If I were on the radio this week, on Sylvia's Success Secrets.What would I have said to my listeners given the events taking place in Zimbabwe? Would I side with H-metro? Would I recommend that Stunner and Pokello apologize to the nation...then again I thought, but why...what have they really done that is so wrong?
Then I thought okay, would my assessment be different if they were not a couple...if they has not been in their own home...if the iphone had not been stolen...if they had in fact released the information themselves rather than being leaked...if they had been caught in a car or some rather public place...in essence, if they had thrown it into my face so to say?
Sylvia Chimhina
Would I react differently if it had been my brother, father, sister, mother, aunt, friend or a distant stranger? Would I have cared...if I knew the whole story would I have judged or prosecuted them? Would I have spoken as Sylvia mwana waMax naTendai; as a corporate person, a female, an entrepreneur, a radio personality, a public speaker, a church goer, a friend to some in the spot light or just another person in that spotlight?
Finally I wondered to myself, would I have had the courage to ever walk the streets of Harare again? I have settled on speaking just as a Zimbabwean because all of the above were impacted in much the same way.
I thought,”Does Zimbabwe have a Censorship Board...Is H-Metro going overboard - this is not popular in any other country? Not even in the United States where I live as some presume...The Jary Springer participants volunteer to severely embarrass their own for money...And the Kim Kardarshian and Ray J cases are misnomers, in fact, one can be sued for this kind of stuff...I can picture a tabloid paying Stunner and Pokello for life...far more than either one could have ever dreamed of making singing or selling shoes. (I am digressing...) Where do we set the boundary?
What is the media's job anyways...why did every other newspaper post this on its site? When will our media be held accountable for bad behavior?
We know the media builds you up and so often tears you down...But is there another way?
Is it possible to only tear down when it is absolutely and unquestionably necessary but only enough not to choke the life out of you? Where is the voice of reason?
Who is going to protect the reader, let alone our children if the papers are going to be publishing and distributing pornographic content themselves? Why was this not targeted towards those who seek out this type of content and, made available at a heft price via a censored platform?
Why is there no outrage on this issue really? Where is the rule of law...shouldn't we be suing someone or this paper for subjecting us to Stunner's privacy?
I hate silence when it is time to speak...what happens when its a weaker person they go after...what if it were you or me? Could this be why so many in this industry get twisted upstairs and go for drugs or commit suicide?
Who among us is perfect...who has no flaw? Mr Editor, how does it feel to be surrounded by an imperfect world? How clean are you for planting this seed...May I remind you that He who said do not steal also said do not kill?
Religious or not, we have all wronged in one shape or form...So why is the entertainment industry quiet about this? Is this not the time to question our priorities as a people...Hung up on destroying each other when our country is not prospering?
If only our leaders were more integral, doing the right things for the right reasons, maybe, just maybe someone would question the boundaries we have set for free speech...Is this the freedom we want or have we gone too far to the left on all the wrong things...When shall this madness stop and who shall stop it?
We have become like snakes that swallow their own children...we go out of our way to destroy everyone that tries to make it out the rut...may be Stunner and Pokello are the vehicle but the actual lesson is for every Zimbabwean...Eish...the blessings and goodness we seek as a people and a country will not come until we learn to respect, love and uplift each other...stop destroying and starting building, there is so much more satisfaction that will come your way...and yes, more sales for your H-Metro...
So I guess my questions are not so much about the tape, pictures or whatever; they are about what we value, pretend and/or claim to value as a people. These and more are the questions I have asked myself over the last couple of weeks, first with the Prime Minister's relationship situation and now more-so, with Stunner and Pokello's circumstance.
I guess when you are stuck on the plane for hours on end, you get to thinking...does this all make any sense at all, is it always black and white, or are there shades of grey." I know you too have been thinking....what have you been thinking and if not, what are you thinking now that I have raised all of the above? May be tomorrow, I will write about the other questions.
by Sylvia Chimhina
No comments:
Post a Comment