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Well of course! You know the same Africans I do and none of them are like that. Big surprise. You and I know urbane people.
That does not change the fact that some rural people lived like that. What is the big deal? I would think you would be happy that your cursed Colonialism did not corrupt every single nook and cranny of Africa.
Africa is BIG. Before the communications revolution, it would not be surprising that there still was a fair amount of this going on. Is it really so bad?
A majority of the Africans I know did not grow up in urban areas. I have aunts/uncles who are from African countries who grew up in rural areas. They lived in houses and wore clothes. They are in their 50s and 60s.
A majority of Africans in rural areas wear and wore some sort of clothing, even the women and have for centuries.
And every nook and cranny of Africa actually was impacted by colonialism. IMO it is not "cursed" its just something that happened.
ETA: the idea that many Americans have because of NG - that traditional African societies were primarily unclothed (lol) is one of the disservices that this publication has done to the world IMO. Will also note I went to school with a lot of people from Africa (note most people I know from African nations were/are from West Africa - Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, and Senegal primarily and I also know some from Namibia and Zambia also others from Eastern African nations - Kenya and Uganda in particular, I also have worked with people from Somalia who were refugees and I have a brother in law from the Sudan. I also have worked with Egyptians. All of them wore clothes and when they shared pictures of their relatives back home, their relatives were wearing clothes even those from rural areas). The people depicted oftentimes in NG are not representative of the majority of the people of any nation/tribe of a particular continent and unfortunately many people in our country and others in particular have a very prejudicial, ridiculous view of non-white people around the world.
This reminds me of a video of an interview I recently saw of one of my favorite authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from Nigeria. She was speaking to a white French women and the French woman asked her if there were bookstores in Nigeria....LOL. When Chimamanda asked the interviewer why she would ask such a ridiculous question, the French interviewer admitted that back in France people have stereotypical views of Africans as a result of what they are shown in French media. Chimamanda responded that that was too bad that French people were so silly that they would think in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, that they would not believe there were book stores there. That that line of questioning made the French people look bad. I agree with her assessment and also feel that Americans who view Africans or other people as walking around in rural areas topless and living in huts like NG, that it looks bad on the American psyche that we can be so easily manipulated by media to believe that other people are so different from ourselves in such a way.
Last edited by residinghere2007; 03-20-2018 at 08:10 AM..
A majority of the Africans I know did not grow up in urban areas. I have aunts/uncles who are from African countries who grew up in rural areas. They lived in houses and wore clothes. They are in their 50s and 60s.
A majority of Africans in rural areas wear and wore some sort of clothing, even the women and have for centuries.
And every nook and cranny of Africa actually was impacted by colonialism. IMO it is not "cursed" its just something that happened.
ETA: the idea that many Americans have because of NG - that traditional African societies were primarily unclothed (lol) is one of the disservices that this publication has done to the world IMO. Will also note I went to school with a lot of people from Africa (note most people I know from African nations were/are from West Africa - Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, and Senegal primarily and I also know some from Namibia and Zambia also others from Eastern African nations - Kenya and Uganda in particular, I also have worked with people from Somalia who were refugees and I have a brother in law from the Sudan. I also have worked with Egyptians. All of them wore clothes and when they shared pictures of their relatives back home, their relatives were wearing clothes even those from rural areas). The people depicted oftentimes in NG are not representative of the majority of the people of any nation/tribe of a particular continent and unfortunately many people in our country and others in particular have a very prejudicial, ridiculous view of non-white people around the world.
This reminds me of a video of an interview I recently saw of one of my favorite authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from Nigeria. She was speaking to a white French women and the French woman asked her if there were bookstores in Nigeria....LOL. When Chimamanda asked the interviewer why she would ask such a ridiculous question, the French interviewer admitted that back in France people have stereotypical views of Africans as a result of what they are shown in French media. Chimamanda responded that that was too bad that French people were so silly that they would think in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, that they would not believe there were book stores there. That that line of questioning made the French people look bad. I agree with her assessment and also feel that Americans who view Africans or other people as walking around in rural areas topless and living in huts like NG, that it looks bad on the American psyche that we can be so easily manipulated by media to believe that other people are so different from ourselves in such a way.
Of course most of them wear clothes. Most of NG's photos of Africa were of clothed people.
The ones who were not were real people. They were not staged and told to act like savages or clowns. You can look closer to home at Hollywood for that.
Africa had some people with different social mores and NG got some photos. Big deal. I suspect that as in the thread about Maxine Waters, you are very sensitive to how black people are portrayed. Understandable, but in these two cases they are what they are- real. At one time at least. Most of us do not see walking around topless as a sign of inferiority.
And if I had a dollar for every inane, stupid question a European as asked me about the States, I would be rich.
Of course most of them wear clothes. Most of NG's photos of Africa were of clothed people.
The ones who were not were real people. They were not staged and told to act like savages or clowns. You can look closer to home at Hollywood for that.
Africa had some people with different social mores and NG got some photos. Big deal. I suspect that as in the thread about Maxine Waters, you are very sensitive to how black people are portrayed. Understandable, but in these two cases they are what they are- real. At one time at least. Most of us do not see walking around topless as a sign of inferiority.
And if I had a dollar for every inane, stupid question a European as asked me about the States, I would be rich.
LOL on the bold, especially in regards to Maxine Waters. I mentioned in that thread that it is just ridiculous how often conservatives speak on her. I think she is hilarious and funny and as I noted in that thread, I think that there are all sorts of nutty people.
I'll share that I don't believe that race is a biological thing, something that genetic research has actually proven. I've also noted many times on these forums that I don't care how anyone sees me as a black person or black people in general. All people IMO have similar experiences in life and we all have the same needs on a basic level.
I started my comments here on the fact that NG didn't show barechested white women, something I noticed as a child. It was plainly evident. You are making excuses for the publication IMO. All I stated was that there were opportunities for NG to do a story featuring bare chested white women and naked white people, but they never did one as far as I could tell. They could have done a story on nudist colonies of Europe, America, or S. America. They could have done a story about the beach culture of Europe. Just like they did stories about African tribes who walked around bare chested. They didn't. That has nothing to do with me personally. That has to do with them and their desire with how white people are portrayed.
I enjoyed their publication and learned a lot from those old magazines in particular. As noted, I wish I'd kept them when my granny passed away.
LOL on the bold, especially in regards to Maxine Waters. I mentioned in that thread that it is just ridiculous how often conservatives speak on her. I think she is hilarious and funny and as I noted in that thread, I think that there are all sorts of nutty people.
I'll share that I don't believe that race is a biological thing, something that genetic research has actually proven. I've also noted many times on these forums that I don't care how anyone sees me as a black person or black people in general. All people IMO have similar experiences in life and we all have the same needs on a basic level.
I started my comments here on the fact that NG didn't show barechested white women, something I noticed as a child. It was plainly evident. You are making excuses for the publication IMO. All I stated was that there were opportunities for NG to do a story featuring bare chested white women and naked white people, but they never did one as far as I could tell. They could have done a story on nudist colonies of Europe, America, or S. America. They could have done a story about the beach culture of Europe. Just like they did stories about African tribes who walked around bare chested. They didn't. That has nothing to do with me personally. That has to do with them and their desire with how white people are portrayed.
I enjoyed their publication and learned a lot from those old magazines in particular. As noted, I wish I'd kept them when my granny passed away.
And it was explained to you: There are no longer white tribes running around sans clothing. Not to mention Europe is just a bit colder than Africa and the Pacific Region.
European, Canadian, North American, and Australian women simply do not pitter patter around the yard or go to the market topless. Clearly, they still did in Africa well into the camera age. I have no idea if they still do and could care less.
That is not making an excuse. It is offering a more than reasonable explanation. An explanation that reflects reality. Sadly, that reality bothers you. And I am not sure what to tell you as you are determined to see something else.
And it was explained to you: There are no longer white tribes running around sans clothing. Not to mention Europe is just a bit colder than Africa and the Pacific Region.
European, Canadian, North American, and Australian women simply do not pitter patter around the yard or go to the market topless. Clearly, they still did in Africa well into the camera age. I have no idea if they still do and could care less.
That is not making an excuse. It is offering a more than reasonable explanation. An explanation that reflects reality. Sadly, that reality bothers you. And I am not sure what to tell you as you are determined to see something else.
Sigh, and it was explained to you, that these tribes are not indicative of all Africans or other tribes around the world. And just like they were featured doing things without clothes on, European women also could have been. The publication chose not to do so. Not all NG articles are about anthropology and cultures that have a traditional sort of lifestyle. They often featured modern/current for the volume of the magazine, people, areas, and cultures all over the world. They could have easily featured bare chested white women due to the above.
Maybe you are not as familiar with the publication as myself to know that they often had and still have articles about white people around the world in various societies and that there are white "tribes" running around without clothing - they are called nudist colonies and pretty much all of them in America and Europe are full of white people.
IMO the publication, and they are admitting as such recently, wanted to portray white people as better and more civilized than other people in the world. They had an agenda as a publication, which they are now admitting and which the OP and others on the thread want to discount. You may not agree with NG but they are the ones who chose not to feature whites in the same way as they featured other people.
My mother subscribed to national geographic (NG) for our home as a child. I absorbed those beautiful photographs and stories about countries around the world with such relish. I remember this magazine so well.
how the NG could label the exposure to other cultures this magazine provided me as a child 'racist' is beyond my comprehension.
decades ago there was no travel channel, no discovery channel, little education about other people in this big world. the NG provided a window to a big world I wanted to learn about......and did thanks in part to NG.
So NG sought to bring how other cultures are to people before the Internet age allowed such access, and now are racists for doing so? Oh yea, because they photographed topless women in a society where it is completely normal (counter to the society NG originates from) because they did not go to a nudist beach with white people and take pics of them (though it is obvious a nudist beach is not the norm, and not a far away idea from the readers of NG)?
There is nothing more antiquated and obsolete than National Geographic. That's why the heaviest and dankest box at any garage or estate sale where some old person has kicked the bucket or their kids are moving them into a home, is a collection of once treasured Nat Geo magazines.
I have no idea why people save this garbage. First of all its all digitized if you really must see it. Second, nobody cares what some Watusi tribesman is doing, or how he herds his goats, or bangs a stick on tree roots to make a refreshing drink or whatever. Literally it is useless info. Like pretty much anything printed in that magazine, knowing it, or not knowing it, won't change or affect your life in any way whatsoever.
Nat Geo is to information about other places and people what the horse-drawn carriage is to transportation.
Sigh, and it was explained to you, that these tribes are not indicative of all Africans or other tribes around the world. And just like they were featured doing things without clothes on, European women also could have been. The publication chose not to do so. Not all NG articles are about anthropology and cultures that have a traditional sort of lifestyle. They often featured modern/current for the volume of the magazine, people, areas, and cultures all over the world. They could have easily featured bare chested white women due to the above.
Maybe you are not as familiar with the publication as myself to know that they often had and still have articles about white people around the world in various societies and that there are white "tribes" running around without clothing - they are called nudist colonies and pretty much all of them in America and Europe are full of white people.
IMO the publication, and they are admitting as such recently, wanted to portray white people as better and more civilized than other people in the world. They had an agenda as a publication, which they are now admitting and which the OP and others on the thread want to discount. You may not agree with NG but they are the ones who chose not to feature whites in the same way as they featured other people.
Its not even a matter of dispute that Western nations and societies are better and more civilized than African ones.
You don't need to persuade anyone of that...its common knowledge and easily verified by empirical evidence.
Are there really people out there who could possibly need to be disabused of the misconception that African societies are better than Western ones?
Sigh, and it was explained to you, that these tribes are not indicative of all Africans or other tribes around the world. And just like they were featured doing things without clothes on, European women also could have been. The publication chose not to do so. Not all NG articles are about anthropology and cultures that have a traditional sort of lifestyle. They often featured modern/current for the volume of the magazine, people, areas, and cultures all over the world. They could have easily featured bare chested white women due to the above.
Maybe you are not as familiar with the publication as myself to know that they often had and still have articles about white people around the world in various societies and that there are white "tribes" running around without clothing - they are called nudist colonies and pretty much all of them in America and Europe are full of white people.
IMO the publication, and they are admitting as such recently, wanted to portray white people as better and more civilized than other people in the world. They had an agenda as a publication, which they are now admitting and which the OP and others on the thread want to discount. You may not agree with NG but they are the ones who chose not to feature whites in the same way as they featured other people.
Hmmm... primitive tribespeople vs. modern nudist colonies.
OaaaaKaaaaaayyy ,,,,,,
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