Thursday, August 2, 2007
"We're from the West and we're here to help"
Posted by Harold Henderson on 08.02.07 at 07:27 AM
"Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West's fantasy of itself," writes Uzodinma Iweala in the Washington Post (hat tip to 3 Quarks Daily). "And not only do such depictions tend to ignore the West's prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems.
"Why do the media frequently refer to African countries as having been 'granted independence from their colonial masters,' as opposed to having fought and shed blood for their freedom? Why do Angelina Jolie and Bono receive overwhelming attention for their work in Africa while Nwankwo Kanu or Dikembe Mutombo, Africans both, are hardly ever mentioned? How is it that a former mid-level U.S. diplomat receives more attention for his cowboy antics in Sudan than do the numerous African Union countries that have sent food and troops and spent countless hours trying to negotiate a settlement among all parties in that crisis?"
Because, conservative curmudgeons and bleeding hearts alike, it's all about us. And about escaping from the ghastly mess we've made worse in the Middle East to the fantasy of a helpless continent that really will welcome us with flowers.
Comments (3)
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"Why do the media frequently refer to African countries as having been 'granted independence from their colonial masters,' as opposed to having fought and shed blood for their freedom?" In fairness it's worth noting that in the post-WWII period a number of African nations were in fact granted their freedom by explicit unilateral decision of the European colonialists. In some cases locals had first shed blood to force that decision, but other cases not or not much. And while Dikembe Motumbo actually gets plenty of publicity for his Africa efforts, it's easy to answer the bigger question about Bono and Jolie: they were far bigger celebrities to start with. Had they made Asia or Antartica or Arkansas their big causes they'd be getting just as much publicity about it as they do about Africa. And I might be more interested in and impressed by the African Union's efforts regarding Darfur had they yet accomplished anything noticeable beyond a lot talking.
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Well, let's see. People have some funny (as in wrong) ideas about other places and/or things. Where do they get these ideas and where do they go to get these same ideas reinforced? Media. Big, small, alternative, mainstream...... Something's not working. You're the one with a platform, why not use it to give some relevant background on the big issues of the day? By way of comparison, this week the Readers's cover story is about a woman who is "on her way to becoming the worlds greatest living flutist." Lame. I know. Catch-22. Can't get too far ahead of your paying customers, then you'd be out of a job. But if you keep letting things slide, you're a part of the problem. What to do? Shift gears.... Since as you say, it's all about us, show how our past actions have led to the current mess. Publish some of the great stuff that your readers might not know about that would actually fill in some of the gaps. As an example, I learned about the "evils" of Fascism and Communism in school. Not a world about Colonialism. Every other country I've been to, it's common knowledge. Not here. Wonder why. Why don't you put something like this on your front page- From the late, great Steve Gilliard: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/3/143541/2578 http://www.jamesrmaclean.com/archives/archive_colonial_wars_01.html
Thanks for the links. I don't make decisions about what goes in the paper, but I don't think one week is a fair sample. As for here, I have posted on Niall Ferguson's folly -- here's one: http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/daily-harold/2006/10/02/what-american-empire-would-cost/
