Comments on: Stuff African People Like: Discussing the Burden of Being African

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:06:13 +0000

@Caustic: Long time no see . I couldn’t agree more (thumbs up)

By: Caustic Blonde

Caustic Blonde — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:04:01 +0000

One of my exes once told me that there are two types of people in this world, those who complain and those who do something about it.

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:28:35 +0000

@gal: When I first met the guy in charge of my bible study group (yes, I have a bible study group…fun bunch) we had a conversation that went a little something like this:

Him: Where are you from?
Me: Kenya
Him (eyes brighter): Really……

And then he proceeded to describe Kenyans as “wild men” and “people who really knew how to have a party and have a good time.”

Can you imagine with the subdued nature of a Kenyan what they would say about people from the South or the West? I guess we can really party and have a good time when the time calls for it.

By: gal africana

gal africana — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:21:55 +0000

hello fellow African…I’m only saying that because one of your posts was a lament in the very same spirit described in this post Why lie? Some things deserve a lament…but I think at the end of the day, Africans always seem damn happy to be African…regardless of how much we lament…I have yet to meet a people with a better hang on having a good life (unfortunately we also are very good at creating some bad lives…and THEN lamenting about thme lol). Ah well, uta do?

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:34:28 +0000

@akiey: No, I have never had such an article, I have only touched on it in bits and pieces. I haven’t because I am terrible at doing research in terms of facts, figures and statistics though I definitely think it’s an important article worth writing and discussing i.e. how much is the West fault vs our fault.

However, you brought up something that I think can sum things up pretty well: It really doesn’t matter where the problems came from or what the causes of the problems are, WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN SOLVE THEM.

By: akiey

akiey — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:58:03 +0000

I’ve seen such discussions among Africans and other immigrants and I often thought it was a form of ‘displacement’ where one feels victimized and ends up blaming the ‘oppressor’ for all things gone wrong.

I’ve lived in multiethnic communities for too, too many years to realize that it’s basically a human weakness whenever someone feels like a fish out of familiar waters.

The blame game only ends when we realize the solutions almost always come from within us.

Btw, Mwangi, did you at some point have a post about us Africans discussing the continent’s underdevelopment/oppresion and blaming it mostly on the West? If so, I think that ties in kinda well with this post here.

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:30:54 +0000

@Kelly: And don’t forget the people who say that we are destined to be nothing because we are descended from the cursed son of Noah.
At first glance my guess is for a lot of folk it’s just a way to deflect away from the possibility that you could be responsible for your failure in life, but then again, why chose to deflect it to something that is such a quintessential part of you like race….either way it’s quite sad.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:24:18 +0000

I don’t know whether it’s an insecurity or what, but to some people, being African is the cause of all their problems. e.g If you don’t do your work well and your ‘white’ boss reprimands you, you blame it on the color before even evaluating whether the reprimand is genuine.

It’s a hyper sensitivity of sorts.

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:54:27 +0000

@Mo Ma: Let me come out of the closet…I am a T. Robbins fanatic, I have read all his books and movies

By: Mo Ma

Mo Ma — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:26:10 +0000

Word.

Somebody’s been reading his Tony Robbins!