Read on Twitter
I sometimes think about Bekele Gerba’s interview he gave to Addis Standard right after he was released the first time. He mentions how he was taken aback by people’s reaction whenever he’d speak Afaan Oromo on public transportation.
Lived in Addis since I was one so people's disdain for Afaan Oromo doesn't surprise me. And I can't speak Afan Oromo, so I don't experience it to the extent that an Oromo who speaks it in public spaces does. But my god!
The way ppl stared (and still do) at my family and other Oromos for speaking Afaan Oromo in public was just ... it used to make me so anxious. There's this instant aversion to hearing Afaan Oromo.
and to Oromoness:/
Lol at thinking it's all in my head. As if I and my family didn't live with it all my life. As if I still don't have to do mental calculations to avoid/navigate through everyday oromophobia. Lol gtfoh with this gaslighting https://twitter.com/lusaka2day/status/985396906963734528
the number of times I've experienced Oromophobia through my name alone. *sigh*
"ስምሽ ሲያምር...ኦሮምኛ አይመስልም”.
"ስምሽ ሲያምር...ኦሮምኛ አይመስልም”.
And Meti resembles “Beti, Mery” so I didn’t have it as bad as my little sister, Jalene. We used to hate it when ppl asked for her name. B/c once they learn it’s Afaan Oromo, it was almost always followed by a belittling laughter
or by some nasty comment: "ምጽ እንዲህ አይነት ስም እንዲህ ለምታምር ልጅ”
There was also the occasional "ውይ ምነው የጋላ ስም".
There was also the occasional "ውይ ምነው የጋላ ስም".
Oh and when people ask if I speak Afaan Oromo just so they can assess my level of Oromoness and decide how to proceed. Lol thou art seen.
And people ask these question all the time. I do too. Conversations about languages make for a nice small talk ( if there's such a thing as a nice small talk ). What annoys me when discussing Afaan Oromo are the people that follow it up with “ለነገሩ ቋንቋ ማወቅ ጥሩ ነው”
Is that a premptive consolation for when I finally learn to speak Afaan Oromo? 
It is good to be multilingual, I guess. But I can’t imagine those same ppl saying that to someone Oromo learning Amharic. Never came across that sort of conversation.
Because no justification is needed for wanting to know Amharic. It’s actually hilarious how many Ethiopians get taken aback when learning that not every Ethiopian speaks Amharic.
