Why did the tribalist cross the road? To get to the other side of their cultural identity crisis, of course! Okay, okay, let me try again.
Why did the Damara cross the court road? To give that Nangolo lawyer a big-big hug.
We all walk around with a list of nasty ideas about another tribe or race in Namibia. But the rule is to never say it to people who may not think it is funny.
Take this lawyer’s tweet as an example. She was simply trying to express her admiration for the Damara people and their beautiful cultural heritage. She referred to violent stereotypes that have been associated with the Damara people. And just like that, she is a “tribalist”. Go and argue at Outapi.
This reminds me of a woman who starts a fight because the man said “you look really beautiful today” at which point she replies, “Are you saying I was not beautiful yesterday?”
How do you recover from that?
It’s a tough spot to be in, especially when she was really just trying to say something nice but she got tripped by the little biases and preconceived notions in her legal aid-fed head.
Anyway, back to the Damara people. They just know how to put on a show, don’t they?
The entire country stopped to look and admire the images from the recent Damara ‘horokoes’ festival. It’s a beautiful thing when a group of people can embrace their cultural identity and showcase it in all its vibrant glory.
Back to the lawyer again. I’m reliably informed she has been spewing these types of tweets before and that is what angers people most.
“Sy is gawoond daai ene. Amae,” Dantagos said.
Let me try to explain her past.
She started hating on Damaras when her last crush, the Dauredama hunk from Spitzkoppe, ignored her and went on to marry the most gorgeous Damara queen from Tubusis. She is not getting younger and he was her last hope as she thinks Owambo men kill their women. So you see, she has stereotypes about other tribes too. Or is it?
In her defence, I ask if she was really being a tribalist or if she just posted a poorly worded tweet? It’s hard to say, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the positive intent in her post. She was expressing joy over something she found beautiful and that’s a good thing.
Of course, her use of the word “violent” in relation to the Damara people’s reputation wasn’t exactly … prudent. It’s like trying to dance Kizomba with an elephant – it just doesn’t gel. So, in mitigation I say let’s show her some love and massage her head for it was just poor writing.
Her poor writing skills possibly explain why she is a legal aid lawyer.
Oops, I did it again. Now the legal aid tribe will call me a “lawyerlist”. Well, it is better than being a “tribalist”.
Hey, we’ve all been there, right? We would all say something that we thought sounded good in our heads, but ended up coming out all wrong.
It’s just that for some of us, those blunders aren’t amplified by social media.
But let’s not dwell on the negatives. Let’s take a page out of the Damara people’s book and celebrate cultural identity in a positive way.
Why did the tribalist lawyer cross the road with headphones? To get to the unemployment line while listening to Tracy Chapman’s ‘Revolution’.
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