I found out about this story only days after I did my Swahili rant, and when I saw this video, there was no freaking way I wasn’t going to talk about it. Phillip Scott gives his commentary on some fake tough guy at a mall harassing some teens who were making a music video in the wall, so he decides to be a male Karen (is that a Darren?) to these teenagers who weren’t doing anything and he had the nerve to break the phone of a teenage girl who was filming it and had nothing to do with these other teens. This coward is old enough to be their dad, but he must have felt so manly confronting high schoolers not doing anything wrong in the mall. Of course, this happens to be a racist white guy confronting two Black teens who were making the music video, and while I don’t know the ethnicity of the bystander girl, she definitely doesn’t look Caucasian. The irony gets strong when this irritable coward who’s freaking out is wearing a “Hakuna Matata” shirt! That’s right, the Swahili phrase that means “There is no problem,” or more famously translated as “No worries” for obvious reasons, is on the shirt of some guy who clearly is having irrational worries and not following the so-called “problem-free philosophy”. I’m also glad those teens are still okay, and this Hakuna Matata Harry (whom I will be addressing under that name until I find out this devil’s name) didn’t pull off a Daniel Penny on any of them. Seriously, these white supremacists are everywhere in this country, so one definitely has to be careful. I hope those teens’ families press charges against that guy for harassing them. I doubt he would do that to adolescents who look like his kids.
Before I get into the next part of the post, I will have to preface by saying that I know not everyone who likes the movie franchise that made the phrase famous outside of East Africa is like this or thinks like him or others. What I’m about to say is going to be very harsh as I’m doing this to prove a point about this behavior and how certain people are treated. Let’s be honest here. After 1994, everybody and their mom associated that phrase with that song by Timon and Pumbaa. Let’s not kid ourselves. You all know how I feel about that phrase and how Disney had the temerity to trademark it. So this begs the question, and I’m asking this question to prove a point about something…How will The Lion King fanbase react to a situation like this?
Since that fanbase (one could argue the Disney fandom at large, too) never seems to face any accountability for anything negative that’s associated with that movie franchise, are we going to hear from The Disney Corporation, Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff, or even Jon Favreau denouncing Hakuna Matata Harry like how Black people are pressured to condemn any Black celebrity who’s accused of doing or saying something terrible? Would this situation happen if the races were reversed? I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy is a racist jackoff if he’s acting like he’s Mr. Billy Big Balls around those teenagers. This situation only feeds into my prejudices of a good portion of Lion King fans having bigoted views in seeing Black and even other non-white ethnic groups as thugs, criminals, or worthless individuals, much like how they see those hyenas in the movie. That Mickey Mouse Monopoly documentary proved me right years ago about how racist The Lion King and multiple fans of that movie are with the story of Jacqueline Maloney (a Black woman) telling a story of her female Caucasian friend concerned about her three-year-old boy assuming some Black children were just like the hyenas even though they were only playing and laughing. That’s saying nothing about learning about history I didn’t learn in school that proved me right that Mufasa was committing protagonist-centered morality the whole time with the elephant graveyard situation. It’s like if someone is dark enough, then they don’t belong in the circle of life. No, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair, or those in the remake aren’t carte blanche for having a bigoted narrative with those melanin shields in those movies, got it? How would you Lion King fans feel if you got the Kyrie Irving or Kanye West treatment if there was enough power to cancel Hakuna Matata Harry or your fanbase for not condemning this violator? Most of you don’t know what it’s like to be scapegoated by proxy, and you all would scream about how it’s unfair. I’ll ignore the low-hanging fruit that involves Scar’s first sentence of dialogue in the movie to respond to that attitude, so you’re ever so welcome! As someone who’s actually been racially profiled and bashed for things I like because I have a particular skin color, I have no sympathy for this man. There have been people like him who have made my life hell at different times in my life. Silence is violence! I wouldn’t be surprised if various fans, especially some of those nerdy influencers try to pretend this never happened or emphasize how they are “individuals” who don’t deserve to be profiled. Maybe you shouldn’t paint people with the same brush (especially various ethnic groups), and I wouldn’t be tempted to hold a metaphorical mirror to your collective faces. I know this is just dark satire and overexaggerating, but I’m doing this to prove a point because this fandom never gets scrutinized for anything, and I’m treating most of them the way people like me have been treated by those with the power to derogate me at best or dehumanize me at worst.
Hakuna Matata Harry, I hope you face the consequences of being a racist bully. Lion King fans, prove me wrong that you don’t support this guy or think someone like me deserves to be mistreated, harassed, or even abused, like how I had a bad habit of having to prove my humanity to you and others. I hope people do their best to protect their families and not let wicked people harass, hurt, or kill them. It’s saddening what people have to deal with or how certain people get victimized just because of their skin color as these demons see them as prey who can be inflicted without consequences.
Tag Archives: Swahili
Frustrations with the perception of Swahili from others (Mostly the Western Hemisphere)
Swahili can be a bit frustrating to learn. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy learning it even if I struggle with some of the grammar and sentence structures which are nothing like English or Japanese. It’s not easy, but I’m doing my best in being fluent in multiple languages, especially since I have a heritage incentive to learn Swahili. However, I get annoyed with so many people with how ignorant they can be. I can only last so long and not rant given how many years worth of internalized anger in me. Oh heck, I always see clouds in every silver lining.
1: “So why don’t you learn Spanish?”
This is a big one in America. I have no issue with Spanish or anyone who speaks it. I know some words and phrases, but the way people ask it is that Swahili barely has any speakers or is impractical. Sorry, but there are 50 million speakers of Swahili and multiple countries have it as an official status. I get that Spanish is spoken in several nations and I live in a region with a sizable Latinx population, but I want to be better at other languages. I almost put up a reason being the whole “This is ‘Murica, and we speak English, ya’ll!” mentality, but that’s too easy to critique. Oh, wait. Spanish is a European language, so it doesn’t get that kind of questioning.
2: People thinking I’m going to speak it all over Africa.
If I visit most of East Africa, that could work, but that’s not going to work in the whole continent. Speaking Swahili would be counterproductive if one was in Nigeria, Egypt, or even Sierra Leone. It also annoys me how people call that language “African” like how some idiots think that people in Mexico speak “Mexican”. Swahili is an African language, but it’s mainly in one area and there are hundreds of indigenous languages in the continent. Not everyone speaks that language on the Motherland. you wouldn’t say that about European or Asian languages, so why is it cool to oversimplify everything that’s spoken in Africa?
3: People saying “Jambo” as a way to say hello.
I used to think that was the right way to greet someone, but that’s not the case. I noticed it with Duolingo and when I had my first online class with my teacher, she said that it’s one phrase you should NEVER say in the Swahili-phone parts of Africa. Don’t worry, will get to another well-known phrase you shouldn’t say in Africa later, and I think you all can guess what it is. It’s “hujambo” if you’re talking to one person or “hamjambo” if you’re talking to multiple people. Man alive, even saying “mambo” would actually be putting in more effort in speaking it and that’s a regional dialectal example! If you’re going to say hello to someone in another language, then get it right, everyone.
4: The assumption that people think I’m only using this for mission trips.
I don’t know if I’ll do a mission trip, and if I take part in one to help others, I will make sure it’s legit. No one has said it to me, but I know they’re thinking it because people are stupid to assume that the African continent is nothing but poverty. I know people directly from the continent who will definitely tell you otherwise. Yeah, because poverty never happens in America, right? Go ahead and search videos from Wode Maya, Miss Trudy or even Phillip Scott’s videos about traveling to Ethiopia, South Africa, and Kenya and you will find cities that are on par with most Western cities and some are cleaner than here in the States. I don’t think you can eat lunch while sitting in a gutter in Portland, OR (take that, hipster jerks!) like you could in Kigali, Rwanda with how clean it is, for example. Don’t believe me, look up Kigali and how clean it is like Wode Maya’s videos or even some cityscape pictures! If you think African countries are nothing but mud huts, warzones, and rampant starvation, then you’re a racist POS. Don’t gaslight me about that!
5: Some people act like Kenya and maybe Tanzania are the only places you can speak Swahili.
Are they countries where Swahili is the #1 language? Yes, and I don’t deny that. But what ticks me off is when I see people say only Kenya or only that country and Tanzania know those languages. That is insulting and even I knew they weren’t the only ones years ago. The DRC has millions of people who know the language and it has official status there like Uganda and Rwanda even if they aren’t the most-spoken languages there. It’s even used as a lingua franca in East Africa much like English or French depending on the country. Then again, a lot of people treat Africa like it’s a country in America, so I’m not surprised they would have such ignorance about as statement like that.
6: Can we please stop the bloody Lion King references in these language sites? Also, I hate that movie franchise even more with the more I learn that language.
Raise your hand if you think I wouldn’t make any potshots against everyone’s favorite 90s Disney movie for this list. PUT YOUR HAND DOWN! Before I really rip apart Disney and their fanbase, let me preface by saying not all Lion King fans are like this, so I’m not talking about specific individuals, but I have noticed this about the collective.
We get it. We know what “Simba” and “Hakuna Matata” means in English. You can use other examples in pop culture. Also, not all the names are real Swahili (I’m not talking about Scar or Ed) or mean what you think they mean. The word for king in Swahili is “Mfalme” and NOT “Mufasa”! If you know about those prequel books in the 90s which also involve the potential real name of a certain character, the word for garbage is “Takataka” and not “Taka”. Oh, and the word for want is “Kutaka” and the “Ku” changes with the pronoun, so nice try! Shenzi should be “Mshenzi” which means savage. Wow, I guess that’s how the Lion King creators and certain groups of their fans see most, if not all melanated people, but won’t admit it. I’ll even go this far to use a variation on a meme: “I want to learn Swahili because I like The Lion King!” #SaidNoOneEver! Disney and most Lion King fans have minuscule knowledge about Swahili or African cultures like how they barely know anything about Hamlet (BURN!). If they were so respectful of these cultures, they would drop the “Hakuna Matata” trademark and finally credit Solomon Linda for “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. Oh wait, none of those things have happened. I’m sure Lion King fans would love to see African cultures or at the very least someone like me derogated and exploited. Tell me when I’m telling lies! Remember how I said my Swahili teacher talked about what not to say in that language? “Hakuna Matata” is the other big one since you will legitimately offend people because there have been too many ignorant tourists (read: white people who don’t care about the culture) saying that phrase flippantly to the locals without trying to use other Swahili phrases and people know about the trademark in multiple African countries while being righteously angry about it. It’s a shame how no one gets questioned in that fanbase when they pretend to know something or blindly obey their mouse overlord. As I get older, I’m getting weary of this massive ignorance for those that aren’t called out on it because Disney always gives them a free pass to do whenever and think whatever they want with no consequences.
Some benefits of me learning Swahili
Hamjambo! Unaendeleaje!
Mimi ni Ospreyshire.
Nimefurahi kukutana na wewe!
Some of you know I’m doing my best to learn other languages. I have been using Duolingo for over a year now, and I hired an online tutor months ago. I felt compelled to learn this given how many people speak in the world. I got a chance to use some of it when I met a Congolese person earlier this year at an off-site event involving my job. I wish I learned that language when I was younger. This language needs to be respected a lot more and it’s not because of the low-hanging fruit of a certain mouse “owning” a specific phrase everyone knows. If you’ve known me long enough, you know exactly what I’m talking about. However, I want to be positive with this post because I swear I’m not an angry person all the time on here.
1: It allows me to see roots in other languages.
I still think it’s interesting how words like “safari”, “Uhura” (Yes, the Star Trek character), and “Jenga” are originally Swahili words. I’ve noticed other words that are from English, Portuguese, and Arabic origins mixed in even though it is a Bantu-based language. Learning about some of the vocabularies, I noticed some connections to Lingala, Kinyarwanda, and Kirundi which was very fascinating.
2: There are multiple countries and communities where I can speak to them.
There are currently 5 countries where it has official status: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC (this country will come up again!). That’s not even counting countries where it has minority status or at least have pockets of people who know it like Burundi, Mozambique, and Zambia, for example. Even in Comoros, their language of Comorian has multiple intelligible similarities. Interestingly enough, Burundi has more Swahili speakers than Rwanda despite not having it as an official language. Learning another language can really open up a new world.
3: I feel (somewhat) smarter learning.
I don’t want to call myself a genius and I hesitate calling myself intelligent at times, but I do feel like I’ve been gaining brainpower as I get immersed in learning Swahili. It does get difficult with the grammar system and sentence structure, but it helps me do problem-solving. My tutor said my listening skills have improved in understanding what is spoken of me even if I don’t always know the right word to respond. Yes, I’ve resorted to Swahin-glish at times with English words I said to replace words I didn’t know, but at least the tutor said I knew what I she said and saw I’m trying. I then learn new words after the fact and use them in future classes.
4: It forces me to learn cultural nuances I never thought about.
If you learn a new language, you low-key learn about the culture. This can be why certain words have specific meanings or you can’t find words that you can directly translate into English. I asked why certain words worked in certain ways, but what really threw me off were the times. East African nations operate under a different clock that revolves around the sunrise and not just an AM/PM system which really forced me to use math with timezone differences and comparing AM/PM to “Swahili time”.
5: It’s part of my culture.
Some of you know this, but I’m part Congolese which I found out via DNA test through my Mom’s side of the family. It was one of the biggest ethnic samples I got and tied with being Cameroonian as far as African ethnic groups are concerned. Yes, I have various smaller samples of West African nations, but most of the stuff from the motherland came from Central Africa. Swahili is one of 5 official languages in the DRC with millions of speakers. Many of them are multilingual since they also know either Lingala, French, Tshiluba, Kikongo, and/or regional langauges in that nation (over 200 in the DRC alone!). This gave me an incentive to find out more about the heritage I didn’t know about for most of my life. Anyone who’s African-American realizes how tough it is to find ancestry without legit documents and/or DNA tests given how those who were enslaved where metaphorically and literally programmed to forget their ethnic groups, cultural practices, and languages. It’s my way of honoring my ancestors as I learn a language they could’ve spoken back on the continent. Heck, I might have unknown relatives in the Motherland right now!
Those are some reasons why Swahili has helped me. So what do you think?
Anyways, Tutaonana Baadaye!
Random words you didn’t know had origins in African languages
My life has been very busy, but I thought I would squeeze in a little post of educational variety if any of you care. I find it interesting to find various etymologies and I want to be good at other languages besides English. You’d be surprised by some origins used in English alone.
Goober: It comes from the Kikongo word “Nguba” which means peanut.
Tango: You thought that was a Spanish word? Nope! It’s literally the Lingala and Kikongo word for “time”. When the slaves were in Argentina and Uruguay, some of them were from the Congo and remembered some of their musical and dance traditions. Those moments would be addressed as “Kongo ya tango” which means Congo time in those languages.
Safari: It’s not just about a specific kind of tourism or environment. That comes from the Swahili word for “travel”.
Voodoo: That form of magic is an Anglicized version of the Ewe (pronounced Ye-we, a language spoken in Togo, Benin, and some parts of Ghana) word Vodo which means “spirit” or “ghost”.
Okra: That food comes from the Igbo word Okuru.
Jenga: I’m sure you all have played that game with the wooden blocks at some point, right? The name of the game comes from “Kujenga” which means “to build” in Swahili. I legitimately didn’t know that until weeks ago!
See, I don’t always have angry posts as of recently.
Something completely different…my attempt at cooking!
I thought I would make a post about something different from my usual posts. While I hope you’re not tired of my usual fare, I thought this could be unique.
The thing is I’ve been trying to improve in my culinary skills. I’m no Gordon Ramsey or Gaston Acurio, but I’ve been trying over the past year to cook.
Yesterday, I thought I would do something for dinner. I had some frozen hash browns, but I seasoned them with Zanzibar spices that are fair trade. I had scrambled eggs with avocados, extra sharp cheddar cheese, carrots, and Swahili spices also fairly traded. That gave it more African flair and I felt good making that. It also tasted delicious. See, I do some things outside of avant-garde music, film reviews, and poetry.
It’s fun expanding my horizons.
Recording update…
I’m almost there to finish this full-length album.
I’m recording the fourth-to-last song on this project and it has been fun. Singing in Swahili and Japanese for that song was really exhilarating (most of that song is in English though). Adding as many musical elements has been a worthy challenge which is the opposite of my more minimalist approach. The other songs I worked on were and acapella track and a bit of a psychedelic spoken word number. I’m really looking forward to completing this gigantic album of sorts. There’s going to be over 40 songs confirmed for it. Just sayin’.
3 news cases I have to vent about: Mass Shootings, Cultural Appropriation, and Dehumanization
I wish I wasn’t physically sick today. Over the past few days, I’ve been hearing stories and I just get emotionally sick hearing about these. This world is too cruel and bigoted for it’s own good. I couldn’t just have 3 different posts going on.
1: The mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH
This should be quite obvious since this was big news over the weekend. I wasn’t shocked at what happened. So many people died in two different shootings in El Paso and Dayton by Patrick Crusius and Connor Betts respectively. It’s not surprising at all with who the suspects were and I’m frustrated by how well they treated. When I saw the video of Patrick Crusius being arrested, he was taken alive (OF COURSE!) by only 1 single cop. Apparently he wasn’t in fear of his live for someone who gunned down over 20 people and people have been treated worse for less nationwide let alone in Texas. Oh, I’ll get to that reason why I namedropped that state in particular. When I saw a different video from the African Diaspora News Channel (FKA The Advise Show). Phil talked about the El Paso shooting and said something that really hit me in just four words “Mass murderers have privilege”. Think about that for a minute. How many unarmed Black people get gunned down for far less by the police, yet White killers get taken alive and the cops suddenly don’t feel scared even if the suspect is armed? This is the Injustice system on full display.
2: #TrademarkWars Pt. III AKA Be Prepared…because Disney is suing people because of a foreign phrase!
Disney…STOP GIVING ME REASONS TO BASH YOU REGARDING YOUR RIP-OFF MOVIE!
I swear if that company keeps up with this madness, then I might as well call Ospreyshire’s Realm the Lion King Thievery Expose Blog. As you all know, Disney trademarked the phrase “Hakuna Matata” which sparked outrage on and off the African continent. There’s a petition still going on right now. You should already know my thoughts about this issue. I remember some people being in denial that Disney wouldn’t be stupid enough to sue people despite having legal fiat to do so. It was only a matter of time, but those people would be wrong and I was proven right. You see, Disney is suing a Chinese company for trying to trademark that Swahili phrase, but as “HakunaMatata” in their claim. Here’s more information about that story. Let’s break it down. An American company is suing a Chinese company over a phrase they didn’t invent from a language that isn’t spoken in either place. Now, China wants in on stealing African culture, too. For me, this is like America and China’s predatory business practices in Africa in microcosm. Just look at all the people being exploited by companies from both countries in the continent. You even have Chinese people beating up Ugandan politicians or murdering Namibian employees there and that’s the stuff I know about. I’m sure China wouldn’t like it if Disney trademarked a common phrase like “Xie xie” or “Ni hao” if they did something idiotic to promote the upcoming Mulan live-action remake, and everybody knows it. Lion King fans, I dare you to defend this and the other forms of theft.
#3: A leashed Black man…HOW SHAMEFUL!
Going back to Texas, there was a mentally ill Black man who was apprehended by two cops on horseback and leashed him! If it wasn’t for the cars and fashion, I would’ve thought I saw a real life scene from the 1800s, not 2019. The slave catcher imagery was beyond sick and this goes back to the first news story. You get accused of trespassing (allegedly), then you’ll have two cops leashing you up with horses, but if you slaughter people in the double digits, you get to be arrested with dignity by one cop! This is just beyond sick. I don’t want just an apology for their racist actions, I want those cops involved to be punished and for Donald Neely to sue the police department. America is so freaking bigoted. I’ve dealt with being discriminated firsthand here and that’s something some of you will never deal with in your lives. Name one white person in 2019 who was treated like Donald Neely. Exactly. I can’t ignore the mistreatment of others just because of their race and I hate how demonic people get softer treatment. I’m beyond infuriated as I recover from being sick.
I had to get these things off my chest. This dehumanization needs to stop.
#TrademarkWars Pt. II: Drop the Hakuna Matata trademark because cultural appropriation sucks!
At the time of this post, over 187K+ people signed the petition in that link above. I’m one of them because I practice what I preach.
Some of you may have seen my #TrademarkWars post not too long ago. I’m not sorry for repeating the information, but some of this maybe new to some of you. For those of you who didn’t see that earlier post, let me give you the scoop. Disney owns a trademark for the words “Hakuna Matata”.
“But Ospreyshire, that’s a stupid thing to worry about!” You might say. “What’s the big deal?”
It’s because making a dollar of a foreign phrase is cultural appropriation. That’s why.
This offends me more than The Lion King ripping off Kimba the White Lion, and that’s saying something. The thing is “Hakuna Matata” has been a very common phrase that the Swahili-speaking world (examples: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, DRC, etc.) has said for centuries. Disney acts like they can just own foreign words like some kind of hidden treasure. That’s colonizer thinking right there. Could you imagine the outrage if Disney or any other conglomerate were to trademark foreign phrases such as “C’est La Vie” from the French or “Que Sara Sara” from the Italians? Everybody would riot if that were to happen. Even English speakers know what those phrases mean and would call out something like that. Keep in mind, even Paris Hilton couldn’t trademark “That’s hot” and Donald Trump couldn’t trademark “You’re fired” when The Apprentice was a hit show, so what does that tell you? I guess since this involves Africans, then they don’t matter in Disney’s eyes by taking a common saying that’s spoken throughout multiple countries in that continent.
Cultural appropriation is another form of racism as it steals from others while benefiting the appropriator. I’m sick and tired of people getting away with thieving cultural elements that clearly never belonged to them to the first place. The Swahili speaking public got nothing out of this trademark even though they’ve been saying it long before the invention of animation.
If this irks you that colonialism still permeates even in kids movies, then I would urge you to sign.
Hakuna Matata: Not some remorse-free philosophy
#TrademarkWars: Have you no shame, Disney?
I know this is an older story, but I just have to talk about it.
I apologize if this issue is getting old especially for those in the aniblogger community, but holy crap…did Disney have to steal something else especially in regards to The Lion King? Ripping off Kimba the White Lion wasn’t enough for them?
Basically, Disney owns a trademark for the words “Hakuna Matata” which is stupid on so many levels for a common phrase in the Swahili-speaking community in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Uganda, etc.). I also didn’t know that there was a popular song in the 70s that used the phrase in it’s chorus.
Sure, some of you are rolling your eyes to me bashing Disney since I am a former fan of The Lion King. Besides the shameless stealing of Kimba, I couldn’t stand some of the plot holes, the protagonist centered morality of Mufasa, and the racist implications of the hyenas (come on, you don’t think they sounded like ethnic stereotypes?). Not to mention the whole Elephant Graveyard situation is much more disturbing in hindsight when you research things like the Congolese genocide, the Namibian genocide, or the genocides against Native Americans to name a few where people where exiled and starved out at punishment. Makes me wonder if Disney fans see the hyenas as proxies for Black people to be punished at all costs while claiming that company isn’t racist for hiring minorities as some rhetorical dodge for it not being racist (strawman defeated). Please, that’s like saying the porn industry can’t be sexist because they hire women.
The thing isn’t just about trademarking a common Swahili phrase or for me ragging on Disney for their business practices. The bigger picture is cultural appropriation. One other example that Dr. Mumbi gave in the video was Louis Vuitton capitalizing on traditional Masai cloth by giving it the luxury treatment which is idiotic and offensive to me. Culture isn’t some free for all object for people to steal. I would bet you money if someone were to steal stuff from Louis Vuitton or any other big company, then lawsuits would be handed like candy on Halloween. Screw that double standard. If you want to incorporate something like someone’s culture then do it respectfully and pay the price for it.
This trademarking is so shameful on many levels. If you want to sign the petition about this matter, then here’s the link: https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-disney-company-get-disney-to-reverse-their-trademark-of-hakuna-matata
Video is property of Dr. Mumbi Seraki.
Ospreyshire's Realm 