Recently, two separate videos of two African statesmen were circulating on social media concerning their health conditions. They reminded me of Newton’s law of motion that all forces occur in pairs such that if one object exerts a force on another object, then the second object exerts an equal, but opposite reaction force. In short where there’s an action, there’s a reaction.
In ordinarily language, it is mpa Nkuhe,a tit for tat sort of thing. Two unfortunate things happened to two of our African elderly leaders each at different times during public occasions.
The social media reaction for and against both situations left us rather perturbed about our new enlightened generation and its misuse of social media.
The rather seemingly vindictive reaction against two helpless elderly leaders who under such circumstances would have attracted our sympathy and protective privacy was shocking.
One had prostate-related issues, a condition that affects men of a certain age. Another had dementia characterized by memory loss, thinking and other related changes. Dementia especially inhibits limited social skills and thinking abilities which consequently interferes with our daily activities.
As you may guess from the above, I am laboring to set a background for situation we saw on social media that should shame anyone with a conscience, has elderly relatives, friends, etc.
The two illness tend to affect elderly people and therefore, it is very difficult to control or hold back, especially one with incontinent challenges. Dementia and prostate know no class, tittle, office or any of our privileged backgrounds.
Both diseases like many others simply remind us of our vulnerability and humanness regardless of the weather we are excellencies, kings or lords.
Such illnesses remind us that whenever and however much we may cushion ourselves with extravagant comfort, life in Baingana, equalizer.
We all feel pain, grief, etc. and whatever protected comfort we may be in today, tomorrow we are as vulnerable and will need the very people we care less about today.
It is such people that will ensure that our nakedness isn’t hanged up in social media; they will know when we should or shouldn’t expose outside.
They will shield us from ourselves and our dysfunctional body parts. That’s why i started with Newton’s law of Motion, an action for a reaction and vice versa, in case you were wondering.
In both incidents about those unfortunate high calibre patients, social media was merciless not about they wished them such unfortunate, helpless circumstances in which they were. Bloggers were rather trying to scoff at them due to the lifestyle they exhibited, but which unfortunately couldn’t even protect them from life’s consequential inevitable.
The disease of the poor is the disease of the rich and it helps to remember that! So, the cruel social media was a finger-pointing gesture, sadly to every helpless people regardless of their offices and scoffing at them rather contemptuously, assort of mockery, if you want!
And that’s where my problem lies. If you have never nursed an incontinent person or an elderly person with dementia, then you may not appreciate me.
Scoffing at such a people regardless of our political differences we may harbor against them is stretching it too far. We appreciate the bloggers’ reactions that emanate from all sorts of historical social-economic unfairness and indeed many young people are justified to be angry.
Some of such leaders have robbed them of their future to enrich themselves and their kind. Many have had their poor parents, relatives and friends die of otherwise curable diseases while their leaders who should know better have swindled everything on their behalf apparently.
But let us appreciate this. Never argue while angry because as the saying goes, you may soil your pants.
Urge in anger and you lose a genuine case. We’ve noticed this with our opposition parties here at home. Instead of articulating issue and letting us decide, they kick each and everything hence justifying unnecessarily the wrath from the clouds.
Some situations force us to be compassionate even to those who may perceive to be harbingers of our unfortunate situations. Actually, the word here is not compassion, but empathy, the ability to understand and share the pain or feelings of another.
To look at an incontinent head of state or anybody for that matter and start taking and spreading such photos on social media is unfortunate, unethical and wrong in my opinion. Surprisingly, such videos of helpless people rarely find enthusiasm in developed countries, but will spread like hot cakes in Africa and India where we are usually taught patriotism in classrooms.
It is very true that social media has its usefulness though it has also become a hidden sort of weapon against those we disgrace with, a smear campaign weapon to spread falsehoods and humiliate those we normally don’t have a chance to confront in person. And i doubt that it will improve because news isn’t news these days unless it has some pepper and salt added in. But for those who stand for decency and still have values, we can still endeavor to use social media for common good.
Recently a woman has been a witch doctor for 45 years in Ankole Diocese got saved. There is now a social media platform campaign to raise money to build her a house.
That and many more other worthy causes deserves our time. Surprisingly, despite claiming to make other rich, the witch doctor didn’t have much to show for it! Galatians 3:1 banange!