the moment, of course not losing grip on the degree of focus required for the future.
Tuesday, 7 November 2017
Bul heyp ku nyow ess. Bul ceasi't kula jiutu... bokalen ligeuye...
When someone's new to, or unfamiliar with the ways you do things at work, take it easy on the person; do not taunt. You empathise to encourage, knowing that some period in the past, you were as green.
As for you who's new, what you think you know regardless, some things you learn by doing. So, don't pretend to know if you don't. If you don't want to be invisiblised that is. Don't look down your nose at experience; it's also a valuable thing.
As for you who's new, what you think you know regardless, some things you learn by doing. So, don't pretend to know if you don't. If you don't want to be invisiblised that is. Don't look down your nose at experience; it's also a valuable thing.
Just stay positive...
Each time you feel like you're doing great, shit happens and you're given cause to get upset, I know. It's a resentfully prejudiced road out there, selfish, cold, slanderous, cunningly greedy, you name the fuckeries. And there's so much excitement about nothing.
Still, make your moves. Take your chances, go to Plan B, err, learn from it, load Plan C, grow like there's always an opportunity in every difficulty.
Don't let the devil switch your presets. Pay attention - just because a thing's unlikely doesn't mean it's impossible. Obama and Barrow became presidents, remember? Count your blessings. Savor the positives and let the negative thinkers wallow in their muds of negativity. Hopefully, today will give birth to some goodness.
Still, make your moves. Take your chances, go to Plan B, err, learn from it, load Plan C, grow like there's always an opportunity in every difficulty.
Don't let the devil switch your presets. Pay attention - just because a thing's unlikely doesn't mean it's impossible. Obama and Barrow became presidents, remember? Count your blessings. Savor the positives and let the negative thinkers wallow in their muds of negativity. Hopefully, today will give birth to some goodness.
The Super Nawettans (Zonals) are promising.
When Senegal saw that local wrestling was gaining appeal, the wrestling federation got it structured, the government provided the environment, the media got involved, national and private television stations designed programmes to rouse public interest, made celebrities and role models out of the athletes, and gave businesses an opportunity to sell their goods and services through sponsorships.
Gambia, contemporary, if we truly want to develop sports, football in particular, that's the way to go, and the zonals are a start. See it more than just a pastime, make it attractive and spare us that tired-arse 'we-need-to-go-back-to-the-grassroots' strategy. Raise money and pay money, the grassroots will come to you. Seeing the crowd and the talents in this zonals, just as the ones before, I cannot but wish these kids a career better than mine: "koto bi mo munon ball" - that, a certificate, a trophy and D750 are all I can show for playing ball.
Gambia, contemporary, if we truly want to develop sports, football in particular, that's the way to go, and the zonals are a start. See it more than just a pastime, make it attractive and spare us that tired-arse 'we-need-to-go-back-to-the-grassroots' strategy. Raise money and pay money, the grassroots will come to you. Seeing the crowd and the talents in this zonals, just as the ones before, I cannot but wish these kids a career better than mine: "koto bi mo munon ball" - that, a certificate, a trophy and D750 are all I can show for playing ball.
About #OccupyWestfield...
Even I know that politics and protests have a long-standing connection. Even I believe that you cannot call it ‘social equality’ if young people aren’t allowed to feel worthy of attention, if they are denied their right to be heard and to voice their objections and concerns without hesitation. But whether this entitles young people to always have the last word is what I doubt.
From when the proposed #OccupyWestfield protest was conceived on here, I had zero fears as regards the intentions, because within the "movement" I know young folks who even though they may not be as conservative in the way they do their thing, even I am wowed by their valor and liberty of mind. So to say they don’t have their hearts in the right place is just a chat.
However, emotions almost took over some hearts just after the denial of a permit to go ahead with the protest. Focus started shifting to the illegalness of the denial than the end in mind. I started seeing defiance-nudging comments, causing so much agitation, even after the fact that to me, the online campaign has already won the executive’s attention and interest.
At this stage therefore, some activists would’ve given the executive the benefit of the doubt as to whether they’ll keep their side of the bargain. In fact, if December is what they say, some would’ve given them till January, so that in the event there's failure, they'll have better base to justify a Plan B.
I have to be honest - by the looks of things and the trend of arguments, it's as if we just crave a protest and protest we will regardless. So, I ask: what if the National Security team's appeal to put a brake on the protest is really and truly for the safety of country? What if they cannot divulge details of the alleged threat for same security reasons? What facts have we that theirs is just aiding the creation of a culture of fear?
As a final point, I’m not rebuking anyone. It’ll be very inconsiderate of me to chastise the young for their tenacity in the face of risks, because I have been there. I'd equally be too idealistic to expect them to overstand my perception, calmness and composure, because they haven’t gotten the years in my age. But I get disappointed when I see elderly folks who rather than urging the youth to show moderation in what they do are goading them into confusion.
From when the proposed #OccupyWestfield protest was conceived on here, I had zero fears as regards the intentions, because within the "movement" I know young folks who even though they may not be as conservative in the way they do their thing, even I am wowed by their valor and liberty of mind. So to say they don’t have their hearts in the right place is just a chat.
However, emotions almost took over some hearts just after the denial of a permit to go ahead with the protest. Focus started shifting to the illegalness of the denial than the end in mind. I started seeing defiance-nudging comments, causing so much agitation, even after the fact that to me, the online campaign has already won the executive’s attention and interest.
At this stage therefore, some activists would’ve given the executive the benefit of the doubt as to whether they’ll keep their side of the bargain. In fact, if December is what they say, some would’ve given them till January, so that in the event there's failure, they'll have better base to justify a Plan B.
I have to be honest - by the looks of things and the trend of arguments, it's as if we just crave a protest and protest we will regardless. So, I ask: what if the National Security team's appeal to put a brake on the protest is really and truly for the safety of country? What if they cannot divulge details of the alleged threat for same security reasons? What facts have we that theirs is just aiding the creation of a culture of fear?
As a final point, I’m not rebuking anyone. It’ll be very inconsiderate of me to chastise the young for their tenacity in the face of risks, because I have been there. I'd equally be too idealistic to expect them to overstand my perception, calmness and composure, because they haven’t gotten the years in my age. But I get disappointed when I see elderly folks who rather than urging the youth to show moderation in what they do are goading them into confusion.
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