The last few weeks have been very revealing to us about the nature of human beings. Some people believe they were brought in the world one way, and realise they are in the wrong skin. Those who can will do their best to change the way they look to match with the way they feel using any means at their disposal.
Some feel they were born male and they are actually women or vice versa, and they need to do everything in their power to reassign the gender they were given by He (or She) who assigns these things. The condition, which is referred to as Transgender, was made famous recently by an American former Olympian Bruce Jenner who underwent surgery to become a woman called Caitlyn Jenner. This has also happened locally but it didn’t get the same kind of media attention.
Then there are those who feel they were born in the wrong race. These are the folks who will go out of their way to say no to habits and mannerisms of the race they were born into. Thus you will see an African man in Kenya going out and about in pin stripes suits in the blazing heat while swearing everything with the Almighty Queen (of England of course) as their reference. Recently an American woman called Rachel Dolezal also exhibited these tendencies as she is white, but she has been living her whole adult life as a black woman. Some have comically referred to her plight as TransRacial – someone who transitioned from one race to another.
If you think about it, these instances of “TransSomethingortheother” are not as uncommon as we want to imagine and happen right here in our society. Think about the TransMdosi for instance. This is an individual who was born to a humble life working as a government employee of, say, a county office. These individuals might be earning a 'lowly wage' of say Sh85,000, but deep in their hearts they know they are truly another individual. They are not broke as they were born but have a mdosi dying to get out. With this in mind they use resources in their general vicinity and before you could say “Pesa Pap” they emerge as a true mdosi owning properties in plush parts of the city. No longer the unfriendly broke person but now a true mdosi despite those who might be affected negatively by his or her work.
Then there is the unique person called the TransPsycho – individuals who look like they are normal people who walk among us. They are people who have jobs in stable spaces and will seek out the love of a preferred mate. While they are in the courting phase, these people are forced to live contrary to their true nature. They feel like they are living a lie because of societal norms, and it's only when they are settled with their new husband or wife does their true self emerge. These psychos will start doing things to the people around them that would scare normal individuals. They will cut off appendages. They will stab people. They will punch and kick. At the end of the day they will be satisfied that their inner pyscho is out there and the world can do whatever, but they are now happy.
How about the other folks who are the masters of the transforming? The TransPolitico. These are the folks who are seen smiling in public spaces especially as campaign periods are in full flight. They will do amazing things. They will kiss babies. They will be seen walking on muddy stretches of road unaided. They will dance with grandmothers who were performing at their rallies. Such compassionate people. A period arrives when they are voted into office and they realise the lives they have been living up to that point have been a lie. It comes to them that to be truly happy they must be shorn of these silly rules that society is trying to impose upon them.
They will then become their true self and a politician of note emerges. These are the folks who will be heard harassing public employees who are innocently doing their job in the name of “oversight.” This “oversight” also allows them to do unimaginable things to other citizens to the point of impunity. They will steal property. They will rape women. They will attack policemen at weighbridges. No one is safe from these politicos. The sad part is they are very happy in their element, but it is very painful to the rest of us.