Black Swan: Oriyomi, Queen Naomi, and Philanthropy.
One of my friends, whom I can as well call a sister, introduced me to Nassim Talib’s books. She first gifted me his book “Fooled by the Randomness,” which I read before I tried to read others. One of his other books is “Black Swan,” which, in a simplified rendition of the book's intricate analysis of the concept, explores how people and events become an exception to certain rules, realities, and conditions that have no correlation with cause and effect, established truth, or even rationality. All swans were believed to be white for years until black Swan became known. Certain illnesses are associated with a particular lifestyle, but you don’t have that lifestyle. Here you are with the disease. You are a black swan. Black Swan are those exceptional moments/events/experiences, whether negative or positive, that Trump tested or timeless truth.
Certainly, some realities are avoidable in hindsight, but when they happen, we must consider multiple factors, including intent. This is mainly how I have thought about the tragic Christmas fanfare, Alhaji Oriyomi, and Queen Naomi’s issue. Did they set out to cause harm? NO. Did the event cause harm? YES.
What do we do when doing right turns wrong? Like Moses trying to correct injustice, who inadvertently commits murder? Queen Naomi and Oriyomi, in an attempt to intervene in hunger in the land, people died. How can we commiserate with those who lost loved ones without criminalizing those who plan and execute this failed charity/ outreach? There is no easy answer to this. This is a friendly fire.
Punitive measures towards them will not bring back the dead. The greatest honor to the dead and the living is to address the remote and immediate cause. How can we ‘compensate’ families who lost children? What are traditional/scientific grief therapy measures we have for those who lost families and the organizers and others like it? Including those witnessing what happened and contemplating whether good doing is worth it. What are the new protocols and procedures for conducting similar events in the future? Can we create and clarify these procedures without creating a bureaucracy that trumps our socioeconomic and cultural realities? How can we address the hunger in our country?
Let me be clear: we have to do charity and philanthropy differently. I have written an academic article about philanthropy and a book chapter on philanthropy during COVID-19 (see comment section for title and link), so I know and understand the importance of other salient issues that many have raised.
In scripture, there was a scary incidence where hunger and famine killed motherly instinct, and they scheduled the boiling of their children in turn (Kings 6:24–30). Isn’t this what happened when parents allegedly were throwing their children over the fence?
Dear Governor Seyi Makinde this is the time for mercy and truth to kiss one another (Psalm 85:10)
Along these lines, I began to view the story of the Tower of Babel differently when I heard my PoP talk about a biblical commentary that suggested building it was a trauma response and not intended to compete to reach God as I was taught in bible lessons. If it was about what they are building, all skyscrapers should be crumbling by now. So intent matters. (I can write on this in the future)
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