Pulselive Opinion: Jalang'o and the Boys Club, an unpopular opinion

Very early on a Tuesday morning and a portion of the country's early risers are tuned in to Radio Citizen where Miss Melody Sinzore poses just one question to her co-host Inspekta Mwala, "Are you part of the Boys Club?"

That is just the beginning of the tumultuous news cycle that will keep Kenyans engaged for the rest of the week, fixated on the private lives of one ordinary group of men.

In a matter of hours the top trends on Twitter were all about the boys club, Edgar Obare the whistleblower and Jalang'o, the perceived convener. A nation discussing a handful of indiscreet men.

Pulselive Editorial: Jalang'o and the Boys Club, an unpopular opinion Pulse Live Kenya

Just as we begin to believe that the boys club sensation is ebbing, plop drops a sex tape that everyone now needs to watch.

More than that, every single one of us has an opinion about how disgusting these men are and how the lady in the sex tape is such a waste, how could she allow herself to be filmed while having sex?

Jalang'o Mwenyewe feels the need to do some damage control so he does a softly-worded post on social media appealing to all our humanity. Demonstrating how we are just like them and they are just like us but he is a good person so he will do nothing to Edgar Obare.

The unpopular opinion

Why are we obsessed with the dirty, naked, scandalous details of other people's lives? Why is it exciting to know that a bunch of nondescript men have designed a method to their shared eccentricities?

Social Sciences researchers have conducted a number of studies on the psychological phenomenon commonly referred to as "negativity bias". That we tend to register and fixate on the negative nature of things as opposed to the positive.

The only reason why we have had to suffer through a week-long barrage of opinions on sex tapes and sexcapades is because we already judged the boys club as immoral and a danger to society as we would like it to be.

With the kind of attention they have received, I bet there are so many other groups of male friends who have borrowed new ideas on how to go about their future male-bonding rituals.

Worse still, this exposed boys club may have emboldened various others that have been in operation far longer than Jalang'o and his ilk. Meaning that we may have unleashed the very same dragon we are trying to subdue.

Dare I suggest that for once we go in the totally different direction?

How about next time, we ignore and move on. How about we refuse to be dragged into someone else's drama and we focus on more of what we would like to see in society? I think that will serve humanity better than a viral unpopular fetish.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the company.