Cancel culture to blame for Homeboyz FM brouhaha
I am not a fan of trash talk of any kind on radio in many of the morning shows in our local FM stations.
Most of these shows are free-for-all forums with discussions that make you actually cringe.
The Homeboyz case of the three presenters deriding a girl for going on a date blindly needs no belabouring.
But amidst the cacophony and shouting matches, there are tough issues we need to discuss both domestically and as a society.
Do not get it twisted though. No one in their right mind can support the gross language used by Shaffie Weru and his co-presenters. That was a low.
Now, valid questions are being asked why some notorious breakfast shows have been spared punishment all this time, even after the presenters exhibited unbridled male bashing, and encouraging all manner of weirdos to share their often fictitious experiences.
Make no mistake. The cancel culture is real, and it is here. At the start of this week, I was thrown out from a WhatsApp group of media scholars for sharing alternative schools of thought and explanations away from those held by pedestrians and lynch mobs.
But to be fair, this is not the only group I have been ‘lefted’ after my views became a wee bit uncomfortable to conformists.
It is ok if the admins feel so inclined, but it is a greater pity that our elites have stooped to the level of reasoning of the ignorant masses.
These supposed champions of free speech are the ones perpetuating the “cancel culture”, which is defined as a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – online, on social media or in person.
Those, like me, who are subject to this ostracism are said to have been “cancelled”. This expression has mostly negative connotations and is commonly used in debates on free speech and censorship.
Similarly, our sociologists have become apologists of biased popular and uninformed opinion, instead of courageously speaking truth to leadership and society in general, no matter the discomfiture of the target audience.
The fact remains that there is no freedom without responsibility. We must intercept our girls before they get to danger.
It is foolhardy to rise up in condemnation and rhetoric after the damage is done.
As a father of a teenage girl, I am writing about this issue with utmost sensitivity, cognizant of the fact that she is also human and may not follow my advice after she flies off the nest. But she will go out into the world with my indelible words of advice.
I tell her that times are treacherous and there are no free lunches. She should always ask herself what would motivate a stranger or mere acquaintance to ‘sponsor’ her for whatever goodies she fancies.
Moreover, I tell her every man is suspect. Even extended male family members are not to be indulged carelessly.
As we tell our girls and womenfolk that they have rights – which, of course, they do – are we also telling them that there is no freedom without responsibility?
That they should learn to keep their social and personal distance when dealing with strangers when it comes to romantic matters?
That men are not automated teller machines and they should live within their means until they can afford to pay for their hearts’ desires?
I warn my daughter that men do not owe her a living, unless one is your father, spouse or partner.
Amid the hullabaloo, suffice it to say that latter-day feminism has become toxic and an excuse for societal and even legally sanctioned misandry.
Having started with sobriety during the days of our mothers’ era Maendeleo ya Wanawake organisation, the current women’s rights movement is riddled with bravado and a shocking sense of self-entitlement.— The writer is an international affairs columnist
