Morals should not be used to entrench prejudice in society

“What's the moral of the story?” is a common question asked at the end of almost every story told.

It doesn't matter if the storyteller is a grandmother in the village or a teacher in a classroom; this question will always come up, inviting the listener to come up with virtues that the story teaches. The kind of virtues that pass the litmus test of morality.

These morals are nurtured in children while growing up. They are slathered on their souls in extremely generous portions when they attend Sunday school or its religious equivalent.

Their world is painted in two colours: black and white. There’s little room for any variation.

The distinction between good and bad is done so often throughout their lives that it’s no wonder most Kenyans are obsessed with morality when discussing any story.

MURDER

Take for instance the tragic story of 50-year-old Albert Mwangi. He allegedly killed his wife Milcah, whom he termed a “Jezebel”, and later committed suicide.

He left a suicide note addressed to his children. In the note, he not only claimed that his wife was hateful towards him, but also that she had been threatening, tormenting and insulting him.

Jezebel, as you may know, is a tyrannical Bible character associated with false prophets — one of those evil personalities people don’t name their children after.

In true moral policeman fashion, some Kenyans took to social media to chastise the dead woman for “not being a good wife”, among other things.

One Facebook user remarked: “The moment a woman starts disrespecting the husband, looks down upon the husband, do all kinds of brouhaha to the husband, that's not marriage so, this is a wake-up call (sic). If you notice this disease, treat it hard and properly to stay in peace.”

HUMANITY

The question that should have been asked here is whether such a woman then deserves to be killed for her badness.

Some also asked why a man would kill the mother of his children, forgetting that a man who takes his own life or that of another is fighting much bigger demons than being right or wrong.

There were a number of similarly themed comments, with a few dissenting voices who tried but could not speak up against the rants of the moral policemen.

Should these really be the concerns we should have as humans when a fellow human’s life ends? And where does compassion and basic humanity lie on the spectrum of good morals?

Two weeks ago, the country lost one of its openly gay literary greats, Binyavanga Wainaina. This happened just as the High Court declined to decriminalise sections of the Penal Code that make it illegal to have consensual same-sex relations in Kenya.

HOMOSEXUALITY

Bible-thumpers and moral cops had a field day with both the ruling and the death, so narrowly focusing on what was wrong or right that they forgot to be compassionate. The tragic loss of a life was lost on them.

The LGBTIQ community are here to stay and the moral card only stands in the way of people seeing them as fellow human beings who deserve love and compassion.

Politicians have also caught on to the obsession Kenyans have with morality.

That is why all they need to do is to attend a church service on Sundays to cleanse themselves of the sins of corruption, greed, incitement, tribalism and theft.

Just one Hallelujah from a politician at the pulpit of a church is enough to make the country sigh in collective relief that he is after all, a good person.

INTOLERANCE

This goodness seems not to be a strict requirement from Monday to Saturday. Morality often comes tightly clothed in good intentions but overall, it often serves to fortify feelings of intolerance and prejudice.

Binyavanga Wainaina, Sharon Otieno, Caroline Mwatha, Albert Mwangi and all that have fallen victim to the unyielding, exacting measure of morality in Kenya must surely have felt it.

Looking at things from a moral angle all the time stops us from exercising our humanity, as life is not just about what’s right or wrong.

The writer is the editor, Living Magazine; [email protected]