No one said no one can't express their opinions. But no offense but do you even consider yourself "black" for this topic to even bother you? Thats why I constantly see you trip and fall in these discussions.
The Grapevine: Africans, AA's and Caribbeans
- Thread starter Karb
- Start date
No one said no one can't express their opinions. But no offense but do you even consider yourself "black" for this topic to even bother you? Thats why I constantly see you trip and fall in these discussions.
So it's not so much mass media misrepresentation but the limitations of the media or internet in these countries? So then the preconceived notions come from internal influences not outside right?
Frangala
All Star
NO. internal influences have nothing to do with it most likely than not if you go to any major African city or to the most rural of villages, the overwhelming majority of individuals do not know anybody within their immediate circle who has been or lives in industrialized Western countries. So most of their images comes from media. People also who have never been in the developing world do not know how hard it is to travel abroad. It's easier for an American to travel to Africa than it is an African to travel to America.
If you go to the American embassy in X Sub-Saharan African country, they will ask in your visa interview for 3 months worth of bank statements (if you are wealthy or have a decent amount of money in the bank, they assume you won't come to America permanently because you are already well off in your country and have something to go home to), if you have family in the US (they are likely to deny your visa application because they assume again that with family reunification you will stay in America permanently), if you don't have family they still assume you are going to permanently stay, a health test to make sure you don't have any communicable diseases and other things. My point being it's hard for Africans to travel and get to the States hence a regular African is far more likely not to have someone in his/her inner circle to have traveled abroad therefore minimizing "internal" influence regarding the perceptions of Black Americans or Americans in general.
As an American, you need a flight ticket, hotel reservation and at least 6 months left until your passport expiration date to go to an African country that requires a visa.
That's why media and the misrepresentations that come along with it influence people more so than internal influences since overwhelming majority of Africans in the continent do not know anybody who has been to America in their inner circle in order to influence them about the perceptions of Americans.
Biscayne
Ocean air
The one hotep Breh on the panel happened to be African at that. He was the one telling AA's that they should buy land in Africa, and become the Rockefellers in Africa. Then those African girls were like:
"
be careful with that rah-rah colonialism talk. Even as AA's, that American badge gives them privilege over starving Africans. They shouldnt come over as imperialist"
Interesting.
Either way, maybe AA's really should be as exclusionary as we Haitians, West Indians and Continental Africans are towards them. Put the shoe on the other foot, and start checking Black foreigners on appropriation.
But then again, some may say AA's already practiced this exclusionary stance when they mocked and bullied West Indian and African kids in elementary and highschool. Same for AA adults. I was on a date with this one AA girl, who's uncle told her to never date Haitian men.
But anyways, it seems like on the joint panel you had a few AA's and a few Africans who were like
"Yeah, white supremacy is an issue, but these AA's/these continental Africans treated me like XYZ"
while there were a few Africans and AA's who were like
"Yeah the other side may have treated me like XYZ, but they been through Alot, and white supremacy taught them to think that way"
Good discussion all around.
Given how territorial we black foreigners are over our culture, I can't blame AA's for embracing rather extreme forms of ethno-nationalism As a Haitian, I can't even complain about it.
@Stacker Pentecost you went HARD in that discussion.
"
be careful with that rah-rah colonialism talk. Even as AA's, that American badge gives them privilege over starving Africans. They shouldnt come over as imperialist"Interesting.
Either way, maybe AA's really should be as exclusionary as we Haitians, West Indians and Continental Africans are towards them. Put the shoe on the other foot, and start checking Black foreigners on appropriation.
But then again, some may say AA's already practiced this exclusionary stance when they mocked and bullied West Indian and African kids in elementary and highschool. Same for AA adults. I was on a date with this one AA girl, who's uncle told her to never date Haitian men.
But anyways, it seems like on the joint panel you had a few AA's and a few Africans who were like
"Yeah, white supremacy is an issue, but these AA's/these continental Africans treated me like XYZ"
while there were a few Africans and AA's who were like
"Yeah the other side may have treated me like XYZ, but they been through Alot, and white supremacy taught them to think that way"
Good discussion all around.
Given how territorial we black foreigners are over our culture, I can't blame AA's for embracing rather extreme forms of ethno-nationalism As a Haitian, I can't even complain about it.
@Stacker Pentecost you went HARD in that discussion.
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Here's the thing, there is good and bad in every country and culture. There are good and bad people in every race. The media is a tool used by everyone to reflect this. It's an interactive mirror whether it be Broadcast or Digital. Especially in 2017 where due to social media, we the people have the power to project, manipulate and censor whatever images we want. I used Digital media just now to look up the digital divide in Africa and it is way behind other countries. In terms of Broadcast media yes, there are Negative images and info about African Americans shown on Television but there is also positive images and information. We have more say in 2017 about what we take in. This is why I say the mass media excuse is flimsy and this is why I assumed that the preconceived notions Africans have about African Americans come from internal influences.
Frangala
All Star
Again since you studied digital media, you should know that despite the gains of Africa in terms of leaping to cell phone technology and leaping landlines and the innovations that have come with the adaptation of cell phone technology such as money transfer, the internet penetration in Africa is pretty low compared to the rest of the world and especially the developed world and it is very expensive try $200 per month (that's what I have spent the past 3 weeks on internet while I pay $45.00 per month unlimited with AT&T in the US) in some countries and that's with limited data.
The access to information facilitated by the internet in the developed world is light years ahead of Africa.
So what im trying to understand is if their access to information via the Internet is limited and their access to information about America is limited, where do the negative notions come from? TV? TV can be filtered. You can choose what you watch on TV. You choose what you take in and seek out.
Premeditated
MANDE KANG
what's up with all the generalizations in here?
Premeditated
MANDE KANG
really breh?
so you you gonna lump Liberians, Senegalese, Ivorians and Guineans with the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Siera Leone?
I see how you feel.
You a Fulani and so I don't consider you a real one. You guys are invaders.really breh?
so you you gonna lump Liberians, Senegalese, Ivorians and Guineans with the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Siera Leone?
I see how you feel.
I don't have no hate for Coastal West Africans BUT... Not only did they WILLINGLY sell their own into slavery but STILL to this day they try to look down on the diaspora. I know its mostly Nigeria, but sometimes Ghana, Benin, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Togo. I agree I hardly see the bolded ones you listed but still not a good look.
Every group (racial,cultural,ethnic,especially Gays and Jews etc.) in the world keenly understands that you learn about people that are different from you through media.
I have no idea why black Americans like you have such trouble with this concept.
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Premeditated
MANDE KANG
I'm not gonna lie breh, I get the same vibes from her and I use to like her post, but whenever we're always discussing about Egypt's true African origins from waaay south than she thinks, I always getOn the real everytime you post some I feel a deep need to neg on sight.
Slow down on the reps breh!
Your whole energy is repulsive
senses from her response. @Poitier knows what I'm talking about.
My initial point was that people learn about other people through media but it was brought to my attention by the poster I quoted that exposure to media varies geographically. So how do people who have limited access to such media and information develop negative views about African Americans if 1.) They've never been to America and 2.) Have limited access to information about America?
Biscayne
Ocean air
This is true. AA's do have a certain amount of privilege and collective(key word) wealth, in which they can go to Africa or Haiti and just buy property and takeover ala White Americans and Europeans. More AA's should look into this. I'd rather wealthy AA's invade Haiti than just White folks.
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
On that "aframs are new to dashikis" myth
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