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

Minding Your Language

Putting a few words together is never easy. Even at the best of times and in the best hands words come only with difficulty. Stringing them together to express a thought coherently sometimes feels like herding cats.

But we do not live in the best times; and things are not even normal. Just by the mere act of thinking an idea puts one on a collision course with the thought-control police. And actually verbalizing a thought openly could well expose one to the charge of purveying “Fake News”, a term beloved of the current leader of the Free World.

Thus, anyone playing with words or trying to use them, in these near-dystopian times also plays with fire. This applies not just to the amateur but, as well, to the professional who makes a living using words as an everyday commodity, contributing to or putting together a newspaper or magazine, whether print or digital. The living that such an individual makes depends on how much credibility their organization has. People who buy or “consume” the product do so with the confidence that they are getting a genuine article, the real deal. If the product is wanting or faulty, it loses value and likely, market share as well, just as any other commodity or service would in the marketplace. Definitely “not good”, as Mr Trump would say. Consequently, our conscientious dealer in words has to be sure that their source is impeccable and that any of their ideas or opinions are well-founded. Even so, the accusation of “fake news” can be quite destructive and difficult to shake, descending into a question of “he said, she said”...

Fair enough, you might be prepared to concede and then roll up your sleeves and join the rough and tumble in the market place of ideas. But it seems the rules have changed even more profoundly. In recent days and indeed, as we speak, we hear that the Trump administration has signalled prohibition on the use of certain words. To communicate with, not only his highness the President, but with his courtiers too, certain words are to be avoided. We hear, for example, that, to speak to authority, the CDC is having to mind its p’s and q’s and avoid certain words in order to maintain ideological purity. Now, the CDC, the Centres for Disease Control of America is one of that nation’s most venerable institutions. It is a department of the US government that has, over many years sought to find ways and means of controlling the spread of diseases in the country. And, as would be obvious to anyone, controlling disease in one country also means that spread to the rest of the world is curbed. This is critically important work that benefits all. The CDC tackles other diseases and conditions as well: if it afflicts humanity, they are there to reduce the potential impact. They collect the data; they study the human condition, from fetus to the grave, and their findings provide the evidence that is needed to make policy and guide decisions about best practice in prevention and control.

To get their message to us, the general public, and to those who provide the money for their work, the CDC have to use plain language, the kind of language that we all can understand; like “evidence”, “science-based”, “fetus”, “diversity”, “entitlement”, etc. But now, we hear, they have to avoid using words such as these for fear of annoying someone in authority. I should say though, that I myself have not seen the original story of this new word-avoidance strategy, reportedly published by the The Washington Post, newspaper. Rather paradoxical. The Post’s paywall bars me from reading their story, a move that introduces another layer of irony into a landscape that is already riddled with ironies. True, there are no free lunches and The Post is not obliged to hand me a freebie, even though it’s almost Christmas and though they are making a point about impediments to information flow, about which they and we are supposed to care.

But hey, this is the season of goodwill to all men (and women too) and I, for one, will not stint words in wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a 2018 that is free of pestilence and other distempers.

Tell Fren Tru

Zimbabwe: The Long Night Ends

The opening act in the world’s longest-running coup drama has come to an end, just a few paces removed from where it all started. Perhaps what saved the entire process from dissolving into a bedroom farce was the absence of the chief female interest, Grace Mugabe. Luckily, the action remained firmly in the public arena where an elderly, now-isolated despot was seen desperately trying to cling to power. Eventually, someone convinced him that the game was up and that there was no other dignified option but for him to submit his resignation letter.

The constitutional shenanigans that enabled this coup by another name are OK by me, but what bemuses me the most is the hypocrisy of it all. Everyone knows that the membership of ZANU-PF has been the facilitator of the processes that made Zimbabwe an impossible place to live in. And this is not just me saying so. The wide diaspora of Zimbabweans living all over the world, particularly in the neighbouring SADEC countries is testament enough. Zimbabweans who have stuck it out inside the country have had to be very careful to avoid the crushing jaws of the man  they call “The Crocodile” and who now stands ready to preside over the country. I hope I am wrong, but how can a crocodile change its spots overnight, to mix my metaphors? Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa is unlikely to become a model citizen-president overnight, just because he no longer has Robert Mugabe pulling his strings. Or Mrs Mugabe yanking them, for that matter.

What needs to happen in Zim now is pretty obvious. Zimbabweans have to find a way of getting their government party to deliver prosperity for them in an environment where they are free from harassment. Is ZANU-PF the party to do so? This is the party that the people ostensibly supported against themselves during the dark days of the Mugabe reign of terror. I say ostensible because I don’t really know how the system worked. Were threats delivered? Or were threats of actual bodily harm combined with inducements, thrown in the direction of just key people or spread around more randomly throughout the country? Or indeed, did the the inflicting of actual physical harm, including beatings, imprisonment and torture take place?

Whatever the case, there are lessons to be learned because there are at least 20 other countries in Africa today, this hour and this very minute, where leaders and their parties are virtually permanently installed, oppressing people and grinding their economies into the ground. Evidence for this can be seen in the droves who risk life and limb across the Sahara and Mediterranean to escape to Europe. And yet, some of us are quick to praise and defend them against critics, howling some rubbish about “neo-colonialist” and “imperialist” or “slavish” impulses that are trying to “undermine sovereignty” or “destabilize” independence.

Nonsense.  We Africans must have the courage to look at budding dictatorships in the eye and call them for what they are and nip them in the bud when they are still not so dangerous. After all, dictators are never fully formed. They have their beginnings when they are not so dangerous and frightening.  And we must stop protecting them because, if given the latitude, they will turn on the very people who elected them or gave them permission to govern. We must have the courage and the good sense to snuff them out at the earliest indication that they are getting out of hand.

The Zimbabwe drama has many acts to play yet. The people of Zimbabwe remain the principal players; let's make no mistake about that. This is their chance not only to rewrite the script, but to take the play in a whole new direction.

Tell Fren Tru