Chains that Bind: Self-Hate And African Predicament

Chains that Bind: Battling Low Perceptions.

Until we Africans change our self-perception, we will continue to confirm by our conduct and actions the stereotypes and insults others heep on us. 

Too often we validate by action the stereotype of an African as less than capable, lazy or failure by design by doing exactly the things we actually are not. 

Africans who arrive after the set time confirm that they subscribe to the inferior Bantu time; black companies that neglect to complete tender projects confirm the idea of Africans as inferior in business; the public servant that has a callous attitude make stereotypes of lazy blacks seem true. 

I made a decision to live with honour, work with diligence and think highly of my abilities so that the stereotypes and insults find me ready to defy them. "It’s not what you call me that matters," says an African proverb, "but what I answer to." 

We do not control what others think of us and cannot stop them from thinking low about us, but we control how this affects us and how we live thereafter. 

We do often walk around with mental chains that limit our potential around our proverbial necks. 

The battle against distortion of our mind about ourselves is a long and tortous road to freedom.