One thing I’ve realised on this app is that there’s a lot of pretence on liberalism and wokeness, but it’s rubbish and conservative, with minorities drowned down in pseudo liberalism

Look at Zimbabwe, minorities and women are shut out and drowned out here. Ethnic power relations, gender power relations ensure minorities are drowned out, with the majority and those in power being contemptuous of the minority.

Let’s look at the Magwegwe police station for example. On the face of it, it’s a simple mistake. But for the affected minorities, it’s a pattern of deliberate neglect and disrespect. Language is a marker of identity, when you make that “mistake” it’s an illustration of contempt

Some woke people will say it could easily have been a Ndebele who made that mistake, but proof-reading and chain of command should have picked up that error. What’s clear therefore is that there is a lot of contempt and negligence because it doesn’t affect “them”.

Emotions in such case are because the “majority” are seemingly contemptuous of the minority and delegitimise the concerns of the minority. What might seem like a simple mistake to you, can be conceived as contempt and erasure of identity by the other

So instead of making a “mistake” on language, go through the processes and make sure that it’s correct, so that it doesn’t become an issue. I know others say the Ndebele are overly sensitive, but imagine a white person “making mistakes” about what’s dear to the Karanga or Zezuru

What’s important is to respect diversity and agree that we aren’t homogenous. If you aren’t sure about what to write or say in another language, just ask rather than being offensive