Lesson from Kofi Annan: "Don't Crawl" (Tila Part 3?)

Kofi Annan

(pic from here)

I think my conservative side has been coming out with a lot of this Tila talk.  I’m not conservative, of course, but I really do believe that people often get what they ask for.  If there’s a logistical problem–”I want to meet women by playing Warcraft”–it won’t happen.  But in general, if there’s a desire (Tila’s desire to be famous) along with a vehicle (MTV), people get what they ask for.

I’m reminded of an old story from former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.  Thank you, Time Magazine, for keeping this online.  What’s extra surprising to me is that I had mentioned “dignity” in my last post, and that was the subheading for Mr. Annan’s story.  I also like the Fante proverb:  “Se eye ndzeye pa enum yi a, na eye barima (Gather the five virtues, then you are a man). –Fante tribal proverb.” Check out the story below:

“I was a kid,” Annan continues in his quiet voice, decorated with a lively British accent. “I witnessed a scene in my father’s office once which shocked me a bit. He was looking over a set of accounts. He had a question or something, so he called one of the junior managers, and of course the fellow came rushing right in. But the fellow was smoking. And he put the cigarette–still lit–into his pants pocket because my father didn’t smoke and didn’t approve of people who did. And he stood there as he talked to my father, with his pocket burning, obviously in some distress. And finally he finished the business and walked out. And I was really shocked. And I said to my father quite angrily, ‘Why did you do that to him? You made him put his cigarette in his pocket.’ And my father looked at me and really gave me a lecture. He said, ‘I did not. There was an ashtray here; he could have used that. He could have excused himself and gone and thrown it out. He could have continued smoking. He put the cigarette in his pocket. He need not have done that.’ My father looked at me and said, ‘Today you saw something you should never do. Don’t crawl.’”

That’s really what it’s about.  It’s hard to help people who are not willing to help themselves.  It’s like trying to rescue someone who is trying to swim in the other direction; when you grab on to him, he pulls you down.

Related posts:

1. Tila Tequila: Not Really Feeling It
2. What Asian America Could Use (Part I of III)
3. Gates vs. Dirty Cop Part II
4. The Great Portland Ramen Controversy, Part II
5. Secret Lives of the Red States/What Asian America Needs Part II