Luos' lives are surrounded with uncountable myths and stereotypes, some of which originate from outsiders, members of other communities in this context.
Most of these have made it quite hard being a Luo, as they suffer from allegations which are now even been accepted nationally.
Consequently, some of these are even being used in public commercials, all in a bid to give them a certain unrealistic and unfair characteristic.
One of these is the notion revolving around the Luo accent, which most people try to imitate when either addressing Luos or addressing issues affecting them.
It is important to note that not all Luos possess the accent and though it might look funny for the ones imitating it, it is actually upsetting, angering and largely discriminatory to many Luos.
Also, there is a notion that Luos are monied and do not really care about spending.
Consequently, they are at times subjected to exaggerated prices when seeking products and services, under the notion that they will readily accept as they are thought to love expensive stuff.
Just like all other Kenyans, they too have to toil for their money, and find it unfair to be considered an easy target for extortion, and as a Luo I can testify this.
Any attempt to issue price negotiation is met by the 'Luos do not bargain, why are you bargaining?' phrase, which can be very embarrassing, especially if one happens to be in the company of friends or relatives.
And because of the same, some members of the community are now being forced to dance along, especially in urban centers, to fit in the category they have been allocated.
The worst ones are the stereotype that all Luos love fish, another misleading thought, considering that very many Luos do not eat fish either for health purposes or out of personal reasons.
This makes it hard and burdening being a Luo, since we live within conditions placed on our shoulders by people, outsiders actually.
#MyLifestyle #hivisasaoriginal