SOCIAL MEDIA EVILS IN KENYA

Social media! One of the best and worst things to happen to Kenya. The best part is: it connects us to friends and family who are miles away, it helps us network and interact with people we don’t get a chance to meet in our daily lives, it helps build business networks and to advertise, it gives us a platform to share our sentiments and spread laughter through various humorous posts and photos.

The worst part is: people have resulted in using social media sites especially facebook, to hate on others, to create R.I.P pages for people who are very much alive (just because they said or did something that didn’t go down well with them). The worst I have seen, is spreading hate messages targeting people of certain communities. The 2013 elections have clearly brought this out, to the extent that a lot of propaganda has been spread on social media. I don’t understand why we have resulted to this as Kenyans especially youth. As if we don’t already have enough problems.

It is said that the youth are the future of this nation and I believe they are. Well, with youth who have stooped so low that they have spread hate messages and propaganda about this, that and the other, I wonder what sort of future they are going to lead this country into. We want tribalism to end but we can’t seem to get down to actually working towards ending it. No-one can blame tribalism on the 2007/8 elections outcome. We didn’t just suddenly become tribalistic. We always were and that era simply brought this to the surface and fuelled it further. As youth we’re supposed to be the ones to bring this to an end, yet it looks like we’re just as bad as those who came before us. I target the youth because they hold the key to this nation’s great future and because they’re the ones on social media. STOP IT!!

Stop spreading hate messages and targeting people just because you do not like them or like where they come from, or you don’t support their cause. Stop creating distasteful pages which are not building anything or anyone, simply because you think it’s hilarious. Stop hating on people so much because they did something that you don’t approve of – everyone has their flaws. I’m sure if all of ours were to be paraded for the whole world to see we’d probably be worse. Stop putting up pages that only fuel hatred, contempt, lust, bitterness, anger et al. And you know what? It’s about time the rest of us stopped LIKING those pages which are immature and distasteful. Surely!! 

We need young people who are ready to get on their knees for this nation. Youth who are the change they want to see. Youth who will speak out against ills in a SENSIBLE manner and not in a way which brings about hatred and anger. Be sensible and wise before recklessly throwing about words. Our words have the power to build and destroy. Believe that. So use your words to build this nation and not destroy it.

Social media is a great tool that can be used to spread great messages, like the numerous peace messages that have made rounds during this election period.

We say we want change but are we really ready for this? We want change, but are we ready to work for it? It will not come automatically. It will not come from our leaders. Change begins with us and we need to start with changing our mindsets and attitudes towards one another. Change that mindset which makes you look at people from different tribes, races, or classes in a negative way. People can be all sorts of evil or good, it doesn’t matter WHERE they come from.

I’m really disappointed in some of my friends on social media making statements that are bound to cause strife. If we keep thinking and acting irresponsibly, we’ll go nowhere as a nation. This is beyond our elections! CHANGE!! Ask God to help you for without Him you can’t. And by the way, even some of those stereotypes we love to use, we really should stop. It might be funny to you, but you never know who you’re pissing off.

Are you ready and willing to pray for this country? Are you ready to help change and transform Kenya? Change your mindset and attitude first. If you don’t, don’t expect to change anything else. Be responsible social media users and stop misbehaving and shaming our beloved country!

BEHIND BROWN EYES

They say the eyes are the window to one’s soul. Everyday, we look at people when we speak to them; but do we really see the details hidden behind their eyes?

For some, there could be a sea of pain and hurt covered up by a smile rehearsed in front of the mirror. For others, there is a pool of regret because of the chances they missed, the doors they walked out of and were not meant to, the people they pushed out of their lives that they miss. For some, its a whirlwind of confusion: What is their destiny? Are they where they’re supposed to be? Are they with the right person? And all those other cliche but vital questions. For some, it’s the worry that people will see past the false confidence they present, behind which lies the truth – that they are nothing and they know nothing, but act like they know everything.

For others, it’s the anger and hatred that they battle with, everyday of their lives. The burning urge to throw something at someone, to beat someone up, to do something, anything, just to release the adrenaline that fuels their anger. Others are simply hoping that the extent of the jealousy they have inside is not very obvious, even though it shows through their actions.

Some are hiding the emptiness they feel inside. They smile, they laugh, they make merry, they are the life of the party, but deep within, they have a longing that they can’t quite satisfy. Others are weary, weighed down by life, trying not to show just how much they are losing it on the inside. They want to scream, shout, go wild or whatever, but all they can do is be calm in other people’s presence.

Behind some eyes is the sense of victory, the gratitude they strongly feel knowing that they made it through a rough patch in their lives. They are not proud, they do not boast, for they know not to take the peace they now have, for granted.

There is a story hidden behind the brown eyes you look into, casually or otherwise. There is a story behind yours. What it is and what it can be… is entirely up to you.

THE FOOL RUSHES IN

When Debarge sang the song the heart is not so smart, he knew exactly what he was talking about. I listen to some songs and all I can do is laugh and say to myself “enyewe” because the lyrics hold a lot of truth in them. The heart has a way of wanting what it cannot have, what is not right, what is impractical… It has a mind of it’s own sometimes. 

That’s the only way you can explain doing funny things like falling for someone  you have nothing in common with, or someone who is clearly taken, or someone who’s way beyond your league. You know very well it’s not gonna happen, but the fall is too tempting to resist, so you do, and you do it well. Before you know it, you have a serious crush.

I mean, the adrenaline rush caused by the game you find yourself playing just keeps you going back for more. The thrill is worth it. You think about the person in question and a part of you just convinces yourself it’s okay to go along for the ride. His eyes, his smile, his charm, his wit, his EVERYTHING (or hers), is just so breathtaking. You imagine if only for a moment, what it would be like to have him by your side. To hold his hand, feel his embrace, look into his eyes and he look into yours, you know, like in one of those movie scenes where there exists only the two of you. You just want him for yourself despite the odds.

So you start down that road, having no clue where the destination will be, and not caring. Every moment is exciting, and you walk around with a smile that you can’t quite justify. You can’t focus and you lose yourself in the fantasy that you have created. Your story could even be made into a movie. You’d be the character Julia Roberts played in My Best Friend’s Wedding – chasing after someone who’s chasing after someone else, yet no one is chasing after you. Boo-hoo!! I loved that movie by the way, but I digress.

The things you find yourself doing in the process could very well have you labelled a teenager and everyone knows your way past that age. Giggling like a love sick teen, using all the emoticons or smileys available to you, having meaningless conversations…. Get a grip already! Like seriously!

Oh well, everyone knows such excitement doesn’t last forever. You eventually open your eyes and for the first time you feel like you’re truly wide awake. His eyes, his smile, his charm, his EVERYTHING, becomes normal and even loses its appeal and you ask yourself what you even saw in the first place. Because the truth of the matter is, he’s taken or he’s way beyond your league, or you have nothing in common as you very well knew in the first instance. Yet like the fool you are, you rushed right into that thing.

“Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame, where there is a flame someone’s bound to get burned.” That too is true, so before you go jumping into something that you can’t define, prepare yourself because there is a high chance that it’s you who’ll get burned. Then you’ll find yourself singing,

“But the heart is not so smart, can’t always trust it, no

The heart is not so smart Goes where it should not go.

Always seems to find Its way to trouble, no

The heart is not so smart Oh, no, oh, no.”