In Kenya, "Pressure" (for It's Own Sake)

Let's roll the lead to where the mind naturally breaks in to ask a question: "Kenya's opposition on Friday called three days of nationwide protests next week to put pressure--" [1]

Pressure?

For what?

An exchange of prisoners?  (No, it is too soon for that).

To declare, say, the Rift Valley off limits to the Kikuyu tribe (and then who next)?

How about a simple Big Check made out to all the people of Kibera Slum as well as all others who feel as poor?

If the opposition (or Raila Odinga, I'm not sure yet what constitutes "the opposition") wants to kill off the democracy it helped injure (and let's not let the other guy off the hook either), demonstrations about nothing concrete look a good way to start.

Should Kenyans wish to go under the heads, lol, of their leaders, and they should, setting up the laundry list of problems, historical, judicial, and social, and getting that into the newspapers and into public discourse would go further than the gathering of angry and poorly focused mobs.

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1. Kanina, Wangui, Alistair Thompson.  "Kenya opposition calls street protests."  Reuters, January 11, 2008.

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Correspondence: James S. Oppenheim

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