Friday, July 08, 2005

This lack of Diplomacy

I'm all about Calling out a spade versus calling it a spoon. However, I'm also all about identifying appropriate places to voice out any and all concerns.

It started out with Clay. And yes, Kenya is corrupt. No one is arguing with this. Isn't Britain? Even slightly? What was that about a murder and perhaps Blair having something to do with it, tied to the conclusions drawn from the investigations pertaining to Iraq before Blair decided to condone the war that he and his cronie are into these days? Long winding sentence. Befitting the long winding tales we've heard about this war time and time again. Cronie... Chosen because these are two older people, getting into "clever" antics.

While everyone applauded Clay for saying what they'd all been thinking, I was enraged. It is completely disrespectful to a country and its leaders to blurt stuff like that outside of the proper settings. For starters, he made a claim and offered no proof at the time. He suggested he had some, but showed none at the time. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this in whole or in part, sueable as character assassination? Additionally, these claims he made, definitely bound to have a political and economic effect. I don't believe that Clay is a dumb person. He was aware of the possible and expected effects of his utterances and I believe this was a calculated move. So why do this , this way? What is he suggesting? That he is too above President Kibaki or his government to meet with them at an appropriate setting to discuss his concerns? Insulting! Again, Clay is aware the best way to tumble an organization is to ridicule its ruler. Anyone in a position of power knows what it means to lose the respect of those that report to you or those you govern. Why did Clay choose to 'present" Kibaki out to his people this way? What was the motivating factor?

And kenyans applaud Clay for saying this. First and foremost, unless they are resounding idiots, Clay only pointed out the obvious. This habit Kenyans have taken of waiting in silence for someone else to fight their battles for them is completely tiring and definitely undesirable. Another mark off. Point of absolute irritation, Clay repeated these actions. And the press continued to carry him as some kind of a hero, but with maybe a hint of discolor. They should have given me a column to put him in his place. Again, Kenyans have to fight for their dignity. The point is to show clay and the rest of the world that despite our evils, we will be respected. Our government will be too and so will everything else we believe in. You think they are being disrespectful of Kibaki, whose government you may be displeased with. Question is, once they start on this path, how do you stop them several governments later. The desirable, proactive thing to do is nip this bad habit in the bud.

And will the copy cats cease and desist! Enough already! Every outgoing person has something to say? Shut up! Give me 1 hour, a country and the internet, and I'll paint you a picture. You want it rosy, you got it. You want it really ugly? You got that too. So this stupid public bickering from diplomats needs to come to an end. For many right reasons. Many.

And why are American marines at the Mombasa ports? Did their president and government forget that they had a travel advisory against the very same country? Double standards...

1 comment:

Mimmz said...

I don't know how much of this I agree or disagree with. What I know is it goes outside of what my point was. I didn't say kenya's corruption is to be excused because other countriues are too. I merely pointed out that there is a diplomatic format that needs to be followed. Additionally, there is no need for Clay to stand there and remove splinters from Kenys'a eyes while Britain has logs in its eyes. My point is, while we are not perfect neitehr are we. While wrongs need to be pointed out, there is a reason for protocol an dit should be stuck with...Tomilay?