Yesterday I posted a piece here that was exceedingly censured and trashed as being “irrelevant”. Read it here Shun Laziness at the Workplace.
I reproduce some of the comments below and accompany them with my thoughts (in bold) about the ‘points’ raised in each piece:
q Anonymous said: Ritch, you have the right message but giving it at the wrong time. Which people are you telling not to be slack, the 500,000 who are homeless and have lost their properties? The hundreds who have lost their jobs because they are the “wrong” tribe? The ones who have several people to bury? The landlords whose tenants have taken off due to insecurity? The drivers whose vehicles have been burnt? The industrialists whose premises, machines and stocks have been broken, burnt or vandalized? The Pastors whose churches have been burnt with ashes of humans still in? The hoteliers who have to close the hotels and send away thousands of workers? This is not the time to tell Kenyans to work hard. It is the time to bring about justice, peace and reconciliation; it is about restoring faith in the Kenyan voter. It is about setting up a new constitution that will seal all loopholes for thieves and ensure fairness, dignity, transparency and patriotism. Since you have turned spiritual today, please read Ecclesiastes 3, the whole chapter. It says: For everything there is a time and a season; a time to cry and a time to laugh; a time to build and a time to pull down; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing etc. In Kenya, it is now the time to put wrong things right. It is time for wrong doers to ask for forgiveness. It is time for thieves to return what they have stolen and pay back four-fold Zacchaeus’ style (Luke 19)
Anonymous, thank you for painting for us the stark, grave reality on the ground. I believe things are even graver than this. My heart goes out to each of these Kenyan brothers, sisters, children, mothers and fathers of mine. But, going back to your response, I think you got me wrong. You say that there is a time for everything, yes there is. Diligence and industry are to be employed in each of the “time for everything”. Slothfulness, slackness and complacency cannot be allowed to thrive even when things are ‘major’. You fail to realize that I am also telling the people in power, people whom we have mandated to fight our cause, not to be slack but to employ diligence in their everyday duties. The obverse side of the coin speaks volumes, anon!
q Wanjiku – Mombasa said: I spend the cream of my time in the office on the net. That is 8 – 9 in the morning when I am freshest. And yes, mostly on Kumekucha. And a few minutes before I retire to bed. Therefore I stand accused as a thief of employer’s time. But I do deliver on work. Or so I hope.
Wanjiku, let me believe that you are not on the net during “the cream your time” at the expense of something more immediate concerning your job. Anyway, keep it Kumekucha and, I believe, you’ll never regret using “the cream of your time” reading pieces here.
q Anonymous said: Ritch, I love your message, best so far here on Kumekucha…
Anon, I’m rather flattered by the adulation. Thank you and keep it here!
Anonymous said: Ritch, well put. But in view of the prevailing circumstances, your message is ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT!!
Anon, variety is the spice of life. And if you read the piece well you will see that I have not tried to touch on the prevailing circumstance. So, what is irrelevant? The gist of the piece? And to whom is it irrelevant? Slackness and slothfulness have never helped anyone. At the end of the day people want food on their tables from their very jobs. How people conduct themselves at their stations of work has a direct impact on their very livelihoods. So, what is irrelevant?
q Taabu said: Ritch, nice one albeit preaching to the bereaved. The message is apt and useful but doesn’t serve its purpose. Going religious is good for a burdened soul but is also escapist. Turning your back to problems at your doorsteps amounts to seeking the presidency via deception ya kupita kati kati. Kenyans remain unrivalled in the field of clever deception – panda utavuna. Realists call it escapism and the faint-hearted call it exhaling, where do you belong and what do you mean? Just curious.
Taabu, my bro, I think the first thing you should have said was “what do you mean?” instead of it coming at the very end. Anyway, Taabu, there is no problem I have turned my back to. You are a witness of how I feel about the whole shooting match (the situation in Kenya) from my writings here and, more so, from our discourses elsewhere. I am neither an escapist nor an “exhaler” (whatever that is supposed to mean). Taabu, there is more to life than meets the eye.
And, with that, I rest my case…
Sincerely Yours,
Ritch (the Doodler).
Ritch,
ReplyDeleteI hear you bro loud and clear. True, there is more to life than meets the eye BUT only to those who have eyes and use their pair of pupils. Can you exhaust your digits on both hands counting the Kenyans you know eho measure to that? Lala unono and good luck.
Ritch! Don’t come out and try to repent in front of our eyes. It is the same way Kibaki did; asking people to be loyal in front of the rigging that he did. We all saw it and know it. And back to your argument, what kind of laziness are you talking about when people pulled up their shirts a year ago to improve that economy to whatever percentage that they are talking about. What do you expect from a worker who hardly ate lastnight and this morning received some news that his relative is past tense. Do you expect him to deliver at work? If you think he will, you are in eternity. I solemnly agree with the first anon. You threw the wrong discussion this time Ritch and don’t be a hardhead as Kibaki. He rigged in the wrong time upon advice from Moi and the rest. Now he can’t go back. That is why Kenya is stuck.
ReplyDeleteRitch,
ReplyDeletePicture this: I had just bought a matatu with my retirement package. Infact I had gotten a topup loan from equity bank. I was expected to repay the loan at the rate of 14,000/= per month. My matatu was burnt before I had started to repay the loan. All my retirement money is burnt with the matatu. I am 60 years old and was expecting that the matatu would see me into my old age. I did not want to be a bother to my only son who is just 1 year old married and has a jobless housewife and a 3-month old firstborn son. I am depressed, disgusted, disappointed, disheartened. Here you are, quoting verses from the Bible and preaching to me not to be slack. How do you think that your "sermon" has uplifted me? Do I have a chance to be slack or hard-working in my situation? To me your message is irrelevant. The message that would make sense to me is one in which you give me ideas on how I can convince Equity Bank not to follow me to pay the loan. I want to forget the sense of hopelessness I have whenever I see fire or even smoke. And my situation is replicated in hundreds of thousands of Kenyans right now. Your message was only helpful to akina Wanjiku of Mombasa who are still employed and are expecting a payslip at the end of the month. In Kenya now they are the minority. Even then, I think she conveniently left telling you how life has become tough in just one short month. Fuel (if she has a vehicle) is nearing 90/= per liter, vegetables and fruits are a luxury, there is tension everywhere...and the rains have also gone on strike while the sun has put on its broadest smile. Ritch, your message is IRRELEVANT to me.
Anonymous 1.44 I'm very sorry about your situation. It's very sad indeed.
ReplyDeleteRitch there's always immediate work at 8 in the morning. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteFor now please let us vent about the first lady and Imanyara. You doodle doodler.
It's official we have a not so okay woman for first lady. Makes me wonder who else has been slapped and who promptly got an apology from none other than the 'head of state' and decided to shut up. When I think of it seriously I don't believe Lucy has only slapped 3 people in 5 years. There must be more. Come on brothers, speak up! All ye that have fallen victim to the first lady's murderous temper, stand up and be counted. We wont laugh at you. And she does not seem to have such a high affinity for slapping women. Now if you think about that enough it gets twisted and rather uncomfortable.
I really feel for anon@9.44 am. I think the fact that at 60yrs, he reads kumekucha, and is so well expressed, at least in writing. Means I can see hope for him. i am so disgusted at everything happening in our country. Ritchie, we have worked so hard for democracy and it is now being stolen from us! Your sermon about hard work provides another irritant a la Mutua! Sincerely I am like... true mavi ya kuku, pumbavu yeye!
ReplyDeletePeople are only yelling at Bw.Ritch because they cannot shout directly at either Kibaki or Raila-please don't take it personally Bw. Ritch you know your contributions are otherwise normally well received here in Kumekucha
ReplyDeleteRitch..bwana .....thank you but not thanks. At times, the circle has to do a full turn. Quite irrelevant to the present times. So, here's my two cents. Go pound salt!!
ReplyDelete