#UgBlogWeek Day 5 – Extreme is the only way

Presidential elections D – day.

Why is the day on which an event or something is to take place called the D – day? Or does it mean di day? As in the day has arrived.

Sometime earlier today, WhatsApp, twitter, facebook and Mobile Money were blocked by ISPs who said that the mandate came from EC. The EC said that the mandate was from UCC or something like that. It’s still a maze in my head.

I am confused, although it doesn’t matter because people found a way (hello VPN) around the blockage. Totally related, what is VPN in full? I am still confused though because I don’t believe the social media sites or money transfer services had anything to do with the elections.

Voting is done by dipping a finger in ink and bleh bleh bleh. If you didn’t vote, I won’t be the one filling in the blanks for you. All you need to know is that voting has NOTHING to do with the blocked sites or services.

I didn’t think that I’d ever call Ugandans optimists, but what else explains voting with hope for a new president when the current president has been in power for the past 30 years? I guess that does make them optimists.

The thing about optimism though is that it is made up of hope, and we all know about the Pandora’s Box story. To have hope is to allow oneself to become mad. The possibilities probably lead to one’s insanity.

When the current president came into power, it didn’t happen because people were willing to let their manicure get ruined or stand in scorching sun – to believe that he will leave because that happened is to have hope.

Let the record show that it is okay to have hope.

Not only was his coming into power extreme, he has stayed in power without much help from people other than those who stand to benefit loads from his stay in power.

I am sure many people are feeling mighty proud of themselves for withstanding the harsh conditions that today brought, protecting their vote and casting it – as they should. I simply hope that they don’t get their hopes high.

Yes, I do see the irony in that statement.

The thing about extremity is that it becomes a way of life. If someone has done it once, they will do it again. Extremity most times than not comes with positive (for the extremists, obviously) results.

There are people in this world who deal only in extremes. It’s naïve to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them.
Amanda Waller (Arrow)