WHAT IF YOU'RE #GAY?

“My urges to write poetry are lesbian, but whatever compels me to prose is straight”…Agave Powers

Genesis

I’d say that I don’t really know where to start from, but then I remember saying the same thing to a wise man sometime ago and his simple reply to me was ‘start from the beginning my son’, like I was there. Well, here goes the familiar intro. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Do you get the message as you span through the rich content and poetry that is entirely worth conveying serious message? Of course, according to perhaps the oldest and most popular book in the world and as witnessed by all of history, with the Holy Bible, it ironically gets better from the beginning piece when we fast forward to the Adam and Eve union, the recommended, sane and natural order of things, of life.

“The Lord is my shepherd and he knows I’m gay”…Troy Perry

Evolution

It is such an interesting world we live in, the more our population grows, so are the tendencies of good and evil to multiply, that’s actually simple mathematics, more like probability. In essence, in as much as a simple act of good can spread with a ripple effect causing extended reverberation, same thing applies to any act of evil.

Each day we increase in knowledge and we learn from our mistakes, we get more understanding, we become more aware and by implication we voraciously experiment on mysteries that we have yet to experience. The good part is that we have been able to adapt to the harsh conditions of mother earth and we have been able to survive through good use of our brain, helping us invent and discover things such as devices and drugs that have helped us sustain our lives.

Even with the ways in which we have developed the world, we have made mistakes that have burned our hands in several ways, for instance we have invented fast cars, airplanes, trains and ship for better transport and haulage, but many lives have been lost through them due to man’s errors of imperfection or bad weather and  poor topography. Also we have invented guns and bombs that have caused more casualty than we actually know. We have invented drugs and food preservatives through modern technology, but as you realize that we are not perfect, some drugs and preservatives are basically poisons and have caused series of diseases, ending millions of lives and plunging us into further avoidable crisis and insecurities.

The seeming hopeless realities on ground seduces us when we are sane, and pushes us when we are drunk to another level of experimentation perhaps borne out of freedom, boredom and apparent depression.

“If gay and lesbian people are given civil rights, then everyone will want them”…Author unknown.

Ages

A school of thought tells us that a good knowledge of history really does bring us up to better speed than the present situation we are in. Speaking about ages, the evolution of man has tumbled us right from the stone age when men struck stones together to make fire, to the agrarian age also called the agricultural age when man knew and appreciated the power of the earth to multiply whatever was planted, this produced the industrial revolution when the agricultural produce was processed massively.

Then followed by the information or the jet age, a period when information flies with the speed of light, if not faster. It has however become imperative for us to slow down to catch our breath; this is because many nations are stuck in this age, while some haven’t even gotten there. Impressively though, some have clearly surpassed the information age to a whole new level which some may never attain, the wisdom age.

This is the zone of developed nations; they have gracefully scaled all previous stages only to replicate those stages or ages in lower or the so called developing nations.

“What’s the point of being a lesbian if a woman is going to look and act like an imitation man?”…Rita Mae Brown

Are you gay?

So how does all these mambo jumbo concern homosexuality or gay-ish as pretty much young info-age folks would say you might ask?

Let’s put it this way. Do you have a sibling or a nutty cousin that is allergic to a type of food that you actually love? For instance, I love scrambled eggs with my life, but there is this sarcastic cousin of mine that would practically throw-up if he tasted it. Now imagine what a hungry Somali kid would do if he saw a large bowl of scrambled eggs, I think he’ll almost eat the plate itself. What if he was allergic to the scrambled eggs for real? I believe the law of priority would rather he satisfied his hunger than allergy.

In reference to the ‘Ages’ section above, too much convenience, indulgence and potential complacence of the folks occupying the wisdom age leaves them bored and simply want to move to another level. Remember nature abhors vacuum, and our systems virtually crave for inconvenience in the middle of over-bearing luxury.

However, a point to carefully note here is that all the seeming alibis are not a justification, moral or otherwise to prove complete understanding of how the world works, we are humans right?

So are you gay?

Perhaps you can find out when you are left vulnerable in a correctional facility, kidnapped by those that can over-power you and do the act, seduced with large sums of money when you’re stranded or extremely brainwashed by heartbroken and depressed folks that don’t care whatever happens to their image, life is short anyways.

The point is that we are all extremely vulnerable and are naturally adaptable to influences of prevailing circumstances; therefore it is probably unfair to judge genuine cases of psychologically forced transitions or scientifically proven genetic anomaly (which was of course most probably caused by our ungodly interference with nature). This also is not a window to give good reason for the act as majority don’t admire sodomy, and it goes against the natural order of things.

 As we also know that kids grow by imitation, it isn’t fair to confuse the up-coming generation and alter destinies with incorrigibility and acts borne of lack of supervision, discipline and morality.

African countries and leaders have recently seriously criticized President Obama for publicly supporting and promoting gay rights and even trying to export it to the highly cultured African continent that have violently kicked against it as it goes against her traditions.

Obviously, majority of people would definitely frown at any act of violence, but given that the world is very volatile when complex issues such as politics, religion and the gay thing come up, where we presently live in gives a vivid description of what is left of a world that we don't entirely understand. It is sure heart breaking to see that people are being tortured and even murdered because they are gay, perhaps a more creative approach should be made other than legalizing it if it is generally perceived as a problem.

President Obama constantly implores for fair treatment for gay people categorizing their discrimination with racism. It has even become awkward to be attracted to someone with the ‘old school’ love at first sight because you may just be falling in love with the same sex as you; this is due to the sharp rise in transgender population. This has further prompted the question 'is President Obama gay? And if he is and the world finds out about it, would he be proud to share the information, or would he be ashamed about it? With due respect, sometimes its like he actually wants us to be gay, just saying, perhaps only time will tell

Thank you.

Akin Abimbola (akinzogee@yahoo.com)

Sources:

Google

Wikipedia

Evolvefish.com

Goodreads

Brainyquote

Holy Bible

#POVERTY: ARE WE REALLY POOR?

"If you are in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They are the only ones that'll help - the only ones"...John Steinbeck

Whats your flavour?

While growing up, our parents were so stern, constantly reiterating we read our books every time so much that it seemed like a taboo to play with the other children. The phrase 'work hard' was continuously drummed into our ears so much that it seemed like a vague stereotype. If the only way to be successful was to work hard, and by work hard it meant read hard, then I thought to myself 'what would become of the guys that weren't smart in class? There had to be another way for them to be useful or respected for their ego's sake. Well, naturally some were good in sports, some had extremely good looks, some were peaceful, while some were just practically incorrigible bullies.

My point here is that society tries to determine who we are, streamlining our perceived values to the boundaries of their insecurities and fears, we all do have different skills and talents, how we believe in and discover ourselves with self love and confidence, we can hone our skills which eventually diminishes the tendencies of being financially poor, well of course there is more to the story.

"We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without"...Immanuel Kant

Talent is not enough


Have you ever heard a song which is so very pleasant to your ears, heart and soul so much that it gives you goose pimples that actually made your head swell with a maximum height of excitement? I have, and when it happened to me I wished that it was I that sang the song. Same thing applies to other people in sports, acting, speaking and even modelling.
All the people we admire doing great things that we wished we also could do are usually talented, but for their talent to be worth it, they had to pay a high sacrifice, nurturing it.
Talent however becomes overrated when less talented people make more progress than the extremely talented ones. The state of mind that controls the psyche and laid down principle here is the emigrant's attitude. The less talented guys make more effort literally burning their bridges to focus on an art or a trade so as not to remain poor.


"Some people are so poor, all they have is money"...Patrick Meagher


Success

Success is probably the most relative word, term or state ever. This is because success means different things to different people, perhaps depending on your location, culture, temperament and opportunities.
Some people believe they are successful when they have say one billion dollars, some believe it is when they can afford expensive cars to show off while some people believe that they are successful when they can take care of their family's basic needs. Some other different breeds of people actually only feel alive when they positively impact on the lives of total strangers in dire need.

"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of"...Confucius

What are we missing?



One thing is for sure, we haven't quite figured out all the mysteries of the world, another thing is that there are enormous mass of secrets which privileged people protect from us, either way we are generally susceptible to whatever the world has in her bosom to offer us, danger of haven.
How many times are we going to peacefully protest to government for better infrastructure to enhance our lifestyles which we deprived of for obscure reasons while the police torture us in return?
Who are the government by the way for them to run the nations in isolation and yet intimidate us as they wreck the economy?
We cry that corruption is destroying us, but we all know that we're hypocritical about it. Our dishonesty and lack of political will is fast plunging us into the dark pit of failure and destruction. Our selfishness is causing unlimited confusion so much that we have reasons to be insecure about the future of the coming generation.

"I know that a man who shows me his wealth is like the beggar who shows me his poverty; they are both looking for alms from me, the rich man for the alms of my envy, the poor man for the alms of my guilt"...Ben Hecht


How do you get your fish?

Have you ever heard of the saying 'If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish you feed him for a life time?'. Upon this very saying a large chunk of humanity's survival depends.Sometimes there seems to be no love among us all with the ways we treat each other. We exhibit some form of ego over people we refer to as poor just because we have the unmerited opportunity of acquiring wealth. We intimidate and trample upon lower people due to their pitiable circumstances instead of helping them up thus reminding them that we are all equal.

Annoyingly, it amazes me how some nations boast withe population they have without outlining or planning a strategy of how the nation can use the natural principle of leverage to maximize the possible potentials that they can offer to add value to life.
No doubt corruption is everywhere, but it trends even more aggressively when nothing is done to discourage it's existence and resilient proliferation.

"Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity"...Coco Chanel

Are you rich or poor?

In the beginning of this write-up we talked about man not been able to solve the mysteries of the world, well...it gets better. Napoleon Hill in his best seller 'Think and grow rich' encouraged people to have a positive mental attitude, having faith that we can accomplish that which we seek.
The most successful people are daring people that have unrelenting courage, taking the plunge even into unfamiliar terrains armed with faith that they'll succeed. Even if they encounter failure, they never quit, and ironically they fail more than their less successful counterparts.

I get sick to the stomach anytime government says they want to alleviate poverty bla bla bla. This is because they are not facing the main issue. You can discern a great and serious nation by the ways they treat their lowest citizen. Great nations are futuristic, and this way education and empowerment goes into their future trajectory, planning in ways where shared vision and mission definition is clearly communicated and dwells in the minds and hearts of the stakeholders of the nation.
I have met a man before who constantly complained that he was poor, then when he got lucky and hit a jackpot, he was happy only for a while, why? He squandered the money and even fell into more debt.

This simple but familiar scenario is a reminder that poverty is actually a state of mind. I know a lot of folks that don't have luxurious cars and apartments, but when they speak, you'll notice that they have rare content to offer, the kind that money cannot buy.

So are you rich or poor? Well its relative, it depends on your definition of both. One thing is for sure though, it is imperative for you to have a positive mental attitude, love yourself, and plunge into the darkness of uncertainty striking out the fear of the unknown, hoping for the best and psychologically approach or usher in glory, your choice, but if indeed we are really poor, it is just the poverty of the mind.


Thank you.

Akin Abimbola (akinzogee@gmail.com)


Sources:

Google
Brainy Quote
Good Read
Wikipedia
Think and grow rich
Rich Dad, Poor Dad

SPARING THE ROD!

“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them”…Proverbs 13: 24

Early days

When we were much younger, our parents, guardians and even teachers at school used to scold us in different ways anytime we did wrong, which was like speed bumps prepared on the road for us whenever we moved too fast. Although we used to resent their judgment at the time, thinking they hated us, but after getting used to it, it all seemed quite normal.

Interestingly, as we grow older with respect being reciprocated to us by both old and young people, while we witness the disgust and resentment being given to our peers that used to be recalcitrant and incorrigible when were all kids, the picture gets even clearer. The timely spanks and reprimands sure paid off in molding us into mature adults just as only the test of fire makes fine steel, diminishing the tendencies of future belligerence and juvenile delinquencies.

“Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell”…Prov. 23:13:14

 

Culture

There is no contesting the system of rebuking faulting children; even history clearly spells it out from the biblical chronicles, to law and even recorded lives of great sages and thinkers. Discipline of children has been with us for as long as we can remember.

Imagine you had a farm and you found that several rodents and pests constantly spoil your crops, what would you do? Create a pest control system of course. Similar thing applies to a horse or cattle that wouldn’t move in your desired direction, you’d instinctively either shout at them or traditionally flog them.

Ultimately, same thing applies to children, when they do wrong and we don’t want them to repeat it, we impulsively punish them, and truly from experience we know they get the message even when we stand the risk of losing their trust and affection, but in the future we usually discover that the risk is well worth it. In other words, we have a natural inclination of reprimand as not just a cultural heritage, but also as a guiding light for future prosperity of our children.

“Eliminating corporal punishment (deciding to spare the rod) means more than foregoing bottom spanking. It includes a slap on the wrist, the smack on the face and any other body parts that may be struck”…Unknown

It’s Psychological

Due to the fast paced rate at which we interpret in different ways the very knowledge we’ve lived by for ages, theories and their reverberating impacts such as insecurities and the complexities surrounding them, it has however stereo-typically become imperative for steps to be taken to protect overzealous chastisers of infants.

In the wake modern civilization which ushers in new fears and pressures, perceived under-achievements of misguided young adults and perhaps even taxes, many adults out of frustration and self inflicted misfortunes have used transferred aggression to injure, permanently disable, or let innocent children slip away from this world. With the nasty acts left unchecked, and like the stagnant water which stinks and breeds flies and reptiles, it slowly degenerates, and by implication translates into an access path to deal further abuse on children, with their obvious vulnerability giving the abuser more guts and opportunity to ill-treat children in other possible ways.

In the light of this, it is however justifiable for governments of developed nations to make laws that protect children, and therefore by repercussion, like a growing glow which emanates in the dark destined for expansion, the tendencies of spoiling children arise to the extent that in the quest to provide an enabling environment for children to express themselves without fear of criticism which could impair their self-esteem, we also give them an opportunity to be rude, flagrant and incorrigible.

For instance, seven year old Jimmy has broken several items around the house probably due to a combination of carelessness, inattentiveness and roughhousing. This time he has broken a favorite vase of yours. After you have dealt with your anger and let him know you’re upset with what he did, to discipline him by having him help with vacuuming and dusting might not help you, but it might change his behavior.

Jimmy’s carelessness could be a sign that he doesn’t feel important to the household or family. It can be the child’s way of communicating that he needs more attention.

“Nigeria reserves the right to make her own laws without apologies to other countries. Between Europe, America and Africa there is a large culture gap. Some of the things that are considered fundamental rights abroad can be very offensive to African culture and tradition and to the way we live here”…Labaran Maku (Former Nigerian Information Minister)

Diverse Orientation

 

The western world have a reputation for fighting for and preserving human rights, they also are known to be innovative, creating new things that help humans adapt better to the same planet earth that we are constantly insecure about, claiming that it is choking and trying to kill us all, even when our insensitive activities have awoken a slumbering leviathan called global warming.

Anyway, the gap in ways of life between tribes and races along religion and ethnic lines from time immemorial have steadily caused several degrees of culture shock, creating fear and uncertainty between business partners and tourists especially overseas.

Our diversities are explicitly appreciated within the corridors of education that has brought about mysterious theories to the needed resources which other parts of the world have been able to identify maximum (exploitive) use for.

The multiple systems and complexities of nature continue to spiral through a seemingly unending vicious circle and which we are saddled with the opportunity to unravel in order to remain relevant and even alive.

“The child that you do not build will eventually sell the fortune that you built”…Yoruba proverb

Fast-forward to present day

Literally, it gets better, and by better in this context I mean worse. What’s worse? The same situation of juvenile delinquencies that has sky-rocketed in the past century due to child indulgence and our insensitivity to the incorrigible acts of kids that stare us in the face.

If we could only be more observant, pro-active and empathetic about the matter at hand, we might be saving ourselves or delaying an impending and looming danger knocking on the doors of the future.

Let’s look at it further this way; a school of thought tells us that kids are extremely innocent, this therefore implies that all the bad things that kids do can actually be blamed on their parents, guardians or primary contacts and influence. For instance, kids don’t know racism, terrorism or even homosexuality unless someone misguides them, and with the spate of their consistency and the way we treat them, they have apparently come to stay.

I recently came across a quote which says “Part time Christians cannot defeat full time devils” (apologies to folks of other faith), and it kind of makes sense, how do you defeat desperate people who are ready to die for their cause when you are not only inconsistent in your acts and policies, but when you also compromise standards?

“The secret to success I don’t know, but the secret to failure is trying to please everyone”…Abraham Lincoln

You probably got it wrong

 

I saw an action movie sometime ago titled ‘Airforce one’, the movie featured veteran actor Harrison Ford as United States President and it sure was an intriguing, fast paced act about a terrorist attack on America. In the course of the movie, while the vice President vaguely suggested that the President negotiates with the terrorists, a simple quote stayed with me. The President simply asked, ‘if you give a mouse a cookie?...the vice President who was a lady promptly replied ‘it’ll ask for milk’.

This tells us that if you negotiate with a bad person, he’ll try to exploit and even further destroy you. Same thing applies to a regular person that finds that he or she can get easy bread from you, they’ll definitely come back for more, I would.

The United States recently agreed to gay marriage in all it’s states and they are urging other nations to do likewise. This has inspired or incited other groups to lobby for more rights such as adultery, pedophilia, incest and other forms of experimentation that have always been known to be wrong.

All these are happening right in the midst of allegations of aiding of international secrets, war crimes, high level crime deals and affiliations with terrorists, also while other pressing issues such as poverty, hunger and stylish racial profiling prevail.

Look around you; it’s all psychology borne of the earthly principles. If you want to get things done perfectly you simply have to be patient and plan for the long term, and this means you should brainwash children. That is why kids that are recruited early into sports, academics, work, war and terrorism do exceptionally well.

In conclusion, not that I’m giving up on the future, it’s their prerogative to take care of themselves and the planet earth as they meet it, but it’s actually up to us to make it up to them so that they don’t curse us for the actions we’re taking or not taking, because if we choose a part time shift to fix the world, the full time devils might just win after all.

Thank you.

akinzogee@yahoo.com

Sources:

Google

Holy Bible

Positive Parenting

Brainy Quote

Good reads