I don’t know why people criticise someone who is proficient in a language. I’ve tried to analyse the criticism but I always fall short of the motivation. Excellence is a quality to be envied. I mean why do people watch Jack Chan and Bruce Lee. Isn’t it because they have mastered their martial arts skills? Why was it that we used to walk for miles to go to neighbors houses to watch renegade and Chuck Norris; Texas ranger. I believe that if these people’s acting was mediocre we’d have been better of stayed in our detached kitchens roasting corn and sweet potatoes as we partook of the juiciest gossip in our villages. Better still we’d go outside to watch the milky way shower in the sky blue Colorado skies as we cast some wishes upon a star. Yet we braved the tūthukī mūndūs, the biting cold and the sneers from the privileged neighbours kids just to catch a glimpse of these shows.
So why is it that if one perfects their language skills, they are deemed as proud and lofty? Why is it that they are accused of preferring the western ways as opposed to their native ways. What’s heart wrenching though is that the said accusers cannot even write a sentence in their native language properly. You’ll also hear people say, this is not a grammar class so stop correcting grammatical errors. We have forgotten that the good book says,’ as iron sharpens iron, so does man sharpen man.’
Please aspire to be the best always be it in writing, judo or swimming. And don’t become Kamati ya roho chafu. I remember once upon a time when Philip Ochieng was criticized for his column being complicated and his response was what people would only term as rude. I however find the response hilarious.
#StillTheChronicler.
Critiqued
