Birds Don't Collide In Sky

Animals co-exist in a common space like rivers and forests. We don't, hence war.

Humans collide. That's why the Ukraine war is still going on. Animals understand common space, dangerous as it is because of selfish neighbors like lions and leopards, always skulking around for dinner.

Disagreement in the workplace sometimes leads to slaps and fist fights. The workplace is not restricted to an office or hospital ward. Will Smith decided the Academy Awards were the best place to slap Chris Rock, a fellow comedian.

That was in March. A most recent example is a video TMZ released in October, showing Draymond Green punch Jordan Poole to the ground during a Warriors team practice. Violence is more than a misunderstanding or disagreement, it is an attempt to impose how a common space should be run.

That’s not possible. Animals understand that there is one river, one tree, one ocean and they co-exist in that space. A Yoruba proverb puts it graphically: birds never collide in the sky. It is not like in western countries where kids have their own rooms, own bicycles, own everything.

Maybe I should pause and rewind. Geese are my favourite example of the wonders of nature. That is why I had goose pimples the first time I saw one attacking another. It just never occurred to me that they fight, like all families. But then, they co-exist on the river with ducks, smaller creatures.

War is also caused by the attempt to control a common space, which could be miles away, the Ukraine war.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.