Liberia: Weah
Written bySokari Ekine
Yebo Gogo writes about the appalling behaviour of George Weah who refuses to concede defeat to Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf…..”Fellow partisans, revolution is a noble cause. We must fight to obtain it,” Weah said. “It is our right to seek justice, and we will use all means to obtain that,” he said to a cheering crowd. “I know one day we will be free.”
Written bySokari Ekine
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11 comments
As a Liberian living in the United States, I would like to know who printed ballots papers?. Why is it that the socalled International community is playing death ear to Mr. Weah’s complaint.
First, the phrase is turning a deaf ear, not playing death ear.
Second, UNMIL contracted to have ballots printed for the election, just as with every other national election the UN has overseen.
Third, the “international community” is not ignoring the problem. The NEC and the so called judiciary in Liberia are investigating the allegations. This is, in spite of the fact that hundreds of international observers watched and certified the results of the election.
The problem is that Mr. Weah and the CDC are not willing to wait for “justice.” Instead, like an idiot, Mr. Weah is neither willing to concede defeat nor wait for a ruling. Making false claims and incendiary comments is not the way for Liberia to move forward.
Mr. Weah’s poor reaction to the situation is confirmation of the fact that he is not ready to lead. He is simply too immature and inexperienced. If he really wants to help the Liberian people, he should gracefully bow out, put his support behind the new government, and try to spend the next few years gaining experience, education, and with any luck some maturity.
Who cares what the exact words of the phrase are – you got the meaning and that is what matters! That is so below the belt and unnecessary.
First, yes grammar and communication skills are both necessary and important. I do not see it as “below the belt” to point out errors in either.
Second, if that was the point you found most relevant and necessary to comment on, you obviously missed the point.
No – on the contrary it is you who has missed the point. Your comment on grammar is arrongant and assumes that everyone speaks English as a first language. And even if they do, who are you to put someone down because their grammar is not perfect. By all means make any comment you wish but do not personalise by attacking peoples language skills.
Sokari, butt off, Karl is right. Proper english is essential to success. One of the reasons that Weah was rejected in the polls is because he is not qualified to represent Liberia. We are not ready for another Samuel K. Doe.
First, I find it rather arrogant, narrow minded, and elitist of you to assume that English is not the first language of someone who makes a grammatical error.
Second, whether or not English is your first language does not matter, if you are going to do something, do it right. If you are too thin skinned to accept constructive criticism or someone pointing out your mistakes then you will never improve yourself.
Third, while all of this is somewhat a tangent, oddly enough according to today’s news reports it has a direct bearing to the topic at hand. Mr. Weah is now saying he was quoted out of context and did not mean for his comments to be construed as inflammatory or revolutionary. If someone had proof read his speech or he had taken the time to write it out and think about what he was going to say before saying it, maybe all of this nonsense, including two deaths, could have been avoided. You might see it as arrogant or condescending to try to help others express themselves more clearly. However, when it comes to the leader of a nation these matters can literally make the difference between life and death. Therefore I suggest that instead of jumping to the defense of poor grammar and unclear thought you may want to consider the consequences of such actions.
Finally, thank you Tiawon for your support, I agree Liberia does not need another dictator or warlord. I was very glad to hear that a well educated and well spoken woman had gained control of the difficult rebirth that awaits Liberia.
What exactly is proper English – “butt off”? If you read my comment properly you will note that I did not assume English not to be the first language of someone who makes a grammatical mistake.
The point which you cannot seem to grasp is that this site is a global site where people of all languages and language levels should feel comfortable enough to make a comment. That will not happen if people like you are going to put them down because their grammar is incorrect.
Read it “properly?” Meaning that I interpreted it the way you meant it? This is exactly my point. Without proper grammar misunderstandings are inevitable.
I do have to apologize, my mistake, I thought this was a forum to promote a better understanding of one another. Now that you have corrected my view, I agree we should not correct one another. We should not try to improve ourselves. We should not try to clarify, nor promote understanding. We should sit idly by and read unintelligible posts made with out point or meaning, because that way we won’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
In fact, while we are at it let’s stop grades in school, or rather education as a whole for that matter because some people aren’t at the same level and might not feel good. Let’s all just by a coke and a smile and sit on our ignorant anuses holding some happy love in. That will make the world a much better place. Until, of course, there is the inevitable misunderstanding between two people which causes an argument, which then leads to a fight, a murder, a war…
As Emerson once wrote, “Knowledge is the antidote to fear.” So if you want to help others overcome the fear of posting incorrectly on this or any other forum, supply the knowledge that will allow them to avoid mistakes in the future. You are correct, not everyone knows the rules of grammar, not everyone has the same education, and those who let others continue to make the same mistake under the pretense of “not hurting their feelings” do the world as a whole an injustice. If you see a mistake, correct it, that’s the only way improvement can or will occur.
So let me say I’m glad there are “people like me” in this world who are willing to point out an error. For if it was left solely up to those who jump to the defense of mistakes and ignore their responsibility to improve themselves and others, the world would never see any progress.
For proof of this, simply visit Monrovia and see what more than two decades of ignorance, self indulgence, and greed has done to a once (I’ve been told) beautiful city.
What a shame, what an unbeatable shame:
In as much as, it is written: “The Love Of Liberty, Brought Us Here” on our seal, and our Country name is “Liberia”, I do not think we are really enjoying that liberty, our people fought so tirelessly to earned.
The greatest problemS in Liberia are: unethical immoral lusts; greed for political leadership; ignorance because of impatience; ethnicism and partism etc
Liberians, refuses to improves their educational standard, as well as intelligence, and morality.
They are imprison in the jail of: ethnic clashes, illiteracy; make beliefs; lies; impatience, pidgin english etc
and really thinks, they can be the kind of leader who can represents Liberia in the International Community.
Just because late President Samuel Kayon Doe, became Head of State, and forced his way to become president, through ignorance, which he regretted later, doesn’t mean, Liberia’s Civics morality, ha lost its flavors in Liberians and in Liberia’s academy schooling.
I believed, we must forget the past, and think about preparing ourselves through initiating quality education, and educating one another, on the cross cultural International standards, rather then being so critical, and self confidence. I belief, it is not what we say we are, that will count, but what people say, we are,that will count deductively and inductively.