Monday 2 April 2007

It's still there, my people

The 200 year celebration of the slavery abolition was celebrated about last week everywhere, England held a memorial mass, everywhere else we shed tears....
I was unmoved..who still cares about stuff like that? we have moved from that point as a people, as a world, i said..... we should look at the entire episode as a huge mistake, a blot in the tapestry of our collective experience of the world and only those who had a problem with moving on should remain there....
Well, I was wrong..... I guess the biggest suprise for me shouldnt be that people still have racist views, which naturally can be traced directly to prevalent ideology that allowed the slavery to persist on that scale, for that long anyway....
The terse public stand on views that promote racism still is frowned at in, in official quaters anyway, so I guess that was why I was shocked while watching the TV one night, that a channel as professional as the C-SPAN would allow a hair-ball like a Brian Lamb..otherwise a competent host to display such shameless patrronising when talking to author Ishmeal Beah.
more about him can be found here........http://www.alongwaygone.com/
For anyone to have lived the kind of life that Ishameal has, and to still be here, all bones and otherwise in place to still tell the tale is something that any human should consider nothing less than absolutely miraculous and nearly surreal....
But not to Mr Lamb, no sir...he pummelled into the incredibly intelligent, astute, present best-selling author Ishamel with kindergaten-like questions....
"what will you do with the money from the book" buy bananas..plenty...and eat them all..
"How did you remember all the things that happened to you in the war?" my kodak digital camera,..... and thank good ness for mobile blogging in the sierra-leone jungle in the '90s....
"how many people would you say you killed?" well after the two thousandth notch on the tree, I gave up counting.....
When he learns that an African school boy discovered and developed a love for shakespeare, and american hip-hop......his suprise is not from a nice place of healthy wonder.....
And the incredible, even for a inpet interviwer like Lamb...coup-de-resistance :" where is your country, sierra-leone?" just off Hawaii....you dont need a visa there if you are american...
When will people like this learn, get over it Brian....and the likes of him...its over...black people are free now...thinking they are less intelligent so that it made it easier to sell them, is a defese mechanism that is no longer necessary.....
Im hoping mad..but you know what...dont take my word for it...see for yourself
http://qanda.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1121

4 comments:

Chude! said...

Really Peju?! Atre you sure it's a mechanism that's no longer necessary?!?Excuse me while I check with Chimamanda, Chris Abani, Uzodinma Iweala ...

Meanwhile. I have posted a reply to your comment on Uche Odoputa. Oh, you thought I would let you go that easily?!?!?!

Wole's Girl said...

My darling chude..
I have missed you too...
I already said that my earlier thinking was warped and wrong...but thanks for noting that....
apparently.........
aluta non-discontimum!!!!

Olu said...

Hello WG !
Dr Weate just tipped us off on Fb..i like what i see ( as u see, ive been doing some digging in the archives )

Full disclosure: I am a Brian Lamb fan.and his questions are soo much in xter..he's a quirky dude i must say. I have seen him question oyinbo's with that same dry delivery of his. I'm still waiting for him to bark , "how do you know ure human !"

the questions to the kid may seem offputting, i doubt he meant any harm ( i haven't seen that particular segment tho)

nyway, keep it up o sista..
odabo

Wole's Girl said...

Dear olu,
thanks for stopping by.
I have since forgiven Brain Lamb...or well I stopped trying to email him at his work address and insist that he listens to my opinion!
I have also since admitted to myself that perhaps Ishmaeal's attractiveness had a little to do with my angst! he he
be well and thanks for dropping by