vellicantus
cults –the new ones.
in 2012, as a child, my family moved to a town that was ‘notorious for cultism.’ boy, oh boy, ?it was easy to get into any of them, we were told. pens, sweets, chewing gums, and boom: you become the member of an expanding underworld. consequently, i was taught to resist and decline gifts. i stuck to that, and so, i never joined a cult (or so i tell myself).
looking back now, postmodernism leaves me asking one question: can one really stay out of a cult? or is resistance itself a form of participation? i’ll tell you why: to consciously stay out of cultism is, in itself, to join the cult of those who wish to avoid cultism.
look around. everything is a cult now.
the postmodern age has decentralised the traditional cult and replaced it with micro-cults that function in much the same way: an initiation (buying into the ideology), a doctrine (a set of unspoken but rigid beliefs), an in-group (the enlightened), and an out-group (uninitiated). and perhaps the most interesting thing is how one does not have to pledge loyalty in a candle-lit ceremony to belong to a cult. one need only participate. and yet, when asked, few would admit they belong to a cult. the language has changed, but the fundamental structures remain the same. the cults have simply gone corporate, gone digital, and gone mainstream.
the big question is not whether we are in a cult or not, but which cults we have chosen, consciously or unconsciously, to belong to.
looking back at 2012, i wonder: did i escape? or did i simply join another cult, the cult of those who believe they did?
lesson: to critique is to participate.
we put god up there. how about we bring him down, for once, at least?
perhaps the most tragic thing about the century i was born in is the fact that everything has been turned to be about god.
god has been the final answer to questions we have barely even begun to ask properly, and yet, we live in an era where science, technology, and logic have given us tools to question, redefine, and reimagine our universe. so, why is it that despite the progress of human knowledge, we still make everything about him? some of the most progressive nations today are those that have embraced secularism, where justice is determined by reason and empathy rather than divine decree. and yet, every time a tragedy occurs, we are told, "this is because we have turned away from god." when corruption thrives, it is because "we have abandoned prayer." when disasters strike, it is because "god is angry."
and then there is the question of artificial intelligence, the closest we have come to playing creator. a.i does not believe in god. a.i does not pray. a.i? does not attribute its function to divine intervention. it simply processes information by learning from patterns. so, quick question: if a.i surpasses human intelligence, what will become of the notion that intelligence is a divine gift? if machines can outperform humans in creativity and problem-solving, where does that leave the argument that humans are the pinnacle of god’s creation?
p-a-u-s-e. let’s breathe.
what if everything is about god?
maybe the reason we find intelligence in the universe is because intelligence put it there.
no matter how far we stretch our minds, the questions always lead back to the same origin.
lesson: that's how everything should be: about him.
car wash, jollof and goat meat, power bank, boxers/singlet.
a viral meme has made its rounds on the internet, making suggestions for valentine gifts in a way that i can only describe as daylight robbery. a friend of mine posted it on her whatsapp status.
here is what it says a man should buy for his woman on feb14th:
land, gold, diamond, a 5-million-naira stock-up, and a single donor wig.
here is what it says the woman, in return, should get for the man:
car wash, jollof rice and goat meat, a power bank, and boxers/singlet.
my friend’s friend replied to the status, and my friend shared the response in a subsequent status update:
one would think this was satire, but the more i think about it, the angrier i become.
there is an ongoing gender war between men, women, and whatever third or fourth group people have decided to identify with. this war has created a society where both genders feel victimised by the other, but this valentine’s gift meme says something deeper.
men have been socialised to be providers, protectors, and financial pillars in relationships. while this expectation has historical and even biological justifications, in a world that now preaches equality, why is it that when it comes to financial responsibilities in relationships, the equality conveniently disappears? feminism is invoked when discussing corporate positions and salaries, but somehow, on valentine’s day, feminism takes a break, and men suddenly return to their traditional roles as the bankrollers of romance. it is, to say the least, insulting. how does a woman sit down, stretch out her hands, and demand that a man buys land, gold, and diamonds while she cannot even part with boxers or singlet without whining about the cost? how did we get here?
lesson: if you expect land, why can’t you gift land?
领英推荐
do not touch/cross/trespass.
there are people in this world who should not, cannot, and must not be touched. not because they are divine, but because touching them comes with consequences, some immediate, some delayed, but consequences nonetheless.
the world is full of people who believe they can touch what they do not understand and dismantle what they have not taken the time to build. don’t be part of that statistics.
lesson: do you understand the weight of what you are about to do?
none of your business.
there is a time in every human being’s life when they must look another person straight in the eye and say, “sir, it’s actually none of your business. fuck off.”?
“i saw you come home late last night. where did you go?”?
sir, it’s actually none of your business. fuck off.?
“so, when are you getting married? time is going.”?
ma, it's actually none of your business. kindly fuck off.?
?“why don’t you post your partner on social media? are you hiding something?”?
yes. my peace of mind. please, and i mean this from the bottom of my heart, fuck off.?
lesson: there is a fine line between “curious” and “borderline investigative journalism on a topic that does not concern you.”
o...lder.
let’s begin with the first and most obvious reason he says he wouldn’t do it: she is older than him. "what a ridiculous, unnatural, laughable notion that a man, created by god, fortified by culture, and strengthened by the weight of generations, should turn his gaze upon a woman who walked the earth before he did!"
the second reason: she is his manager. a woman in power? a woman above him? a woman who has the authority to summon him and instruct him? a woman whose signature determines the trajectory of his career?
the third reason: society. society (the african one) says this is not how things should be. if society says no, who is he to say yes? "if society laughs at me, should I not laugh at myself?"
the fourth and final reason: it will not end well. how could a man dare to love a woman who outranks him, out-ages him, outshines him, and expect a happy ending? he is but a man who reached for a woman who should have been unreachable. and the world will punish him for it. "she will leave. she will find someone more suitable. and then, i will be alone, and the world will look upon me and say, 'we told you so.'"
and they will be right. they have always been right.
so, my friend surrenders, abandons this foolishness, and returns to his senses.
lesson: how does a man tell his spirit to be quiet, to sit obediently in the corner while his mind constructs all the reasons why this love is impossible?
cry, boy, cry!
who says men don’t cry??
this is 2025, and i will cry.?
this idea that men should swallow their pain, that we should suffer in silence, that we should drown in our own goddamn sadness because “real men don’t cry”? that is the biggest scam society ever sold us. i refuse to buy it.?
don’t ask me to "man up." i am a man, and i am crying, and i don’t owe anyone an apology for it.
lesson: life, sometimes, is hard.
See you next week,
#K