The Hipocricy Of Black Activism And The Sorrows Of The Voiceless Minority

Descrimination can simply be defined as the unjust treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race (racism), tribe (tribalism), gender (sexism), religion (religious bigotry), sexual orientation (homophobia), nationality (xenophobia), social status (classism), etc. Efforts have been made to keep a tight rein on this societal menace that could present a peril to mankind. However, largely due to far right politics and ideologies, discrimination has continued to thrive in our world today. This has, in turn, kept the anti discrimination campaigners on their toes. The campaign against racism, the most pronounced form of discrimination, recently gained some traction after an uproar over the killing of an armless black American by white police officers in the Unted States. This campaign is mostly led by blacks across the globe who have come out to condemn, in strong words, the maltreatment of people based on their skin colour. According to this campaigners, every individual should be addressed by their content and not by their skin colour thus echoing the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Of course, Africans are not left out. A good deal of the world's black population is from Africa. It's only pertinent that we lend our voice to the positive movement. And this brings me to the gist of this "epistle"; the philosophy of African moral compass as it relates to both internal and external struggles against discrimination.

While progress is being made at the global level, different types of discrimination still flourish in Africa. This because we have not internally agreed to give the word "discrimination" a formal, all encompassing and infallible definition. We still view it through the lense of our own gains or the majority stance thus redefining it for each situation. We do not speak up against discrimination, we speak up against whatever that directly affects us or, at least, the majority. This selective activism leaves behind some loopholes that constitute a point of reference for descrimination apologists. We cry out when Christians are killed. We say "why not practice your religion and let others practice thiers in peace?". This is not because we truly believe in this philosophy. It's something we just say to suit the moment. The truth is, no one would care if they were a few hundred voiceless people practicing a religion we don't know much about. In that case, it will be just to arrest them so they wouldn't "corrupt" our system with thier "nonsense". Constructing windows for a roofless building will obviously not protect us against the harsh weather.

Therefore, the only way to be a true advocate of coexistence is by wholesomely kicking against discrimination regardless of the parties involved. We must learn to lend voice to the minority. We need to know that the excuses we make for discriminating against a people today will be borrowed by those discriminating against us. We all rejoiced when homosexuality was criminalised in Nigeria. We said it was/is against our religious belief. To us, it wasn't discrimination. We just wanted to get rid of a menace. Afterall, both Christians and Muslims are against it. We were quick to redefine discrimination at that point just to suit the majority but we ended up paving way for it to eat deep into our society. By our actions or inactions, we told the nation that it is right to kill anyone anyone who has a way of life that is not in tandem with our religion or culture. We said it was a sin but we knew that the law does not fight sins so we had to take a step further and call it a crime. By so doing, we made a mockery of the Law; we reduced it to a tool for protecting cultural/religious values. All in a bid to justify and galvanize discrimination. We made ourselves the custodians of natural selection by saying it's not "natural". We forgot that unnatural is expecting any aspect of nature to be consistent. Even the concept of day and night, the most natural aspect of nature, is not consistent. Only the artificial makes no room for exceptions/divergences. Some say it will reduce our population or even make us go into extinction yet the majority of these people are Catholics, a denomination that does not allow their priests to get married; that one won't reduce our population. We say it is disgusting. Perhaps, it is as disgusting as our colour and hair texture are to the white man. We know that adultery - a marital breach of contract that hurts one of the involved parties - is more 'criminal' than how two consent adults are wired to love. But we would happily drop logic where it pleases us; after all we are the majority. At the end, we still carry placards and take to the streets against discrimination. The hypocrisy is mind blowing, the minority is gagged. People are depressed, they have no one to talk to. They are our fathers, brothers, sisters, colleagues, friends, etc.. They are all amongst us struggling with who they are. Think about it. Just take a brief moment to think about them.

Many will read my "epistle" and ignore or, at best, gear up for a defensive argument. I am OK with the later, an argument of this nature has become a treasure in a country where the oppressed minority are not even allowed put up a word for themselves. The subject is suppressed and a set of people is criminalised without given the chance to explain or express themselves. Regardless of how thoughtful this thread is and no matter how many mods I put in copy, it will not hit the front page. Doesn't that remind you of internet censorship in the Middle East? But it does not matter
After all, it is safer to pretend these people do not exist since no one feels their pains; the hopelessness of it all. As you move on to the next thread, do not lose sight of the gist here: every excuse we make for discriminating against a people serves as a source of strength for those discriminating against us. Therefore, inclusive activism is key to a successful campaign against discrimination.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

WoundedLamb

Though elders and minorities can be more adversely affected by Covid-19; the lack of tolerance, accommodation, and hate instigate and kill people slowly every day. The discussion of choice between Covid-19 or tribal hate is so convoluted, no one wants to be a victim of either. Yet, world demonstrators against Racism understood the risk they are taking.