This is one of those photos that captured a moment so beautifully and immortalised it. It is one of my favourite images from the internet.
Here, chepseba is seen walking majestically with a mean expression on his face, having conquered this race while the other mere mortals, his fellow athletes, lie on the floor defeated.
Not only do the rest look defeated, they look out of breath and completely out of shape. Were they running the same race with chepseba? One cannot help but wonder.
Looking at this photo, I always thought that chepseba won podium gold. I was always in awe, I could feel the testosterone all the way from my phone. I loved the threatening aura he had around him. This image has found its way to so many memes, with the most famous one being the photo accompanied by the question, “how did they ever colonise us?”
Kenyans have used it to brag about their dominance in athletics and what not. No one denies the fact that it is a powerful photo, but the reality on the ground is different. I learnt just but a few days ago that On this particular day, chepseba finished second last.
This race was anything but iconic. On the very day that this photos was taken, Kenyans were beaten like they never have before. With chepseba finishing second last to none other than kiprop – a fellow kenyan. Nothing short of humiliating.
And yet, the picture paints a completely different story.
“But surely,” someone pointed out on a post I saw on Facebook, “for walking so majestically after finishing second to last, he deserves a medal?” I couldn’t agree more. It takes belief in one self to walk that chest out after such a beating.
What a convincing lie that this image sold us.
After knowing all the facts I had to take a second look at that picture. And no, the guy does not look threatening. He looks angry. Mad even.
This for me, sums up perfectly how social media fools so many people. Online, everyone looks happy and thriving. Graduations here and there, product endorsements, new business ventures, relationships, thriving marriages – you name it. The reality though, could be way different than is being portrayed; as evidenced in the number of marriages crushing all over the world.
It’s even worse here in Kenya. Celebrities are breaking up right, left and centre. The recent break up of Kate the actress and film producer Phil has left me heartbroken. Theirs was one of those that I really admired and looked up to. They looked like the perfect couple, with kate being the hyped one and Phil the rather reserved one.
Let no one fool you with their social media posts. People have un alived themselves because they thought everyone else was doing way better than them. Which is not true, as evidenced with the rise of divorce cases.
Ask yourself how come we never see the lead up to these divorces/ separations? It’s usually happy photos, happy videos, happy interviews and then one day, BOOM! Hello, we are breaking up. Everybody shows the happy parts, no one shows the struggles, the sadness, the regrets.
Do not let social media dictate your race for you: run your own and dictate your own terms because online can be very misleading. Not all that glitters is gold, a wise man once correctly said.
Beneath the fake smiles, the filters, the happy dances is not always as merry as it seems. Do not be fooled or swayed to live a life that is beyond you, beyond your means.
With time, I have gotten to deconstruct the facade of social media lives. The inauthenticity of social media profiles. Just like how CVS lie and paint this perfect, unrealistic work horse. No where is this beautifully captured than in those “I work well under pressure amefaint,” online jokes.
Do you.
1 Comment
by Anonymous
Social media is this whole facade that people have put up