“Do you know who I am?”

I had a chuckle a few weeks ago when I caught heed of a road rage incident involving one legislator, who apparently said to the other driver: “Do you know who I am?!”

The legislator chap is not even “all that” to begin with. Ke mothaka yo le yo o ganwang ke metsi e ka re motho a goga dikata.

I don’t know why he thinks that being a legislator gives him the authority to treat other drivers like trash.

On the roads, everyone is equal and

should abide by the road rules and respect other drivers. Also, when an unsavoury incident occurs, there is no need to throw tantrums.

We live in a society that is classist so some people assume that they are better than others based on their so-called stature.

I recall a few years ago I attended one of those events tsa MaGaborone and this one politician who had a reputation for being all bling and pompous was in attendance. He had some booty girl hanging on his arm and he walked around with his chest puffed out, all dressed up, a kgabile thata, a itshupa gore ke motho a ithuta madi. One guy mistakenly stepped on him as he walked by and turned around to quickly apologise. Fela jaaka o ka gata motho ka phoso, a bo o mo raya o re, ‘Sorry.’ Instead of accepting the apology, the politician angrily ranted about how his shoe was an expensive import. Uhu!

He was performing, saying to the guy, “Do you know who I am, huh?” A re o tla mo tshwarisa, a mo tshwarisetsa go mo gata…A mmotsa gore o rutiwa ke eng go gata ditlhako tsa banna ba bahumi! Nxu stru! Kana lo ithaya lo re ke tsenya

‘spice’ but I’m not making it up; I am a prime witness. I was so disgusted. Waitse kana…

The politician has since lost his position and the privileges that came with it and he’s apparently down and out. E bile maloba ke mmone a subela lenyonyomane mo ganong, a chotlha e ka re motho a na le malatsi a lalla ka starch water.

Bokwetenyana bo hedile.

Ga go akiwe go twe, botshelo leotwana bo a dikologa!

Re na le go gatakakwa ke batho mo, ba itirile di “top dog.” Sometimes you don’t even know the person’s claim to fame but they act like some hot shot, ke gore o mmona gore o ithaya a re fa go tswa Jesu go tsena ene. Delusions of self-grandeur!

This is worsened by the fact that some Batswana are shallow and impressionable classists. Ba kala batho. If you don’t fit into a certain “standard” then you are treated like a “nobody.” But we are all human beings and all go to the toilet, and no one defecates diamonds…

Also, people who think they are big shots should cut us some slack. Some of you are famous on social media, but in real life we don’t recognise you, so don’t be quick to assume gore re a lo itse.

I don’t know how true this is, but there is a joke about this other time when Vee Mampeezy was booked to perform at an event in Zimbabwe. The bouncers had been given strict instructions not to allow trespassers backstage, and so they denied him entry when he tried to get access backstage. Frustrated, he apparently said to the bouncer: “Yoh, my man, it’s me… I am Vee!” The bouncer, who clearly didn’t recognise him, exclaimed: “My man, I don’t care if you are X, Y or Z… I am not letting you in!”