Minding The Language II

I am conflicted somewhat by Donald Trump’s recent designation of countries in Africa as “shit hole” countries. But before I get to that, I want to try to unpick possible definitions of what a shit hole country might be.

What could the president have been thinking when he said what he is alleged to have said? Was he thinking about a country’s sanitation arrangements within the home or of facilities installed in a shed-like annex in the yard, or of other types, less elaborate in design nearby or afar?

Or was the president referring to countries that he disapproves of on the basis of anatomical considerations. If he was thinking anatomy, he should know that that way of categorizing nations will not wash. It is too general. The standard model of humanity comes equipped with the aperture in all instances. Everybody has one, so the use of that parameter is not distinctive enough to enable one to classify a nation as a shit hole country. In short, no one country, by this characterisation, is more of a shit hole than the next. That approach won’t work, Mr Trump. So, it is more likely that the etymology of the president’s word choice arises from the technical aspects of managing the products issuing from the anatomical end zone I mentioned earlier.

The transfer of product from the one category of hole to the other has been a challenge since the dawn of civilization, and the way this troublesome matter is handled in every country remains fraught. At its most elemental, holes dug specifically for the purpose are to be found in every country on every continent in their various iterations. Perhaps it is differences in the waste management procedures that the president was thinking about when he made his comment using language that is not generally acceptable in polite society. Interestingly, I find that my grammar-checking software is not comfortable with the phrase in question and coyly substitutes “shit whole” for the one I type. Makes no sense of course but, given time it may yet come to accept Mr Trump’s use of language.

But here’s the thing: The current President of the United States has single-handedly lowered the quality of public discourse to a level that, to quote the man himself, is “unpresidented”. So here we are, in 2018, holding our nose and repeating his utterances everywhere, by word of mouth, in print, on the radio and on TV, even in staid organizations such as the BBC. And this is not the only term that the man, with his vast presidential reach, has made usable in what used to be called mixed company. Remember, he is the one that describes the way in which he captures women - by grabbing them by their nether regions. And then, recently, we are made to wonder what climate phenomenon “Stormy Daniels” represents; but, thanks to Google, one is quickly informed that this has nothing at all to do with the weather outlook.

Why am I conflicted then? Describing a country as Mr Trump did, is rude, crude, undiplomatic and vicious and ultimately does not serve America’s interests. It is deeply offensive to people in Africa and from Africa. There are so many things that are good on the continent that anyone, even the dullest dotard, can see that the continent has the potential to be a real powerhouse not only on home turf, but right across the world as well. Africans in the diaspora, in America for example, are among the brightest lights in industry and the universities .  And most of the fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. So, if we combine the potential of its brainpower with its current economic vigour, the continent could rapidly progress to boom, creating more employment for its young people and reduce, if not completely eliminate the need for them to embark on perilous journeys to far off places where they waste their lives in some employment ghetto and are never are able to shine and flourish. That is, provided they have not died before getting to their desired destination

            But then, the peoples of the African continent have a blanket woven in oppression, corruption, deprivation and denial of opportunity held over them by their own leaders, who by any metric, can only be described as “shitty”. All their protestations to the contrary are hollow and merely self-serving.

            Let us seize the opportunity to drum them out of office whenever they give us the chance.

Tell Fren Tru