Taking Away Their Personal Identity

The children of Kenya were taught to think of themselves as less than equals because of what they were taught in school. They had to speak only English in school and to read books and essays written by English speaking people who were racist towards them. Young children are very impressionable and if all they hear and read is that their race and way of life is wrong and that they are not as intelligent and barbaric they will begin to believe that of themselves. I was appalled in that they were beaten for being caught speaking their native tongue around their schools and were made to wear demeaning signs around their necks. I guess the Englishmen in charge thought they would be quick to learn English if they were beaten or humiliated when they spoke Gīkūyū.

Not being able to get a further education just because their English was not as good is ridiculous especially when one had really high marks in all of the other subjects. Someone who had good English skills and okay marks in the other subjects was allowed to get a better education. With these requirements for admittance into universities they would not even get the brightest of the bunch just the ones who were more fluent in English. I see why the government would want them to be the educated ones. They would want people to be able to communicate with them and be grateful for their education and not rise up against them.

Taking away a group’s language or not allowing it to be spoken in public is a very good way of controlling them. Their language is big part of their culture and in taking that away they were able to change the Kenyan’s culture to suit their needs. Language is what holds a culture together. Without a common language there would be no communication. The Kenyans culture was changed when the English took over and forced the English language on them.

Is it Apathy or Fear of Embarrassment?

Do we not complain because of apathy or because we do not want to cause a scene.

Many simply don’t care enough to get things fixed. They would rather just let things be because it is simply too much of a hassle to try to change the situation people have “given up trying to rectify irrational vexations” (par. 4). Yes, they might be uncomfortable but not enough that they want to go and get someone to fix the problem like the heat on the train that Buxley mentioned in his essay “Why Don’t We Complain?” They just don’t want to waste the time or energy to complain or ask for something to be done to fix the problem.

Many hate to cause a scene. They don’t like the feeling of people staring at them and thinking why is that person doing that can they not just deal with it. People hate to be seen as a person who always complains. “We are all increasingly anxious in America to be unobtrusive” (par. 8) people in general don’t want to cause a scene because they fear embarrassment. Children especially hate to be embarrassed and tell their parents to ignore it and not complain. Most children have been embarrassed by their parents complaining about one thing or another in a restaurant or store.

Do we as a group fear embarrassment for stating our opinions or is that we no longer care enough to get things the way we want them to be?