There is a word in English starting on “F” and ends on “E”. And this word will be the doom of Africa.
I’m talking about the word “Free”, not as in “freedom”, but as in “free” without cost. Some languages also use the word “gratis” for this.
Perhaps a bit of over kill? Let me tell you why I feel the way I do about this word.
This word is going to be the doom of us all, because there is no such concept. Whoever invented this idea should be shot, drawn and quartered, his body parts spread all over the world and the ground where he lived should be salted so that nothing can grow there ever again.
The idea of “free”, “gratis” and “without cost” is misleading as it does not exist. Perhaps it exists to the end-user or the receiver of whatever is “free”, but somebody somewhere down the line paid for it. This idea also creates an illusion and anybody who believes in it is therefore dilusional.
Let me demonstrate: You buy a new vehicle. Included are lots of “free” stuff like a “free” service plan, no payments for the first three months and “free” coffee whenever you bring your vehicle in for servicing. Do you think for one moment that the salespeople like you so much that they give these away for “free”?
It’s a sales tactic — nothing less and nothing more. And now I’m going to reveal a big secret about sales: It’s included in the price. That “free” stuff you’re getting, is not free. You are paying for it and if you don’t believe me, ask the salespeople to remove it from the final price. Surprise, surprise, they will not.
Why not?
Because to do so will prove that it’s not really “free”.
Last, but not least: The idea of “free” creates entitlement as in “the right to something”. Entitlement in the below context is wrong, plain wrong and nobody else is going to convince me otherwise.
I spoke to a disabled person who told me that my services should be “free”, because this person grew up in an orphanage where they got “lots of things for free”. This person clearly was feeling entitled to something either because he was disabled or he felt that the world owes him something.
The idea of “free” in Africa has gotten so out-of-line that we were ordered by my previous employer, to stop giving away freebies at events as the attendees clearly didn’t give a fuck about the event, but only about the freebies. If there were no freebies, they simply didn’t attend.
Even the politicians make use of this tactics in our country. They give away freebies in the form of t-shirts, caps, flag and food — just to gather votes. They don’t care if the people need to sell their souls or not, but they never cared anyway.
Remember: Someone somewhere is paying for freebies, and it may even be yourself.