“Article 15 is something of a Congolese catchphrase, referring to a fictional but universally recognized 15th article of the country’s constitution,
‘Débrouillez-vous’—‘figure it out yourself.’
“I hear it everywhere. It is simultaneously a testament to the Congolese love for droll humor, a weary acknowledgment of hardship, a screw-you to the establishment, and a motivational mantra:
“No one’s going to fix your problems. You must make do with what you’ve got.”
—From Ed Yong, “When The Next Plague Hits”, 2018, The Atlantic. In the above, he is talking about the first Ebola outbreaks in Congo.
so agree with "figure it out yourself." As my neighbor across the street tells me, people have a computer in their hand and they can't figure out how to do things. I also see this on a forum often: "how do I X" which can be figured out in less than a minute by asking your favorite search engine. I quit responding to the posts. Someone told me that is some people's version of sharing. That isn't sharing!
ReplyDeletek
Oh, it’s only when you put it that way, k, that I realize it’s a lot like the quote I’ve been enjoying lately – – “workout your own salvation”. Whether or not that’s ideal, it’s often the reality.
DeleteI know it drives me crazy that people can’t figure out how to ask a phone a question.
You can ask the most random, garbled question and Google will figure out what you mean – – it make a good stab at it—usually.
Do people not realize this?