AAs, Colonial mentality, and The reach of White Supremacy

[Poitier]

So, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie did this in a segment, to which many on African twitter did not agree with her behavior:



This is a take on the situation that caught my eye:



This seemingly is widespread across the continent:



Now, most will say that they knew Africans still had Stockholm Syndrome but the real insight was here:




Thought these tweets were interesting given some people's fixation of Africa as being a place to run to as to avoid the burden of White supremacy. Also, the comments on AAs vs Africans are quite telling, especially since some foreign Blacks on here would have you believe it is the opposite.

It also goes back to my thread on Inherited Behavior

 

[MajorVitaman]

 

[Bawon Samedi]

Pff... Yall are all late. You guys should see the extreme c00ning on Nairaland. No offense bit c00ning seems to have hit West Africans the hardest.

Southern Africans I dont really see this with because they experienced white supremacy HEAD ON and are not as naive. And yes I know real SA in real life.

 

[Rhapture]

They can disagree with her all they want but it doesn't change the fact that she is absolutely right in what she said and how she beautifully said it. Nothing wrong with her behavior. Also her accent is very sexy.

 

[Poitier]

Pff... Yall are all late. You guys should see the extreme c00ning on Nairaland. No offense bit c00ning seems to have hit West Africans the hardest.

Southern Africans I dont really see this with because they experienced white supremacy HEAD ON and are not as naive. And yes I know real SA in real life.

Its one thing to say "Africans c00n" which everyone knows and no one is late to and it is something entirely different to discuss why which the tweets kind of get at.

South Africans dont immigrate to the USA nor interact in large with AAs which furthers the point.

 

[mbewane]

I'm at work so can't listen to what she said, but regarding the other tweets like you have Africans who still "look up" to Euros/Whites, that's for sure. You have various things that come into place : in places that get out of of authoritarian rule there will be some degrees of "nostalgia" because for some reason people look past the bad, that's why in a lot of countries that had a dictatorship you have people who regret that period, for whatever random reason. Like in the former Eastern countries under Soviet rule, or Yougoslavia, etc. For example in CAR some people regret Bokassa because there was order under his rule and some level of development. That's why you have some Africans who talk about colonization because in that period some went to school, and some level of "development" happened. You add the decades of being brainwashed about being inferior and you end up with people saying crazy stuff. Thing is that a lot of (not all) African countrie sare chaotic now, and human beings prefer some kind of order to chaos. For some, it means ANY kind of order, even total domination. shyt just a couple days a poll in France showed that like one tenth of people would be for an authoritarian regime. I personnaly know older African folk who are well traveled, have had very good careers and are higher educated that still have some of those "White people do it better" slips. Fortunately it is changing imo, especially with Africans going abroad and seeing that the West isn't all that and coming back. There's a whole new wave now, which makes me cautiously optimistic.

About the relations between AAs and Africans never forget that Africans get white western media, which as you know portray negatively AAs. Unless brehs are into AA culture (books, music, sports, whatever) they only get the same stereotypical AA imagery...so will say : how are they (AAs) in the richest country in teh world and they don't "make it"? Which is stupid as hell bit built on that negative imagery and ignorance about the complexity of white supremacy in the US. They also hear the whole "anyone can make it in the US" mantra, so they're like "Well, you (AAs) were BORN there, why don't you make it"?. TBH, some Africans in Africa have the exact same comments about people of African who were born in Europe, because being in Africa they think it's all good here. So it's not necessaruily (only) aimed at AAs, but all Black people in the West who for whatever reason "don't make it" while they are literally dying to come here.

I personnaly myself never really understood the whole "Back to Africa" thing, I mean I do understand it but unfortunately there is mutual ignorance...fortunately I see brehs on this site that take time to study and understood more about each other so hopefully in due time some kind of better cooperation can happen but it will take time and a lot of interactions (Africans going to the US, AAs going to Africa) to better understand our differences in order to overcome them and build together imo. Actually I think low-key works of authors like Adichie are small steps in that direction, doesn't hurt that her books are great

 

[thatrapsfan]

Pff... Yall are all late. You guys should see the extreme c00ning on Nairaland. No offense bit c00ning seems to have hit West Africans the hardest.

Southern Africans I dont really see this with because they experienced white supremacy HEAD ON and are not as naive. And yes I know real SA in real life.

Hell no breh and I love Southern Africa... probably my favourite region and Ive lived there. But this isnt true. *especially* for SA...you gotta get a handle of how SA'ns talk about foreign blacks( particularly working class immigrants) and you'd be stunned if not accilimated to it. Apartheid did a number on how South Africans view themselves and their place in the continent.

 

[thatrapsfan]

I'm at work so can't listen to what she said, but regarding the other tweets like you have Africans who still "look up" to Euros/Whites, that's for sure. You have various things that come into place : in places that get out of of authoritarian rule there will be some degrees of "nostalgia" because for some reason people look past the bad, that's why in a lot of countries that had a dictatorship you have people who regret that period, for whatever random reason. Like in the former Eastern countries under Soviet rule, or Yougoslavia, etc. For example in CAR some people regret Bokassa because there was order under his rule and some level of development. That's why you have some Africans who talk about colonization because in that period some went to school, and some level of "development" happened. You add the decades of being brainwashed about being inferior and you end up with people saying crazy stuff. Thing is that a lot of (not all) African countrie sare chaotic now, and human beings prefer some kind of order to chaos. For some, it means ANY kind of order, even total domination. shyt just a couple days a poll in France showed that like one tenth of people would be for an authoritarian regime. I personnaly know older African folk who are well traveled, have had very good careers and are higher educated that still have some of those "White people do it better" slips. Fortunately it is changing imo, especially with Africans going abroad and seeing that the West isn't all that and coming back. There's a whole new wave now, which makes me cautiously optimistic.

About the relations between AAs and Africans never forget that Africans get white western media, which as you know portray negatively AAs. Unless brehs are into AA culture (books, music, sports, whatever) they only get the same stereotypical AA imagery...so will say : how are they (AAs) in the richest country in teh world and they don't "make it"? Which is stupid as hell bit built on that negative imagery and ignorance about the complexity of white supremacy in the US. They also hear the whole "anyone can make it in the US" mantra, so they're like "Well, you (AAs) were BORN there, why don't you make it"?. TBH, some Africans in Africa have the exact same comments about people of African who were born in Europe, because being in Africa they think it's all good here. So it's not necessaruily (only) aimed at AAs, but all Black people in the West who for whatever reason "don't make it" while they are literally dying to come here.

I personnaly myself never really understood the whole "Back to Africa" thing, I mean I do understand it but unfortunately there is mutual ignorance...fortunately I see brehs on this site that take time to study and understood more about each other so hopefully in due time some kind of better cooperation can happen but it will take time and a lot of interactions (Africans going to the US, AAs going to Africa) to better understand our differences in order to overcome them and build together imo. Actually I think low-key works of authors like Adichie are small steps in that direction, doesn't hurt that her books are great

Good post.

 

[thatrapsfan]

@Poitier what did the original tweet say? it's been deleted.

 

[Micron]

In regards to the video, one of the single most irritating things that a White person can say is that something "isn't racist". Tyrell isn't slick. White people who claim something "isn't racist" when it is, generally do it so that the Black people they are talking to will be frustrated and distracted. If Black folks are busy trying to get a White person to acknowledge racism, they are not focusing on developing their own measures against it. Those arguments are a waste of time, because people like that will never acknowledge complicity in racism regardless of how passive their role. While they are comfortable arguing whether or not something is racist, those types of White people are not comfortable being held accountable to even address the racism they are defending. So when Adichie pulls Tyrrell's card, he accuses her of saying he has a false consciousness. Another attempt to distract her.

"In a class society, there is an inherent conflict of material interests between privileged and subordinate groups. Marx asserts that social mechanisms emerge in class society that systematically create distortions, errors, and blind spots in the consciousness of the underclass. If these consciousness-shaping mechanisms did not exist, then the underclass, always a majority, would quickly overthrow the system of their domination. So the institutions that shape the person’s thoughts, ideas, and frameworks develop in such a way as to generate false consciousness and ideology." - Daniel Little

False consciousness is not attributed to the privileged group. He wants to pretend he is a victim because he is a White male, but simultaneously assert with certainty what is and is not racism, based exclusively on his own experiences. However Adichie didn't even acknowledge his Marxism reference, and get side tracked. Instead she stuck to her point and kept it simple. I have the utmost respect for her.

 

[William F. Russell]

White people who claim something "isn't racist" when it is, generally do it so that the Black people they are talking to will be frustrated and distracted. If Black folks are busy trying to get a White person to acknowledge racism, they are not focusing on developing their own measures against it. Those arguments are a waste of time, because people like that will never acknowledge complicity in racism regardless of how passive their role. While they are comfortable arguing whether or not something is racist, those types of White people are not comfortable being held accountable to even address the racism they are defending. So when Adichie pulls Tyrrell's card, he accuses her of saying he has a false consciousness. Another attempt to distract her.

100%

All gold everythang.

 

[mbewane]

In regards to the video, one of the single most irritating things that a White person can say is that something "isn't racist". Tyrell isn't slick. White people who claim something "isn't racist" when it is, generally do it so that the Black people they are talking to will be frustrated and distracted. If Black folks are busy trying to get a White person to acknowledge racism, they are not focusing on developing their own measures against it. Those arguments are a waste of time, because people like that will never acknowledge complicity in racism regardless of how passive their role. While they are comfortable arguing whether or not something is racist, those types of White people are not comfortable being held accountable to even address the racism they are defending. So when Adichie pulls Tyrrell's card, he accuses her of saying he has a false consciousness. Another attempt to distract her.

"In a class society, there is an inherent conflict of material interests between privileged and subordinate groups. Marx asserts that social mechanisms emerge in class society that systematically create distortions, errors, and blind spots in the consciousness of the underclass. If these consciousness-shaping mechanisms did not exist, then the underclass, always a majority, would quickly overthrow the system of their domination. So the institutions that shape the person’s thoughts, ideas, and frameworks develop in such a way as to generate false consciousness and ideology." - Daniel Little

False consciousness is not attributed to the privileged group. He wants to pretend he is a victim because he is a White male, but simultaneously assert with certainty what is and is not racism, based exclusively on his own experiences. However Adichie didn't even acknowledge his Marxism reference, and get side tracked. Instead she stuck to her point and kept it simple. I have the utmost respect for her.

Yeah I finally watched the vid and peeped that, that's a boss move not to get side-tracked.