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Numbers Don’t Lie! By Aesop 09/25/2021
Nowadays, we hear Derg 2.0 (2018-2021) overtly dehumanizing Tigreans. It does this because it does not expect any consequences. It does not expect any consequences because its mindset is fixed on comparative census. Derg 2.0’s mindset (and rhetoric) is hinged on these numbers. This “logic” goes like this: 1) Premise: Tigrai’s population is 20 times smaller than the rest of Ethiopia. 2) Transition/Leap Frogging: Tigrai is at least twenty times less powerful than the rest of Ethiopia, 3) Conclusion: wiping off Tigreans should be easy. This “logic” makes a false equivalence between census and power/victory. Let’s test this “logic” using actual numbers for, unlike Derg 2.0, NUMBERS DON’T LIE. Let’s check out the animal population in this world. Rats are estimated to be the most populous animals on earth, followed by bats. There are 2 billion rats in China alone, where over 1.4 billion people reside. The 7.8 billion strong humans follow rats and bats, earning a 3rd place in reproductive prowess. Scientists tell us that human beings, despite holding a 3rd place in this rank, are the most powerful animals on this planet. They tell us human activities over the last two hundred years is seriously affecting the ecosystem of earth. But Derg 2.0 would disagree with this fact because rats are more populous than humans. By the way, there are only 40 million cats on earth- cause for rats not to fear cats (per Derg 2.0’s logic)?!
Let’s proceed to countries. Well, recent census places China and India as the most populous countries on earth with 1.439 and 1.38 billion citizens respectively. These are followed by the United States with just over 331 million people. Now, according to the flawed logic of Derg 2.0, China should be five times more powerful than the United States. But NUMBERS DON’T LIE. The U.S controls 21 out of the 91 trillion dollars’ worth world economy. America’s defense budget is greater than the top 9 countries combined. By the way, Ethiopia is the 12th most populous country in the world. Per Derg 2.0 flawed logic, it is the 12th most powerful country on this planet. Also, Tigreans are the 3rd most populous ethnic groups in Ethiopia- a fact Derg 2.0 supporters wish to cover up. They dwell on Tigreans being “6%” of Ethiopian population, not knowing that the Americans are little over “3%” of this global population (this cognitive dissonance is not deliberate but a genuine ignorance). Numbers are the least relevant factors in the scheme of things. It is all subjective, it’s about ethics, a conscience, and a moral compass regarding right & wrong, good & evil, justice & injustice, freedom & slavery. These are the forces that determine whether human beings cooperate or compete. When it comes to cooperation, evolutionary biologists talk of a ground rule among living things. People cooperate with each other and compete with others to pass that ever present test of natural selection. Those who squabble with each other while competing with others end up earning a negative selection- the dwindle and become extinct. By contrast, living things that cooperate flourish. The few glorious events in Ethiopia’s history were the result of cooperation. The many ignoble events in Ethiopia’s existence are the products of internal squabbling. A society that tackles one another, no matter how populous, is doomed to falter and collapse. That is the essential key called social fabric Derg 2.0 lost as it wallowed intoxicated by power. By contrast, the degree of cooperation in Tigrai has reached an unprecedented summit. Altruism has reached a higher level in Tigrai. Even animals depict altruism. It is said that, after hard work, few Brazilian ants volunteer to seal up the hole from outside and walk to the desert so predators would not discover their place, exposing themselves to eminent death. In desperate times, the black laced spider is also said to lets her children consume her after giving birth. In the same manner, the Tigrean youth are walking through the valley of death to protect their sisters from rapists. The Tigrean diaspora is doing all it can to mobilize the international community in deliver lives from the pangs of Derg 2.0’s hunger plan. Now, cooperation does not spring out of the blue. People cooperate when they are convinced the benefit is greater than the cost. The cost of Tigreans not cooperating is extinction; the benefit is survival. So, naturally, Tigreans cooperate. On the other hand, the cost of Derg 2.0 supporters not cooperating is self-determination- different ethnic groups will self-rule whereas the benefit of Derg 2.0 supporters cooperating is despotism- one will assimilate the rest. So, naturally, Derg 2.0’s fans falter when the cost escalates. One may sacrifice his life to save his sister or mother. But one will be hard pressed to sacrifice his life to save a despot “who had a dream to be a 7th emperor of Ethiopia” (Martin Luther King would be rolling in his grave).
The intellectual base of this turbulence rest of the fact that Derg 2.0 has rejected Rawl’s notion of justice as fairness. Derg 2.0 continues to dwell on an outmoded Benthamite notion of justice as happiness for the majority. The downtrodden, no matter how small in number, have no option but to rise up against their oppressors. As Bob Marley once said: “a hungry mob is an angry mob”. There’s also one African proverb which goes like: “if you see a goat walking into the lion’s den, fear the goat!” Tigreans have risen up against Derg 2.0 genocidaires and will not rest until the genocidaires are brought to justice. Tigrai’s hitherto success has nothing to do with census but with a just cause. But, since Derg 2.0 is enamored with census, the statistics explored above confirm that NUMBERS (unlike Derg 2.0) DON’T LIE!!
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