Comments on: Volatility http://livesofwander.com/2008/01/03/volatility/ Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:38:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Gregory http://livesofwander.com/2008/01/03/volatility/#comment-154 Gregory Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:49:14 +0000 http://livesofwander.com/2008/01/03/volatility/#comment-154 I read that book once. It took me a summer of morning and afternoon commutes on the D.C. Metro, but I finished it. That's actually an impressive pace for myself. I don't know much on Kenya's history but it seems as though a lot of the "disputes" (be it violent or nonviolent) that arise in African politics are based on either: A) The historically "powerless" running the country to the dislike of the historically "powerful", as it seems the case in Kenya or B) The ethnic minority running the country to the dislike of the ethnic majority, as was the case in Rwanda. And ultimately I think both cases are the result of European colonization of the continent in the 1800 and 1900s. The Europeans raped the African continent and then left in in shambles, with most of the country not gaining independence until after World War II. Most of the times the countries were left with puppet governments created by the colonizing Europeans. It seems as though the continent is always a ticking time bomb. I read that book once. It took me a summer of morning and afternoon commutes on the D.C. Metro, but I finished it. That’s actually an impressive pace for myself.

I don’t know much on Kenya’s history but it seems as though a lot of the “disputes” (be it violent or nonviolent) that arise in African politics are based on either:

A) The historically “powerless” running the country to the dislike of the historically “powerful”, as it seems the case in Kenya

or

B) The ethnic minority running the country to the dislike of the ethnic majority, as was the case in Rwanda.

And ultimately I think both cases are the result of European colonization of the continent in the 1800 and 1900s. The Europeans raped the African continent and then left in in shambles, with most of the country not gaining independence until after World War II. Most of the times the countries were left with puppet governments created by the colonizing Europeans. It seems as though the continent is always a ticking time bomb.

]]> By: Laura http://livesofwander.com/2008/01/03/volatility/#comment-153 Laura Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:18:21 +0000 http://livesofwander.com/2008/01/03/volatility/#comment-153 It's scary to think how quickly human beings can revert to violent, blood thirsty animals. I don't think it even matters what part of the world you live in, it can happen anywhere. We're just lucky that we have a good infrastructure and can usually quell violence quickly in the US. It’s scary to think how quickly human beings can revert to violent, blood thirsty animals. I don’t think it even matters what part of the world you live in, it can happen anywhere. We’re just lucky that we have a good infrastructure and can usually quell violence quickly in the US.

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