Twitter is as legit as a T-shirt

As an artist especially a screen printer I have received bizarre even gross requests by customers who want to customize their shirts and tell their message from T shirt prints.

Perhaps that has been why I have to date obsessed with reading T-shirts messages and I bet you’ll be chuckling at some of the message people brazenly display on their bosom and backs.

It is however undeniable that it commands sheer creativity and by God some out of the world messages that make me wish I could buy a shirt off someone’s back or better still retweet it on my own in a later time.

Perhaps that was why tweeter attracted me so. At first I used to think that 140 characters are too limiting even for those with lack of what to say. But to see how t shirt art is being innovatively run down my TL I think it’s exceptional.

Legitimacy of KOT by HumanIPoDebate (http://www.humanipo.com/news/5339/The-HumanIPO-Debate-Is-KOT-a-legitimate-organisation-with-worthy-motives) got me thinking of how connected tweeter and t shirt art is. The funny pics, the commercial messages, the crazy observations, inspirational quotes, biblical verses, protests and poetry, and the retweets.

Thinking about the lot of Kenyans wearing different shirts with different messages and sometimes e.g. during political campaigns and civil outrage wearing #someonetell t shirts as a legitimate voice of a people in one polity doesn’t sound odd to me at all even when offensive.

There need not be organized group of people to make #KOT legit but by virtue of millions of Kenyans expressing themselves on twitter its a legit group with concerns that are varied but discussed on a similar platform. The complexity of new technology lends people to judge such ‘unbridled’ ‘irresponsible at times’ or 'offensive’ tirade without really putting it in context that it is a traditional function to write what you feel whether on the T-shirt you are wearing or on a twitter update.

Surely a debate whether #kot is legit is irrelevant, it like asking whether all the people wearing funny messages on t shirts in Kenya are legit, they are.

Politics of fear

Renowned broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow , ‘A nation of Sheep will breed a government of wolves’ is what transpired in America after 9/11 leading eventually to the hasty passing of the Patriot Act in 2001 that has drained all most all civil liberties Americans enjoyed.

Our own government seem to be catching up fast and Kibunja who is seeming less Mzalendo everyday has declared mentioning land issues or historical injustice tantamount to Kenya’s most feared crime, ‘hate speech and incitement.’ This is outright muzzling akin to satirical novels of African tyrants.

As I had argued earlier on this blog this year is an instrument of politics of fear, not good for free thought and will eventually be used for constitutional attrition against gains of freedom of expression.

It is understandable that Kenyans like post 9/11 Americans will not scrutinize the implications of these muzzling due to communally held concern for a repeat of 2007 post poll chaos.

However we also know government cannot be allowed to be jury and executioner, to determine content and context of speech and impose prohibition especially on a very sane issue around Kenyan politics. The brief demonstration by the lessening Mzalendo and Bitange Ndemo’s assault on Makau Mutua, show that they and only them interpret what constitutes inflaming statements. This they exercise with suspected political inclinations and vested interest. How sure are we that the new found power of politics of fear is not driving us back to the Nyayo days?

They are already armed to the teeth to send online users into silence, discrediting and persecution.

Notably though we understand that freedom of speech does not include the fabled ‘shouting fire fire in a theatre full of people’ risking causing a stampede. The advisory is a caution on tune of conversation around the sensitive issue of land. It should involve both divides knowing that both sides have direct and vested interest in the issues and rightly so, (Ruto comes from Rift Valley with notable concerns over land). And as the constitution gives us rights we must also understand they come with responsibilities and grave consequences for breaking the law.