OH, DERA

I'll tell you why. I want to teach you something about human psychology - please read carefully. I'll start with an example and I'll use myself: I write publicly all the time, I make videos, I create spaces. I know my strength in weaving words and articulation - beyond that, I am incredibly academically accomplished. There's no level of education right from my creche till my postgraduate days, that I haven't been an academic threat to my colleagues. Now, when I make certain tweets or lay opinions that others don't agree with - you'll see comments like "that Salako is actually dull" "that Salako acts like he's intelligent but he's a fool". I giggle while blocking, like proper loud giggles because my validation of intelligence or brilliance doesn't come from the internet. What I am will not change because of other people's opinions. I won't start making videos proving to you that I'm intelligent 😭 if it didn't dey, it didn't dey. When people start to pronounce their labels loudly, too often - it is because they know deep down that they are deficient so they're compensating for lack of substance in noise. No true king announces himself as king. There's a reason why loud barrels rattle. If you also have to remind us everyday that you have integrity, you are someone to watch out for. Another instance: When certain women use sweeping generalizations for men - I just giggle or swipe past, I don't go there start explaining because I get enough validation from people in my life already. Why do I want to prove to this internet woman that "I'm not like other men?" 😅 I lay all of these to tell you about a psychological pattern called A Threat Of Self Concept. When you find yourself unnecessarily rattled about certain conversations, especially when it is not specifically directed at you - it is because, there's some truth to it. Before I rescued my hairline - everytime I posted pictures and someone pointed it out, I was always trying to explain it away as "low cut", "light reflection" but lowkey it was annoying because why are plots of land suddenly appearing on my forehead. You see the women who get angry, shaming virgins while hailing a culture of prostitution - it is because one half reminds her of something she'll never be, and the other half validates the wayward life she chose. If a pack of dogs strolls past the front of your house and you hurl a stone into their midst - you know the dogs that will holler, it is the hit dogs.