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According to minutes
of the Linnean society, Captain Cook was in Australia making notes on various
species (eg plants, animals), natural objects (eg rivers, hills) and other
items. He saw a strange animal and asked the aboriginal interpreter what
that was.
"I do not know," the
interpreter replied. In the aboriginal language, "ka" means "I," "nga"
means "negative" and "roo" means "know."
The aboriginal sentence,
"I do not know," became the English word for this strange animal, "kangaroo."
Lesson to us? Do not
take some one's interpretation of what is happening in an organization
or community as the most accurate observation just because a member of
the organization or community has told it to you.
In mobilizer slang,
a "kangaroo" is misinterpretation of an informant's observation.
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"Keep It Simple, Sweetheart!"
implores us not to complicate our work.
Earlier versions of
this instruction used the word "stupid" instead of "sweetheart" but that
negative word serves no purpose in community empowerment.
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