Parents are known to offer the purest love to their children. The love of a father and mother towards their children comes with no expectation unlike all of the forms where the recipient is expected to give back something in return.
But there is a demonic side to every human being and given opportunity, we express it especially to earn undue advantage over others. Parents are not left behind either and having earned the trust of their children from a tender age can turn the tables to be thankless exploiters of their offspring if not checked.
You see, while black tax is considered an established domestic revenue channel, the goodwill extended by children can sometimes be abused. Life is fast-paced these days and everyone hopes for a head start in a world where meritocracy has gone top-notch. To have a head start would mean that one gets a good education. Simply put, it is harder for a poor child to compete with their peers growing up in affluence.
In a country where so many people are poor, many children don’t get that headstart because parents can barely afford basic needs. Where the animal nature of parents kicks in is when they expect huge returns for the peanuts they invested. The imbalance is laughable because, on the richer side of the economic scale, their wealthy peers expect nothing in return.
On the other divide where poverty prowls the streets, parents have high expectations from their children who upon graduating have to start servicing loans. First, they demand a change of lifestyle that can show their son or daughter is a graduate.
Many young people fall for this emotional manipulation. There are many 40-year-olds stuck in their parent’s homes in Karen because they are reluctant to leave behind the lavish lifestyle. But on the Eastlands end of Nairobi, there are several 40-year-olds yet to leave their parents’ home until they improve their lifestyle. In the process, age catches up with them and they become bitter citizens who have nothing to show for their toil. This whole cycle entrenches the saying of clogs to clogs in three generations and the parents feel no guilt as they enjoy their right to an unlimited run of black tax. Young people should watch out.