The News: My Unspoken Opinion, A Lesson On Privilege

A member of a privileged-at-the-time group of people that I too happen to belong to allegedly committed a serious crime. The nation is outraged and anxious…and obnoxious. In fact if the metallic horse involved was a white Bronco, we might recreate a similar story to that of a one, “The Juice.” But we’re not that dramatic and our law enforcers love themselves enough to sleep their poorly paid selves at night with such an ongoing case. Which means a young reporter shall not be woken up in the middle of the night because there are some emerging results from findings- in fact, this is sadly but honestly likely to drag on a bit until Maaso Glory hits the streets again which means we get to forget and as you might imagine, move on swiftly…but that’s the near future and I clearly digress from the present.

The present: you see, social media has allowed us a real-time opinion with a full time available audience. So, while our elders had to sit in their houses and mutter theirs- our most times uninformed, absurdly unresearched opinions only need the effort of 2 thumbs typing and the rest supporting our devices to come out. Haha, tell that journo that milleanials are, in Charlie Sheen voice, winning! So we have with only the help of our smart phones and croc-food internet bundles weighed in, heavily, but on an even sadder note than the sorrow that is this incident, many of us have resurrected the tribal tension.

My dilemma? That to type my not-all-banyakitara or no-facts-yet in response to each of these he’s guilty, they’re all guilty and arrogant cold blood murderers for sharing a joke in court, *bangs gavel* posts might not be helpful at the moment- even when those my two arguments are pretty solid. Having experienced first hand the opinion of a privileged individual dismissing, intentionally or otherwise, my aggrieved sentiments just so they could put a point across, I’ve seen and therefore know too well that privilege can erase empathy and cause oblivion too. With that knowledge, I refrain. I hold my opinion. Some insomnia filled nights I’ve thought, you know what? I could say it. I could start by making it clear I acknowledge that citizens belonging to this ethnicity have long been treated better than others, that they’re not out of their mind to say that a guilty him(should he be found guilty) might be exempted. Not charged. But that we should not be quick to pass judgment without establishing truth.

I’ve also thought about making it clear that not all Banyakitara are entitled, arrogant, murderers as the comment sections have read. Although I am pretty sure people know that already and I can only hope that this case is handled with the utmost respect for justice and what it truly stands for. In the meantime, I have resolved not to hold a virtual placard that reads: “Not All Of Us,” because that does not solve the problem anymore than these claims do; also, and perhaps more importantly, it is more urgent that my people who commit crimes are taken away than it is for my pristine record to be asserted.