Around Autumn in 2025, BigGodwin Martey, the CEO of Websoft Solutions and Oasis Mineral Water, shared on Facebook, an encounter he had with a middle-aged woman who was selling ‘KofiBrokeman’— roasted plantains under the scorching sun at Makola.
According to the software engineer, he was on a business call when he decided to buy some of the plantain. After the woman was done packaging his order, he unconsciously stretched his left hand to give the money to the woman. The woman, however, declined the money, accusing him of being disrespectful and lacked manners. In the end, she didn’t sell to him solely because he used his left hand instead of the right one.
When he narrated the incident during his routine posts on Facebook, the comment session was replete with different opinions, biases, and beliefs from netizens. Some of the followers said there was nothing wrong with his actions and that the woman reacted out of proportion. Others believed he goofed so he should have apologised to the woman. To them, some cultural values are sacrosanct and he should have known better.
The engagement on this issue was interesting. Many people shared their stories of how they were bullied because they are southpaws (left handed). Some asked whether the woman would have rejected the money if the buyer had only one hand due to a disability and it was the left one. Others said he was supposed to add, ‘I’m sorry for giving with my left hand.’ However, yet another person argued that why should he apologise for using a part of his body, for that matter, his dominant hand.
As part of the comment readers, I enjoyed the interactions. In my mind, I was neither for BigGodwin or against the woman. Of course I had my own reservations about the issue. I was thinking about something more profound. I wondered how many things; ideas, beliefs, and values we have normalised without questioning.
I realised that many beliefs that shape our lives do not come through careful reflection. They often show up through repetition. Sometimes, we see people we admire doing them and we just adopt them. Normalising things can be so powerful. It shapes what we consider beautiful, successful, or respectable. Most of the time, we do not consciously choose these standards. We simply absorb them from families, peers, workplaces, media, religious communities, educational systems, and what have you.
It is psychologically proven that human beings are deeply influenced by the environments in which they live. We often believe we are making independent choices when, in reality, we are repeating cultural scripts. Someone can just show up and begin to downplay the important and useful traditions that have been held for ages just for clout chasing. Another, is so obsessed with primitive thinking that he doesn’t even want to adapt when necessary.
The truth is that something can be very common and still be unhealthy. Others can be traditional and still require change. Something can be modern but unhelpful. This is why I don’t believe every new idea should be accepted just because it is the order of the day. Neither do I believe every old practice should be preserved simply because it has been in existence for years.
More than anything else, the pursuit of understanding should be the objective. The power of conscious reflection lies in asking why you believe or do something, where the idea came from, and whether it produces wisdom, integrity, fairness, or growth. What was true yesterday could be false today. And what is accepted today can be unacceptable tomorrow. Conscious reflection is the paramount.
Going forward, I believe we should have the courage to ask questions about what we have normalised. This is how to know what is true, release what is not needed and embrace what helps us to grow. Let’s thoughtfully choose, day by day, the beliefs, ideas, and values worthy of building our lives upon.
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