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Favourite – Mama JunkYard's https://beginsathome.com/journal Not Just Junk... Sat, 21 Nov 2015 22:19:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.32 The dehumanising effect of animal personhood https://beginsathome.com/journal/2010/09/04/the-dehumanising-effect-of-animal-personhood/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2010/09/04/the-dehumanising-effect-of-animal-personhood/#comments Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:34:39 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/?p=561
Coolidge Painting
Image Source: Wiki - Dogs Playing Poker
In the past few weeks there has been one animal related story that has dominated the press and the Internet and one that has just trickled a long quietly.

In case you missed it; the first story is about Mary Bale or “Evil Cat Woman” as she is known all over the Internet. She gained this name due to CCTV footage that records her placing a cat in a wheelie bin. It is an act of senseless cruelty that deserves condemnation. Mary Bale received more than condemnation and ended up being placed in protective custody.

The second story involves musician Morrissey, who in response to China’s mistreatment of animals stated,

Absolutely horrific. You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies (source: The Guardian)

There is some furore in the papers regarding this racist statement but Morrissey is not in protective custody.

The message that seems to be coming out of these stories is that any violent, malicious, or offensive action is justified if the intended victim has violated the rights of an animal.

This really does not sit well with me but I think at the root of all of this is the fact that we live in a society that seems comfortable with the idea of assigning personhood to animals even it results in our dehumanisation; and I witnessed this first hand last weekend.

Background

It is no secret that I am not a fan of dogs. I don’t hate dogs. I do however have a healthy fear of dogs, especially big dogs. I am not scared of all dogs; in fact once I spend time in the company of a particular dog I find that I can get on quite well with that dog. This makes sense to me because all animals are different; some are friendly, some are not. I have had a hard time explaining this distinction to certain dog lovers and dog owners who seem aghast that I will not join them in their public display of affection for a dog whose owner’s name they do not know.

“Oh but he looks so cute”; they say, as they proceed to ruffle the fur of this stranger’ pet. This is often followed by many questions about why I do not like dogs. I must have had some traumatic experience to explain my irrational fear of an animal that has the capability to maul a person to death.

Disclosure:
Yes as a young child in Kenya, while walking home from school, I was chased by a pack of dogs and the owner stood there and watched. But…even before the dogs chased me, I remember seeing them, feeling very scared and then running for my life. So it wasn’t the dog chasing incident that made me scared of dogs, all it did was prove me right that some dogs are vicious and it is far easier to avoid them all then to risk life or limb trying to work out which ones are not.

Last Weekend
I was at a pub that is a favourite for dog owners and I endured my regular grilling on why I am not a dog lover. I then asked a few questions of my own such as why would anyone take a dog to a bar? The discussion went on for a while until we reached the point that I always dread. The part where someone will argue that owning a dog is no different to being a parent and that children and pets are not only the same thing but interchangeable.

A parent is NOT the same as a pet owner.
I cannot understand how anyone can argue that dog and baby equals the same thing. In my mind babies and by extension human beings are not the same as animals and I often use a simple test.

If I had one plate of food before me and I had a hungry dog and a hungry child I would feed the child. If I had to save a drowning man or a drowning dog, I would save the drowning man.

Why? Because human beings are not comparable to animals.

I am not condoning the abuse of animals. I am also not arguing that every person who cares for an animal will take to attacking the likes of Mary Bale. What I do recognise however is a connection between how easy it is for Morrissey to dehumanise an entire nation and how easy it is for an individual to dehumanise a baby all in the name of animal personhood.

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First Political Memory https://beginsathome.com/journal/2010/03/28/first-political-memory/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2010/03/28/first-political-memory/#comments Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:31:34 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/?p=548 The Young Foundation is inviting people to share their first political memory. The First Political Memory Project aims to:

reconnect people’s everyday lives with politics through collecting and sharing stories of when people first became aware of the bigger world around them.

I grew up in a very political household so trying to identify my first memory is complicated. When I look back to my “politically formative years”, which I place somewhere between the ages of 4 and 7 all I see is a kaleidoscope of memories.

Is my first political memory to be found in the pages of my book collection that included titles such as “Nelson Mandela for Kids”, “Harriet Tubman for Kids”?

Or did it start with the curtain call that preceeded my role in the Wazelendo Players’ production of Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi?

Perhaps it is in the tune of Bandiera Rossa; a song I learned to sing without so much as knowing what language it was in!

Maybe it lies within the pixels that made up the was the framed poster of Malcolm X in our living room?.

Botha's 1984 visit to UK protested
In many ways it is a lot easier for me to single out those political memories that have shaped my views on inequality, discrimination and race. The memory I have submitted to the First Political Memory Project took place in 1984, during P. W Botha’s visit to the United Kingdom. My parents and I joined the protesters who marched to Downing Street.

I was about six years old at the time and I was used to going on both leisure and protest walks with my parents, which often ended with me eating an Orange ice lolly (if the weather was nice) or a pack of Opal Fruits and/or Jaffa Cakes. For the most part there was nothing special about this particular walk until we got to Number 10. The crowed stopped and in unison began a call and response chant that went like this:

Caller: Maggie, Maggie, Maggie!!
Crowd: Out, out, out!
Caller: Botha, Botha, Botha!!
Crowd: Out, out, out!!

At the age of six, to be part of the 15,000 people who chanted in unison was an amazing experience. At the time I must admit that I thought we were calling for them to open the door and step outside. It was only as I grew older, as I started to learn more about Apartheid and Thatcherism, that I was able to connect the dots. It was this demonstration that helped me understand that Apartheid as an ideology and as a regime did not exist in isolation. In 2010, as the Conservative Party rolls out its “I’ve never voted Tory before” campaign, I can respond and say,

I’ve never voted Tory because they supported Apartheid

What is your first political memory? Get sharing!

With thanks Mark Pack for his LDV post – ‘cos that’s how I learned about this!

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Wake-up call from Zuqka Magazine https://beginsathome.com/journal/2010/03/07/wake-up-call-from-zuqka-magazine/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2010/03/07/wake-up-call-from-zuqka-magazine/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:09:34 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/?p=530 Zuqka Magazine Cover
Zuqka Magazine Cover

Sometimes, you can just hop in the back of someone’s cab and tell them what they’re supposed to do. Other times, you have to let him look out at the ocean for a while.

Jacob, Lost Season 6

Zuqka’s feature on MamaJunkYard is the literal equivalent of hopping into my cab and telling me I need to get back to blogging. This is what Kamau Mutunga wrote:

Her relationship status is “not on the market.” Unless you’re Thierry Henry. She likes Tia Maria, coffee, purple, travel, family and God, though not necessarily in that order. She hates balloons, pumpkins and prejudices. Her interests are race, gender, sexuality and critical legal theories. Her first pets were rabbits, and she has two tattoos and six body piercings. Bloggers rarely describe themselves with much detail, but there you have a bio peek at Kui, Mrs Cooper or to her blog fans, Mama Junk Yard.

Indeed, Mama Junk Yard’s rants about anything under and over the sun. Kui has lived abroad, but works in Nigeria. From how foreigners talk and silly questions about one’s country. So, her entries are observations of a footloose, uprooted Kenyan. You will learn that “Kubwa” might be Kiswahili for “big” and “Nyanya” is grandmother, but why does it also mean tomato? Well those two are names of places in Naija too. And “well done” doesn’t connote congratulations. It is a greeting. When feeling unwell don’t be shocked when asked “how you body de?” “How far” is not about distance, but “how is it going.” And when someone flashes your phone, don’t call back. They were “just de greet you O!” Mrs Cooper hasn’t been blogging actively, and her archives might give a better impression of Mama JunkYard.

There are few things there that need updating, e.g. I am no longer in Nigeria….but that’s even more reason for me to get back to blogging!

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Only a racist votes for a racist party https://beginsathome.com/journal/2009/06/08/only-a-racist-votes-for-a-racist-party/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2009/06/08/only-a-racist-votes-for-a-racist-party/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:25:43 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/?p=514 I really want to celebrate the fact that I was among the voters in the UK’s North West region who re-elected Chris Davies of the Liberal Democrats as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). At some point, later in the day, I am sure I will. Right now however I am angry that Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party (BNP) is one of our eight MEPs.

The North West win has not come as a surprise. In the run up to the election nearly every other party tried to convince the electorate that a vote for them would count as an anti-BNP vote. The threat of a BNP win was real. What is unreal is this seeming unwillingness to accept that there are racist people in the UK (at least 132,094 live in the North West) and that on June 4th these racist people exercised their democratic right and duly sent not one but two -Nazis to represent the rest of us in Brussels.

Apparently all this is the fault of the mainstream political parties. It was they who alienated and excluded “regular voters” from the political and democratic process. That the BNP win is a direct result of the frustration that “regular voters” feel and have felt for a long time – they have expressed this frustration by way of a protest vote.

Rubbish. Utter rubbish.

Firstly, if Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are deemed mainstream political parties, the remaining eight options on the North West ballot paper should have provided sufficient choice for those seeking an alternative view. Failing that, the right to invalidate one’s ballot paper is the ultimate protest vote but it comes as no surprise that BNP voters did not take this course of action. Those who voted in favour of Griffin’s party were not protesting; they were endorsing a hate group that has unfortunately been allowed to masquerade as a political party.

Secondly, to assume that a sense of disillusionment and disenfranchisement is reason enough for a “regular voter” to lend his or her support to a hate group is a leap in a logic that I am unwilling to take. Unless of course regular voters” is code name for “racist, homophobic and xenophobic white voters.”

If the BNP’s relative success in the European Parliamentary Election shall be discussed along the lines of finding fault and apportioning blame then I have no problem in placing all the blame on the BNP voters around the UK but in particular those in the North West and York and Humber region.

Whatever forms the discussion will take; there is no room for those who argue that the BNP supporters are unaware of the party’s racist, homophobic and xenophobic beliefs, or that BNP voter is well meaning but ill educated person who has been duped. If condemnation for the BNP party is (almost) universal then the same should be true of its supporters.

We certainly should not attempt to portray them as victims; they seem to be doing a good job of it themselves. Listening to Nick Griffin citing the Race Relations Act as the basis of potential law suits against employers who sack BNP supporters is reason enough for us to raise the level of the debate surrounding the BNP and its existence as a political party.

One reason why I detest the BNP so much is because I, like so many others, can see through the name change that transformed the National Front into its present form. Comparisons have been made between the BNP and the Ku Klux Klan and I could not agree more with these comparisons. Yet unlike the KKK, the BNP has been granted political party status, which has resulted in what Mshairi describes as a schizophrenic relationship between the rest of the nation and the party and its supporters.

That is why on the one hand the BNP can appear on a ballot paper yet its members are denied the right to openly associate with their party of choice. It is the same flawed logic that saw the other North West MEPs refuse to share a stage with Nick Griffin as he gave his victory speech despite the fact that they will be sharing a forum in Brussels.

I think our leaders and law makers need to decide where they stand on the issue of the BNP and should that day ever come, I hope they are bold enough to place BNP in the same category as all other hate groups and revoke their political party status. Until that time our discussion of the BNP and its increasing support be limited by this rather bizarre cycle of misplaced blame and unwarranted empathy.

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Kenyan Bloggers Day (Prt 1.) https://beginsathome.com/journal/2006/06/01/kenyan-bloggers-day-prt-1/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2006/06/01/kenyan-bloggers-day-prt-1/#comments Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:58:41 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/journal/?p=295 ***Cross posted from A Thousand Words

Celebrate Kenyan Bloggers Day Button On June 1st 2006 Kenyans everywhere will be celebrating Madaraka Day. Madaraka Day commemorates the day that Kenya attained internal self-rule following an important milestone on the road to independence. To mark this event I have joined my fellow Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW) members as we blog in unison under the banner ‘Kenyan Bloggers’ Day’.
—————————————-

I have always admired the work of Dennis Hwang. He is the man behind the Google Holiday Doodles. I had so much faith in their holiday logos to the extent that I did not consider a day a holiday unless Google had doodled it.

Today, the day Kenya attained internal self-rule, I expected Google Kenya to be all doodled out in black, green and red. But alas, there was no Madaraka Day Doodle!

So in the true Madaraka spirit, I decided to use the freedom that comes with having access to the Internet to create and share my own Google Doodle!

Mock Google Logo

Happy Madaraka Day.

————–
Credit:

  • Dr Mich – who refuses to get a blog but seems to enjoy helping me on mine – worked with me on this Mockoogle Logo.
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Lynden David Hall https://beginsathome.com/journal/2006/02/15/in-memoriam-lynden-david-hall/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2006/02/15/in-memoriam-lynden-david-hall/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2006 23:03:41 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/journal/?p=260 Lynden David Hall

UK soul singer Lynden David Hall, passed away yesterday (February 14th 2006) and his death has struck me on so many levels.

Firstly the cause of his death has brought to the fore an issue that Guess has discussed (more than once I think?)Black and Minority Ethnic Group donors. Prior to his death, Lynden David Hall battled for two years with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. Like many other forms of cancer, the survival rate relies on (amongst other things) bone marrow transplants. As Guess pointed out in her post, there is a shortage of black and minority ethnic group donors in the UK. Lynden David Hall was aware of this and launched Lynden’s Wish, a fundraising event held at the Jazz Cafe last November. Losing Lynden further highlights how important it is for us as black people to register as donors.

Secondly I am saddened at the low level of publicity surrounding his passing. The BBC and Radio 1 Xtra (they have a wonderful tribute section) both have the story on their sites but that appears to be it. Tonight, the music world gathered in London for what is the biggest musical award show in the UK The Brits. One would expect that on a night like this, focus would not just be limited to the winners but also to those artists who have influenced today’s winners. After all Lynden was a 1999 Brit Nominee and as Lemar thanked tonight’s audience for his Best Urban Act Brit award one can not help see the similarity in style between the two singers. And who can forget Lyndens cameo as a wedding singer in Love Actually? Surely his soulful rendition of the Beatle song All you need is love? is reason enough for the UK media to realise the gap in UK music that now exists. Lynden was a talented individual who wrote all his songs played a host of instruments and had a voice that many likened to DAngelo and I feel that there should be more in the news.

Thirdly, and this is perhaps the most painful part of all this, a family is mourning the loss of a son and a brother. I went to school with Lynden’s younger brother and have been friends with him ever since. I can only imagine what he and his family are going through at this time and I pray that God will guide them through this.

This blog article is my little tribute to a great man who shall be missed by music lovers all around the world. A man who at 31 years old has gone too soon but shall be remembered for achieving a great deal in such a short time.

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I Hate Smilies https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/11/13/i-hate-smilies/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/11/13/i-hate-smilies/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2005 23:14:48 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/journal/?p=255 I really do. In fact I will go so far as to say that I hate smiley users. I hate them in that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” kind of way. The only thing I probably hate more than smilies and their users are people who make sweeping generalisations. I am not that kind of person. I understand fully that not all smiley users are the same and that some clearly deserve to be hated more than others.

In my view smiley users can be divided into three groups. I have taken the time to list them in ascending order of deplorability.


_______________________

The Coward: Not basing my assertion on scientific research I would say 80% of smiley users fall into this category. These are the ones who will make a remark which on its own can be deemed offensive/insulting yet when followed by a colon and a closing parenthesis is apparently transformed into a joke.

An example:

Me: Last night I got completely drunk and woke up face down in a ditch.

The Coward: Girl, you’re so crazy :)

Translation: You are one irresponsible individual, have you no shame? Your drinking is spiralling out of control and from this day forward I shall go to great lengths to avoid you.

If I were a Coward too, (perish the thought!) my response would be

Me: I know :)

Translation: Bitch!

Do not despair if you are in this category, there is redemption. All you need to do is develop the ability to say what you mean, it really is that simple.

Like a 55 year old smoker who had their first cigarette aged 13 behind the bike shed but never progressed to marijuana, this type of smiley user does not always progress onto the next category. Sadly a few do.

_______________________

The Neanderthal: This smiley user has decided that minor details such as letters and words serve no other purpose but complicate English in its written form. This user instead constructs a whole sentence (if you can call it a sentence) using nothing but smilies.

An example:

Relying on the same drunken ditch conversation, Neanderthal is likely to respond to my admission as follows,

Neanderthal: 😯😮 😐 😳 😆

Translation: Oh my God! No way. I don’t know what to say. That is so embarrassing and yet incredibly funny too.

*Until I wrote this post I was blissfully unaware that someone somewhere had invented an exclamation mark smiley. Our inventors of the past gave us electricity, the telephone, yet you, who ever you are, you real man/woman of genius, I salute you, for you have given us a visual representation of a visual representation.* (Copyright Bud Light)

If you have suddenly come to the realisation that the above applies to you and you want to change your ways, I say to you, it is possible but it may take time. Roughly about the same time it has taken us to evolve from Hieroglyphics to the present.

_______________________

Ms/Mr Callous: Once again I rely on that same drunken in ditch incident to show how a conversation with Ms/Mr Callous would unfold

Me: Actually, the only reason I ended up drink in a ditch is because that friend of yours who you so kindly hooked me up with spiked my drink and stole my bag and shoes. I apparently wandered around aimlessly and the ditch became my final resting place. That was until this morning when I was picked up by the police. As I was unable to identify myself, they have decided to keep me in custody. I have swapped my one phone call for an hour online chat time in the hope that I can also google me a good lawyer.

Ms/Mr Callous: 😕

Not wanting to make too fine a point of this but science has come up with a medical term for an individual who lacks empathy: psychopath. Granted there are other elements that need to be established before making a diagnosis but I rarely spend any more time with those who fit into this category. I can not even offer a translation because I do not know what goes on in their mind.

Anyone in this category: I would love to offer you advice but who am I to contradict the voices in your head?

_______________________

Oh well, this is just my take, I would hate to offend any of you smiley users. You have yourself a good week and remember this is only one person’s unqualified opinion :)

Thanks to Tempus Fugit for a list of WordPress smilies

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Before I Talk About Lucy… https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/05/04/219/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/05/04/219/#comments Wed, 04 May 2005 00:13:11 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/journal/?p=219 Over the past few days the Kenyan media has had a lot to say about our “First Ladyâ€?, Mrs Lucy Kibaki. Most of what has been said has not been very nice. On a personal level I am indifferent to Ms Kibaki and her activities. What troubles me are the deeper issue(s) that underpin the current anti-Lucy sentiment.

Firstly I am concerned by our national media’s obsession with the personal aspects of Ms Kibaki’s life. This is not to say that I am against coverage of the Kibaki’s. Be it to curb our voyeuristic tendencies or to give us greater insight into another aspect of our leader’s life – it is good to be kept informed. What is not right is when our national media resort to tabloid style journalism.

Kenya does not have a wide range of written press to cater for all audiences. The written news that the majority of Kenyans read, on all matters global and national, is provided predominantly by two newspapers – The Nation and The Standard. We do not have the “luxuryâ€? of choosing whether to opt for the tabloid or broadsheet version of a story. When any newspaper holds as much power as that held by Kenya’s big two I feel they need to be responsible in what they cover and how they cover it.

Most of their coverage on this recent issue regarding Mrs Kibaki revolves around how she dealt with the level of noise emanating from her neighbour’s/tenant’s house. Her neighbour/tenant happens to be outgoing World Bank country leader Mr Makhtar Diop.

Mrs Kibaki has already challenged the accuracy of their information. The manner in which she challenged the media has also been the subject of debate. Mrs Kibaki is said to have “stormed” the media offices and there have been allegations that she slapped a journalist.

At present there is so much she said/he said I do not know who to believe. I can however speak confidently on two things, if Mrs Kibaki did slap the journalist then this aspect needs to be dealt with appropriately. Secondly this is not the first time that our press have got it wrong.

I recall a few months ago when Kenyan bloggers and readers of Thinker’s Room spoke out against the Nation’s decision to print without sufficient credit an item taken from Thinker’s blog. On more than one occassion people the media was labelled as unreliable and unethical, quite a few said they were not suprised by the actions of the press.

Further to this, if Lucy did behave in manner that was inappropriate then surely our nation’s media should be raising the level of debate and focusing on the implications of her behaviour and how it affects Kenyans.

  • How does Mrs Kibaki’s behaviour affect us and the daily struggles that we go through?
  • Will her reaction affect relationships between Kenya and the World Bank?
  • Will Senegal (Diop’s country of origin) sever all ties because a member of our country was (allegedly) rude and offensive towards him?
  • Should we be reviewing our Constitution and setting guidlines on the roles and responsibilities of “First Families”?
  • What exactly is the correct cause of action when dealing with noisy neighbours and how many Kenyans are aware of their rights in relation to this?

This , a long with questions raised by Kenyan Pundit are a few examples of some of the things that I would like to see in our papers.

Writing this has reminded me of a time when Tony Blair’s son was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. The Guardian an English broadsheet paper raised the level debate while most of the tabloids opted to focus on the fact that Blair’s son told the police his name was Mickey Mouse.

The Nation and The Standard’s preoccupation with whether Mrs Kibaki was wearing pyjamas at the time is in my view very similar to the tabloid’s Mickey Mouse approach.

The pyjama aspect leads me on to something else that disturbs me about this anti-Lucy sentiment. This is not the first time that Mrs Kibaki has come under attack for how she looks and dresses.

In my view Mrs Kibaki has an “every woman� look to her. We may not like the fact that Mrs Kibaki’s weave is not cool. Or that she owns one of those buttock hugging woollen cardigans with brash embroidery. Or that in 2005 she still wears those patent leather “pumps� complete with the stick-on bows. Some of us may still be wondering why she bothers to razor shave her eyebrows only to redraw them (twice as thick) with a charcoal coloured pencil. We may never know the answer to this one. What I do know is that most if not all Kenyan families have an aunt, mother, sister, daughter and/or cousin who proudly leave the house sporting the Lucy Kibak look. I also have a sneaky suspicion that if Mrs Kibaki did get a make over there would be many who accuse of her misspending our money.

It’s not just Mrs Kibaki’s look that is under attack. The way she speaks has been the subject of many jokes. Apparently Mrs Kibaki’s “shrubbing� is one that amuses many of us. I have failed to find an English equivalent for the word “shrubbing�. The best I can do is offer a comparison. In the same way that Japanese people, owing to the nature and structure of their language pronounce “L� as “R� and vice-versa when speaking English, so to does Mrs Kibaki.

Laughing at people who shrub is common in Kenya, yet so many Kenyans shrub and many of those who do shrub, are conscious and at times embarrassed by this. While on the surface it may appear as harmless fun, underlying this ‘humour’ is the racist, classist, elitist notion that an inability to speak and pronounce English like the Queen means that you are backward, illiterate and stupid.

Mrs Kibaki, with her weave and her shrubs in many ways embodies the Kenyan woman.
So while we may laugh and ridicule Mrs Kibaki for her appearance and her ‘bad’ English we are effectively laughing at ourselves. In our jest we reinforce, encourage and perpetuate racist, classist and elitist stereotypes that so many of our people have been fighting against.

Lastly, there has been mention of her husband, our President, Mwai Kibaki being told to take ‘charge of his family’. Am I the only who is incensed by this blatantly sexist and chauvinistic attitude? When a few male politicians were caught kerb-crawling on Nairobi’s Koinange Street I do not recall anyone calling for their wives to step in and take charge of their family. Apparently, there are some who feel that President Kibaki’s inability to control his woman is a sign that he is not a good leader. Excuse me? Since when was a marriage about control?

I am not excusing, defending or encouraging what Mrs Kibaki is alleged to have done or said. I feel very strongly about denying the media their freedom. I also feel strongly about the fact that Mrs Kibaki (allegedly) slapped a reporter. I do not condone violence. I also feel that as Kenya continues to grow and evolve we should examine what we expect from our public figures. But I refuse to be part of those discussions that focus solely on personality, rely on information that may be inaccurate and that is littered with sexist, elitist and often times violent language.

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Spreading the Love… https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/02/14/spreading-the-love/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/02/14/spreading-the-love/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2005 15:58:05 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/journal/?p=170 Ha!! I have finally caught on to blog memes and have come up with a Kenyan style quiz which I shall be sending to 3 members of the Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW). If you are a member of KBW and happen to read this here; don’t wait for someone to send it to you…gatecrash Kenyan style and spread the love…afterall it is Valentine’s day!


1. Favourite Kenyan food:

Mum’s mahamris! They are the best in the world and no one in our family can perfect the recipe the way she does! She usually made them after midnight when everyone had gone to bed because when she used to make them during the day we would eat them as soon as they leave the sufuria.

2. Favourite Kenyan drink:
Too easy…Tusker moto

3. Favourite Kenyan TV programme:
This is an oldie – Tushaurine. I never got to find out if Esther married Joe or the other one (what was his name?)

4. Top 3 Kenyan hang outs:
(a) My parents’ home…nothing beats being at home. No cooking or cleaning just 100% lounging.
(b) Cucu’s place…..Where else can I get to watch 5 Bollywood movies in a row.
(c ) I can’t decide between these two -The Hood….I love their nyam chom and it is also my local AND Kengeles Yaya….I am still not comfortable with the idea of a pub above a petrol station…all it takes is one drunk to drop a lit ciggie and boom but during the day it is a lovely place to hang out.

5. Top Kenyan holiday destination
I have to promote Central Province…Treetops Hotel.

6. 3 Kenyan phrases you use a lot (ati, nini, nani DO NOT count and neither does bilaz!)
(a) Nitakulima kama shamba
(b) Na hiyo ni maendelo
(c ) Ashindwe!!!

7. Three things about Kenya/Kenyans that make you go ‘hmmm’
(a) Kenyans using the N word….Why?
(b) Gatecrashing…again why?!!!
(c ) Whenever I tell a Kenyan my name they always insist I have an English name. I don’t have one and have never had one so please stop asking me…”no..what is your other name? your baptism name.”

8. Three things non-Kenyans say about Kenya/Kenyans that make you go ‘hmmm’
(a) Oh I have a friend in Kenya…his name is John…do you know him?
(b) I would love to learn Kenyan.
(c ) Hakyuna Marrarra – Please get over that whole Disney thing!

9. Three things about Kenya/Kenyans which non-Kenyans ought to know.
(a) There is more to Kenya than the wildlife.
(b) Not all Kenyans are Maasai and not all Maasai are Kenyan.
(c )Kenyans are capable of speaking good English. It is nothing to be shocked about and it I do not feel complimented when you point it out.

10. Complete this sentence: I am Kenyan because…..
if I said I was anything else my parents would beat me…with a mwiko!.

And finally – list 3 members of the Kenyan Blog Ring you would like to see complete this quiz.

Nick, Kenyan Pundit and Thinker.

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Saying Sorry – The Kenyan Way… https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/01/10/saying-sorry-the-kenyan-way/ https://beginsathome.com/journal/2005/01/10/saying-sorry-the-kenyan-way/#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2005 23:59:07 +0000 http://beginsathome.com/journal/?p=152 Recently I had lost my blog motivation and was beginning to accept that I may never blog again but a friend’s comment on what he terms as ‘cross-cultural communication interpretations’ led me to reflect on some of the things that Kenyans say in Kiswahili which when translated to English lose their meaning.

One word that stands out is ‘sorry’ and a while back Kaki touched on this in a comment she posted. I have been told by many of my non-Kenyan friends that I apologise too much and I am sure a Western psychologist could analyse me and find some underlying self esteem issues that have led to my ‘over apologetic’ nature but I think the real reason has to do with my heritage. I overuse the word ‘sorry’ because I am Kenyan and before any Western psychologist rushes to classify all Kenyans as lacking self esteem etc, here is my explanation.

The Kiswahili word for ‘sorry’ is ‘pole’ (pron. po-lay) and this tiny four letter word means a lot more than the English fault based apology. Depending on the context ‘pole’ can mean, among other things, ‘I emphathise’, ‘I understand’ or ‘ooops…my bad’.

The best way to illustrate the versatile nature of the word ‘pole’ is by way of example based on fictitious but highly likely conversations between two Kenyans.

Example 1

P1: “uuuuwwiiiii…I’ve ngogad (stubbed) my toe on the door”

P2: ” Woi! Pole”

Meaning: Haki (I swear) I jua (know) your pain! I have ngogad my toe before and it hurts. I feel your pain.

Example 2

P1: “You guy! Did you hear, someone thugged (stole) my wheels?!”

P2: “No way! Pole.”

Meaning: I have never owned a car, dude, you know I can’t even drive but I know how you and your car were tight…like husband and wife…I hope they shika (catch) the theiving bastard.

Example 3

P1: ” Did you watch the game last night? My team lost 10-0!”

P2: “Heh heh Pole”

Meaning: Ha! I did watch the game. Why lie, we thrashed you guys vizuri sana (good and proper) and nita ku enjoy mpaka (I will ridicule you until) next season. But jokes aside, if that were my team I would feel bad too.

Now take any of the above examples; in this case Example 2 and this time imagine that P1 is non-Kenyan. The conversation would probably go a bit like this.

P1: “My good man, I would like to bring to your attention that on or about the 31st of December my sole mode of transportation, namely my car, was dishonestly appropriated.”

P2: “Eh…sorry.”

P1: “Why are you saying sorry? It’s not your fault.”

So there you have it.

I just noticed that I used the word ‘bastard’ so pole if I have offended anyone.

Meaning: This is my blog, I can say whatever I want to say..but I know my aunties read this so I better act like I was raised properly.

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