I've realised that many people here missed the entire point of my post here yesterday. So let me be literal. The post was not an indictment of the middle class. As a matter of fact, it was a celebration of us. Also:
- Let's accept that there are wealthy people in Kenya, poor people and a group that's in between. Arguments about whether they fit into a certain textbook definition, or whether they are similar to (or different from) the classic Western definition of the middle class are sterile.
- The middle class is not a big, undifferentiated mass of people who all think the same, act the same and have the same outlook on life. Some are perpetually broke, some plan their money properly, some only speak English at home, some are uncomfortable in anything else but their mother tongue. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT!
- We in the middle class DO vote. Not only that, we participate in party primaries (most of my friends and acquaintances voted last week); we help to write party manifestos and government policies (when I write my memoirs I'll tell you the full story). At the same time, some do not bother taking part in the political process. In this, we are very similar to everyone else in Kenya. There are poor people who never bother voting. There are rich people who disdain politics.
- Related to this is the fact that there's a much higher number of people in the lower (I use this word very carefully) socioeconomic classes. Since the higher number equals more votes, politicians will pander to them a lot more. Also, they will by definition be more at the polling booths than the middle classes will. That does not mean that we're not in those queues as well. Just because you saw someone posting on Facebook about how they were too hungover to bother voting is meaningless, unless you knock on every single door in the slums and assure me that every single adult is out there voting.
- There's absolutely nothing wrong with being one paycheque away from proper trouble, or one emergency away from destitution. I keep seeing this waved in our (middle class) faces as if it is an indictment of our morals. It is called life, and we're not the only ones who are like that.
- People keep hammering us for complaining about material comforts (hence the line about the butter shortage and internet speeds). Others call them 'first world problems'. Well, I'm sorry - I am complicated enough to retain multiple thoughts in my middle class cranium. I, personally, have asked the President uncomfortable questions about the direction the country is taking, and an hour later complained about the quality of the salads at Java. It is not contradictory.
- We are Africans. And Africans are the most complicated (in a good way) people on God's green earth. We are multitudes contained in one body. My persona at home, with friends and at work are all so different that I do not think each would even be friends with the other. I would find it very strange if people at home called me 'Wallace'. It would be even stranger if my public persona had any bearing on how I'm treated at home in Ruthimitu. Thus, it is not strange to find remarkably expensive cars parked outside the dingiest of kiosks. It is not strange for a renowned CEO to prefer the company of a farmhand when he doffs his suit when he gets to shags. This attempt to pigeonhole us into one definition, with only one persona, is not only stupid, it is what leads Africa to grief.
I'm still proudly middle class, and still proudly Kenyan. There is no contradiction.
Comments
Post a Comment