Eeeh! Drop the Sticks: Let’s Distinguish Empathetic Behaviour, Reflex Habit from Misconduct | By Adeola Agoro
ISen Sharafadeen and His Wandering Hands: Some Habits We Put Up in Public | By Adeola Agoro
‘ve watched the video. Yes, I have.
A young man sat on the lap of Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the APC governorship candidate in Oyo State and he (the Senator) was running his hand back and forth along the young man’s leg.
In this age of instant viral videos and quick-draw commentary, the Senator has become the latest social media and political casualty.
A few seconds of footage has ignited a wildfire of interpretations, political mudslinging and moral outrage before anyone has paused to analyse what is actually happening on screen. We are all just shouting.
Most people are simply looking for a distraction and Senator Sharafadeen’s wandering hand on the lap of that student from The Polytechnic, Ibadan has given social media plenty to talk about without anyone looking deeply at what is right before them.
Social media is in a frenzy. Like a mob eager to draw bloód, everyone is holding up their sticks.
Drop those sticks and listen to me. Let us set politics aside for a moment; understanding this will serve you well in life and help redirect poor judgment.
To those familiar with basic human psychology and motor habits, the Senator’s action bears all the hallmarks of an involuntary reflex action.
We all know people with distinct physical quirks when they speak. Some continuously rub their palms together, others adjust their glasses every twenty seconds, stroke their beards, pull their earlobes or stroke the armrest of a chair without realizing they are doing it.
Some continuously nod their heads, some repeatedly tap the person sitting next to them and others pull at your clothes regardless of how intently you are listening to them.
These are subconscious physical outputs that occur when the mind is heavily focused on articulating thoughts or navigating a high-pressure conversation.
Consider the scenario: if that same student had been seated on another chair next to his host, Senator Alli’s hand likely would have been rubbing the upholstery of the chair he himself is sitting on in that exact same repetitive cadence.
When a physical gesture is entirely reflexive, the subconscious brain fails to register or adjust for the surface beneath it.
Apart from that, let’s even allow common sense and logic prevail. Please once…
In a room filled with party members, aides and rolling video cameras, no political figure operating with conscious intent would engage in suggestive behavior in full view of the public.
Think about it!
The presence of the crowd itself reinforces that this was a non-conscious, fatherly and habitual physical reflex rather than anything calculated or improper.
Public life puts every micro-movement under a microscope, transforming simple human mannerisms into political fodder.
While public figures must remain mindful of how automatic gestures can be misconstrued, the public and the media owe it to rational discourse to distinguish between actual misconduct and harmless, involuntary habits.
