Ken Wiwa is a sharp-witted writer from Nigeria who periodically has a piece in The Globe And Mail. I was reading his latest online article and I've realized that everything he writes follows the exact same script:
- identify a popular lefty complaint reflected in a current news event
- make some generic witty comments
- blame globalization and the West for all the problems of the world
His latest story is spent complaining that the Summer Olympics occuring in August is a result of past European empires and colonialism. Ken seems to forget that the modern Olympics began as a ragtag attempt in 1896 to revive the ancient Olympics which occured in Greece over two-thousand years ago. Greece of course exists in the Northern Hemisphere, not the south. Ken seems to think that someone in this group must have said: 'You know what guys, someday these games will be so popular that we should instead have the games in December to avoid Nigeria's rainy season.'
Of course some racist/un-caring/bigot must have responded: 'Screw them. We don't want them anyways.'
The point of all this is that I would like to point out to Ken that the world is in fact round and that the world is titled on its axis causing one hemisphere to experience winter while the other experiences summer. Now Ken may blame the nature of this world on globalization or American commercial interests but I can assume him it has nothing to do with us humans. Ken may think it is unfair that it rains in Nigeria whenever the Olympics take place but I think it is equally unfair that I grew up in a place that had two months of summer and 10 months of winter.
Life sucks Ken, get a helmet.
Our opinions and advice to the world. Updated whenever we get around to it.
1 comment:
2 years and an olympic games later this little post is still bang on the money. Ken Wiwa is still inanely complaining about a current news event - this time, its the winter olympics. Its hard to cruise through the Globe without missing his smugly smiling portrait the 2 or 3 times a week he writes and wonder why the Globe keeps him...I'm betting his smugness stems from being named 'Wiwa' and somehow translating that into a posh gig down at at the palace-of-liberal-apologists...however there may be other causes as well. Other than his Wiwa-named-ness, there is no obvious reason as to why he would be on the payroll at all, except as a tea boy.
2 years on, this post still nails it, and Ken still sucks.
Post a Comment