Who Should I Hate Today?
By Wegesha
One of the treatment modalities in the field of psychiatry is the art of psychoanalysis. It is based on the notion that psychiatric problems that fester today have their roots anchored in events that happened in the past. These events that had remained repressed and hidden in the dungeons of sub-consciousness need to be brought to the surface to be dealt with if the patient is to feel well again. Psychoanalysis is just one modality and may not always offer the best treatment unless, as a shrink, your business totally depends on charging an arm and a leg for one hour sessions that go on for years. This modality has now become the modus operandi of Ethiopia. That has to be the only explanation shedding light on how much ethnic tension has surfaced in the last few years.
I lived in Minneapolis for a decade starting in the early 90s. During that time, I witnessed the incredible growth of the Oromo diaspora in Minnesota and the simultaneous decrease in the number of Oromo folks that were willing to talk to me. Moving to New York was a refreshing change. In New York, life is hard enough without the constant thought of which ethnic group to vilify and this has helped to ease ethnic tensions. But, no matter how tight the homeland security may be in New York, no one can keep us Ethiopians (my apologies to those offended by being called Ethiopians) from being on each other’s throats when it comes to ethnicity. Such was the case I encountered about 7 months ago which prompted me to write the article below then. Someone high up in the Ethiopian government must have caught a glimpse of that article and before long, when the new ministerial positions were staffed, it was deemed important to announce the ethnicities of all the new comers. If you don’t think there is no ethnic tension, you better wake up and smell the coffee. It is time to find an ethnic group to hate. I haven’t found one yet but I am open to suggestions as to which ethnic group to abhor. Suggestions can be left in the comment section. I have enough hate for at least 9 different ethnic groups (including my own).
One night in New York City
In a cool and breezy New York evening, having just gotten out of an art exhibit, I was still trying to appreciate what I had seen when the decision was made to conclude the evening by having some Ethiopian food. Never the "nay sayer" to food, especially Ethiopian, I jumped on the opportunity to treat my palate to some spicy, savory, delicious grub. A few minutes into the ride to this delicacy, however, I found myself in a crammed back seat of a New York City cab being accused of tribalism, ethnocentrism and all the other "isms" I couldn't even attempt to pronounce. I was even told in a very stern manner, “....... such a statement is not expected from an intellectual such as yourself.” Naturally, I was offended for being mistaken for an intellectual. I have never been one and if things go according to plan I shall never become one either. Of course, there was the other half of that accusatory statement which was just hilarious. What was funny about it was that the statement itself was just as guilty of the very concept it was meant to criticize. Wait, wait, wait, I am getting way ahead of myself. Let me retrace how we got here in the first place
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At the art show a few hours earlier, we had met a Jamaican art dealer/curator/critic who had taken a special interest in Ethiopian history. Unfortunately for him he ran into us--a group of four Ethiopians not in the mood to discuss Ethiopian issues on an empty stomach. Regrettably, our Jamaican friend never got an answer to his question: how could Ethiopia be mentioned as the epicenter of knowledge by Herodotus yet fail to be significant in contemporary times? This same question would end up sparking a heated discussion in the cab. The whole thing started innocently when one of us asked what our Jamaican friend in the art gallery was trying to ask. One person restated the question as why since the time of Herodotus we have only had minor contributions in the world. A few seconds of silence punctuated his statement before I blurted "First of all, the word "Ethiopia", during the time of Herodotus did not represent the present day Ethiopia as a country." Our meandering conversation drifted further into a discussion of events that shaped the history of Ethiopia. It wasn't too long before another one of us, in exasperation, lamented "we always talk about this history of Ethiopia and that history of Ethiopia...... our history has only been the cause of our problems.....we should begin our history new from this point in time." To my dismay, I was the only one disturbed by this comment. As I recovered from this striking statement that had shocked me like a jolt of lightening and as result had shattered my jaw on the floor of the cab, I collected myself and stuttered "I abs...olut..ely do not agree." How sweet it would be to throw out the past and start fresh? Even the story of my life would have been summed up in one line......"I was born in Ethiopia and now I'm a bum in New York". No one would ever know the great effort it took to elevate bumhood to an art; an art that took thirty years to cultivate. I guess it could happen, if say, I wake up with amnesia tomorrow. Anyone who had seen the movie "memento" could be a witness to how cruel of an existence that is; always remaining in a state of confusion with no clear destination. Every few years Ethiopia wakes up with amnesia as new history of the country is written to try to assimilate the current or the upcoming policies.
Only in a country such as Ethiopia can faults or mistakes be attributed to the history of the country rather than the work ethics of our people, the collective policies by the several governments, a deficient constitution not even worth the paper on which it is written, the trivial squabbles we choose to have all the time or the overwhelming corruption and red tape that has plagued us. It is only at times like these I wish I had been an intellectual so that I wouldn't have a hard time grasping such novel concepts. Amazing how we're only five months into the year but my learning curve has already become so steep it has actually started bending backwards. I have now realized all the ills of our country are attributable to our country's history and furthermore I have discovered what is meant by "flabbergasted"; a word, had I known its meaning would have helped me score higher on the SAT and put me on the path to intellectualism.
Starting history anew is nothing new. Living in Africa teaches you that. Every coup d'etat brings a new government that rewrites the history of their respective country the way they see it fit. I am not so naive as to deny this happens but I can not also be expected to appreciate what I normally would only accept under the close watch of the bayonet. Apparently, my take on this issue is not very popular at the moment which is probably why it set off another tangential argument in the cab.
"You know" he said, continuing his argument and looking straight at me "you may not look it but you are a radical and a militant." Then, he went on to tell the story of how I had mistakenly assumed the person who had designed the new Ethiopian passport was a Tigrean and how disappointed he was to learn that, even I could sink to a level so low as to make judgment calls based on ethnicity. Soon after, a mini lecture followed on how I should rise above ethnocentrisms and tribalism. That was the glimmer of hope I had sought until that moment and he could have stopped preaching to the choir at that instance had he believed I wasn't too biased. Regardless, it is a halleluiah!!! At least, we agree on that fundamental principle. What remained funny to me was that I was being accused of making unfounded assumptions based on the unfounded assumptions that I'm an ethnocentric, radical militant.
Assumption carries the inherent risk of the assumed being wrong but good assumptions rely on the predictability of outcomes. Every time I hear the Boston marathon has been run, I assume an East African guy has won it and nine times out of ten I would be correct. Likewise, I don't stay glued to my TV to see who will take the next gold medal in Olympic basketball. It was with the same gusto that I had said the guy who designed the new Ethiopian passport must be a Tigrean. It was not an assumption pulled out of thin air and neither did it imply that a Tigrean didn't deserve such a position. It simply reflected an observation by me and perhaps others that positions of power and importance, in current day Ethiopia, seem to be preferentially given to specific ethnic groups. It is arguable that the observation is mistaken or even flawed but how one could extricate another person's character based on that alone is beyond me. Whoever said you don't get a second chance to make a first impression was right on the money.
Though not under the best of circumstances, I have to admit there was one great lesson learned that day if I were ever to go into politics. Sadly, the realization is not so ground breaking to make it deserving of being sent via a chain email and yet, for the wise, it should give a sense of where reality is. A sense that you are only as good as, not your ideals, not your ideas and not your deeds but the perception of you created by other people. Basically, you are the product of how much PR (public relations) work has been done on you. It is all about creating the right hype at the right time to the right crowd of people. Ironically, so is true in the art world and it only made it seem prophetic that such an incident first be instigated at an art show.
So what now? I will turn 30 soon without kids or a wife and no political ambitions. On top of that, I had just been notified that I have all the "isms" I didn't even know I had which probably means I need to recreate myself. By default, that requires one to move out of state and ponder by a lake, while putting oneself in a zen state of mind to balance the New York state of mind I'm in now. That should take another five years or so by which point I will be 35 year of age still without kids, no wife but definitely a political ambition and the beginning of my own demise. It was at this critical moment of self introspection I found myself sitting at a bar being stared at by a sexy bottle of Black Label whiskey. Not to be the shy one, I broke the uncomfortable silence between us and had her join me in a shot glass. First shot..... burning throat. Fifteen minutes later, second shot.........decision made not to move out of state, not to recreate myself but write about the whole thing; best form of catharsis as far as I'm concerned. Fifteen minutes later, third shot.......I can only feel my nose, I don't remember anything that happened since noon that day and the heavy metal music had started to become enjoyable.
The morale of this story is as clear as my mind after the third shot of Black label but after such an article I have to refrain from making another assumption. Therefore, if you kindly allow me, I would like to be very explicit so no one misses the point. Please my brethren, do not wait until you get aggravated to hit that bottle of Black Label or Jack but rather pre-medicate in anticipation of the inevitable irritation that Ethiopian politics would cause you.
I wonder what earth would look like when a Martian sees it for the first time. Dots of consciousness with some kind of body attached to them wiggling about. If the Martian is like humans it would think, hmmmm some are bright dots and some are dim dots. Haaa ...classified already as the shiny and the dim ones. Lets, go after the dim ones.
That is what we do humans we classify and reclassify. So Wegesha if you are trying to find a group to hate I suggest .... the MARTIANS. That is what I do. They are trying to get after the dim ones. (Comment this)