I am African, well I’m Namibian which is in Africa, so I guess I can call myself African. I was born in Namibia, my parents were born in Namibia, and even my grandparents were born in Namibia. I have traveled to several countries in Africa and have done a lot of research on the ones I have not visited, and I think I have a pretty clear idea of how it is. I have always gotten very irritated with the ignorance of some people and would like to tell at least a small part of the world about the real Africa. Media has been a real disaster when it comes to Africa, as they only show the arid deserts, people starving and animals everywhere. If you have ever been deceived by these misconceptions, blame the media.
Africa is not a country, but a continent. In fact it is the second largest, and second most populated, continent besides Asia. Africa has about 1 billion people and 61 different countries within it. So to end this misconception& – Africa is definitely not a country!
While there are a few deserts in Africa (like the Sahara Desert in the North and the Namib Desert in the Southwest of Africa), large parts of Africa, especially central Africa, are tropical rainforests. On high mountains, like Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, are subarctic conditions. Furthermore, large areas in Africa have savannah plains, which are similar to prairies. So Africa is definitely not just a desert.
Many people believe that all African people live in mud and dung huts. This is complete nonsense. There are buildings and towns and cities in every country in Africa. If you were to google the capital of any country you would be surprised by what you see. That is also not to say that no people in Africa live in huts, as there are a lot of tribes that still choose to live in their traditional villages in huts, but the bulk of each country have become westernized and civilized. Even in Africa you find those landscape spoiling skyscrapers and concrete covered metropolises. [Pictured: Windhoek, capital of Namibia.]
This misconception does hold a small amount of truth to it, but nothing like what most people think. First of all, not all food in Africa is strange. It is not difficult to find a KFC or McDonald’s in many countries in Africa. There are restaurants where you can order a nice and juicy filet steak, seafood, pizza, pasta, burgers and basically whatever else you can think of. One of the most popular family meals in southern Africa is a “braai,” which is just an ordinary classic barbecue. In the more rural villages and tribes the people hunt for their food and so eat mostly game meat and, on occasion, they will eat certain types of worms, like the Mopani worm. It is impossible to find these foods in the towns and cities, so if you were ever to come and visit Africa, I doubt that you would even come across any of these.
I have been asked on so many occasions if I have a pet lion, or if there are antelope outside my house. Well let me ask you – do you have a pet bear??? Of course not, there are just as many wild animals walking through my city at the moment as there are in New York. Wild animals are kept out of towns and cities by the lack of food, habitat and fences. The animals outside the cities and towns are completely wild and even the select few people that have hand-reared a lion will tell you that a wild animal will always be wild. So no, there are no wild animals walking down the street… The only wild animals that are everywhere in my town are the meerkats.
This one I always find very funny. People that I have conversations with online are often shocked that I come from Africa and that I have a computer. In one hilarious exchange I had a guy believe that I was using a steam powered computer! Let me just put it like this: Africa has almost everything the rest of the world has, we just get it a couple of months later than everyone else. And no, we aren’t still stuck on dial-up!
This is one of the most ridiculous ones I have ever heard. I think Africa is the most diverse continent in the world as there are hundreds of different languages spoken across it. Even just in my country, Namibia, there are 20 national languages including German, Afrikaans, English, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Portuguese, as well as the languages of the Himba, Nama, San, Kavango and Damara. Every country in Africa has at least five lesser languages as well as the common language, and it is true that many of these languages have clicks in them, but they are definitely not all the same language.
Let me just clear this bit of confusion immediately by saying there are plenty. To prove my point I have chosen to use agoda.com to pull the number of hotels they have from all the listed cities in South Africa. The results were as follows : Johannesberg – 62, Cape Town – 84, Durban – 52, Knysna – 56, Port Elizabeth – 39, Umshlanga – 31, Nelspruit – 17 and Hermanus – 31.That is a total of 372 hotels in South Africa, and considering those were just the ones listed on the one website I think it is safe to say that there are plenty of hotels in Africa. And it is very easy to land yourself in the lap of luxury in a Hilton hotel.
On this one I would like to admit that every country has its own taste in toilets. I have traveled to a few countries and a toilet is a thing that is as different as the culture. American toilets have a tendency to be full of water, almost to the top. Italian toilets have a platform at the front of their toilets with a small hole with water at the back. The Thai toilets, in the more rural areas, are just like squatting platforms with no bowl or seat. With that said, I would say that southern Africa’s toilets are reasonably normal. They have a bowl, a seat, and water, a little less water than the American and a little more water than the Italians. There Are some pit latrines and long drops in the desert, but those are mainly just for people that feel the need to camp out in the middle of nowhere, but still don’t just want to squat behind a bush.
For all those who believe that all African people are black, are all American people Native Americans? Hundreds of years ago, European explorers, conquerors and settlers traveled around the globe and developed the land they settled on. This happened all over the world including in North America, South America, Asia and Africa. The first white people that settled in Namibia for example, were Portuguese and did so over 400 years ago. Dutch settlers went to South Africa, French settlers went to Angola, and so the white people in Africa grew in numbers over the last 500 years. There are many white people in many countries in Africa, but that’s not all, there are also a lot of Indian, Chinese and Malaysians in South Africa. South Africa is known as the rainbow nation, and rightly so. African is not a race!
I have, on several occasions, heard people say, when describing their ethnicity, that they are (for example) 1/4 Spanish, 1/4 British, 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Black. That is incorrect as the first three races that they mentioned are all white, so why generalize about your black genetics? The Ovihimba people are as different as night from day compared to the Herero people, and they are all black. In Africa you also have different colors of black for the different tribes and different areas in Africa. As an example, the Angolan people tend to be almost blue black in color, whereas the San people are much lighter in complexion, more of a dark tan color, and the Ovahimba people (above) pride themselves in a reddish undertone. If you are black, or have some black genes in you, I would advise you to find out more about your family history and where your ancestors came from, than to generalize and say that you are just black.
The reason American people generalize about being “just black” is because for as long as there have been black people in America they have just been called “black”; it didn’t matter what part of Africa the slaves came from, they were black slaves. What exactly the part of Africa someone’s ancestors came from is knowledge that has been lost almost as soon as they stepped foot in the United States.
I agree. I’m personally insulted by that. My ancestors were brought over as slaves long ago and we honestly don’t know where we come from. That information was lost over time since we were not as fortunate to have the traditions kept alive via word of mouth. If you are fortunate enough that your family was not kidnapped long ago to come to America don’t look down on us African Americans who actually do not know. Therefore, we categorize ourselves as “black”
Wow… Ok so I just came back from holiday and found that this list was puplished. It was posted the day after I left. I feel bad that it was because it was only my second or third list and I wrote and submitted it over a year ago. When it wasn’t published a week or so after I thaught it was probably just rejected, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw it here. I am sorry if I offended anyone, I never meant to imply that you where ignorant or stupid. I remember writing this list because someone made another ignorant remark, which set me of on an annoyed rage. I should have known better =( I was definately zoning some America hate when writing it, and I know that the rest of the world would Never let ignorance guid their beliefs and knowladge. In future I will stick to nature, which I am definately more passionate about than Idiocy.
Christine, I am happy that you wrote your post. I am black/African American and found out a lot of facts. Some people refuse to admit the truth. A lot of the points you made are the reason why Africa isn’t considered a vacation spot. I live in the DC Metro area and we don’t see ads for “Come to Africa” or “What Happens in Africa stays in Africa”
Your post encouraged me to do more research into going to Africa.
Thank you!
“welcome to africa”,Africa is not a country Karen. You just made a misconception yourself.
Ha, I think it’s a great piece and I appreciate you posting it. If anything, I think you could have gone to more specifics. I was just going to post “thank you”. So thank you.
the reason that people in the west say “black” instead of specifying is because they were stolen and dragged to the west, and most of them have no idea where they are actually from. in Canada its slightly diffrent then in the States, because a larger percentage of black-Canadians are actually modern refugees and immigrants, so there Tanzanian-Canadian, Somali-Canadian, or they could be even more specific and say there Zulu-Canadian or Makoa-Canadian, or even British-South-African-Canadian. BUT there are lots of black people in Canada who moved to Canada after having been displaced by the slave trade. generally there are three kinds: Afro-Carribian-Canadians, of which there are literally hundreds of diffrent groups, Afro-South-American-Canadians, further specified by smaller groups or previous country, AND African-American-Canadians. there are three groups of African-American-Canadians: the people who escaped to freedom in canada a long time ago are generally just called African-Canadians, the Black Loyalists who moved up to fight with Canada and Britan in the revolutionaty war, and simply Black-Americans who have moved here recently. there are also lots of Black-Europeans and the odd Australian Aborigonal. and thats only when someone is looking into the “black” part of there family, most people then have to figure out all the other parts of there family, wether it be Asian, European, what-have-you, or Native-Canadian which can further complicate matters because the over 600 Native tribes are broken down into three categories, and you have to decide wether you want to classify yourself as a technical Metis even though your tribe is not a Metis one. then specify what region your from, what inner-nation your from, (say, Acadia, Inivik, Southern Quebec, or Baffin Island, all “cultural-nations” within the canadian borders) from what province or territory in canada you’re from, and wether you’re an anglo-canadian, franco-canadian, or allophone-canadian. its very very complicated in a country like Canada where so much emphasis is put upon your personal heritage, since you are encouraged to celebrate diversity and share your culture with socioty.
ughh, so many typos.. 3:10 in morning… ima re-visit this…on later date.
You seem to be very up on the whole geneaology thing. Is it true that soon genetic testing will be cheap and accurate enough that we all will be able to trace our heritage back hundreds of years just with a lab report?
dumbest list by far. people are really stupid, but i don’t think they’re that stupid. very uninformative list.
You’d be surprised at how many people I come across that believe the things this list disproves, not just in America as well. You may be intelligent, but you should notice more the conceptions of people around you before you make an assumption, not saying that in a mean or callous way.
Agree this list is an insult to us – Come on, I am not sure those who believe in these misconceptions are to be considered literate
I’m a South African living in New Zealand, I’ve experienced every single one of these misconceptions about where I’m from. When I was in the states it was ten fold… this list is most definitely not inaccurate.
No, actually a lot of people are really that stupid. I have friends who cringed with the idea that one of my friends were going to Africa to study. The reasons they cringed are most of the things listed above.
No mention about WAR, HUNGER, ART, EGYPT, AIDS, RELIGION and so on.
Some of the listed things are correct. Look at someone asking why he doesn’t see ‘welcome to Africa’ ad… AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY!!!
what happens in some parts of Africa, doesn’t happen in other parts of Africa.
Number 10 reminds me of a funny slip-up by Drew Carey.
Wow. Anyone that believes any of that should be hung, drawn and quartered. Are these misconceptions common at all? Especially in the US?
Nah, most of this stuff’s been taught, at least up North as far as I know, since I’ve never met anyone further than North Carolina.
I’m glad you’re not a judge. Just remember that if you beleive in tolerence and education then you also have to tolerate the intolerence and uneducated. In other words I am saying that not everyone will have your view and you should act with kindness and try to help, not deal out punishments for those who think differently from you.
I love this list because it explains these misconceptions’ flaws with common sense. Good job!
The writer states “…not all food in Africa is strange. It is not difficult to find a KFC or McDonald’s in many countries in Africa…”
KFC and McDonald’s are the strange foods. They offer pseudofood. The cuisine of the people, whether that of any of the native tribes of any country in Africa, or those of European or Asian descent, would be far more indicative of high culture than those junk food purveyors.
I can’t believe any of these misconceptions can be held any longer, not with GoogleEarth covering the globe
.
@Segue: My thoughts, exactly.
But wouldn’t McD’s/KFC be strange to anyone not American by birth? e.g. I’m Indian & I find burgers/fried chicken extremely unnatural. Conversely, an American (or for that matter anyone not from my part of the country, yes such prejudices exist even within India) would find food that I eat on a daily basis strange, not to their taste or even disgusting…
I *am* American by birth and have lived all but 3.5 years (in childhood) in the USA. That simple fact hasn’t turned my taste buds to mush.
You’d be surprised man. I’ve travelled a bit & met people from all continents of the world & there are still some people, not many, but some who think Africa is a country, we live with animals roaming our street & only black people live in Africa to name just a few misconceptions.
I will say, the part of Kananga, in the DRC was very much like what people think when they think of “Africa”. But a hike into “town” and they had internet access. There are a lot of rapes and corruption in the Congo, but for the most part, the people I met were some of the nicest, most humble, gracious, spiritual people I have ever met. As a matter of fact, I couple of friends on Facebook are from the DRC.
As for #10, I personally never thought of Africa as a country. I went on a mission trip to the DRC, and I did tell people that I “went to Africa”, so I may be guilty of calling it a country, but I didn’t mean to imply it was one- it was just easier to say I went to Africa rather than The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kind of like saying “I went to Europe” instead of being too specific and saying “I went to Spain”.
I did enjoy the list, whether I knew everything or not it was informative.
It would be really cool to see what part of Africa my family came from. I really like this list and all the misconceptions are true. I only know that the Indian side came from Sri Lanka and he was very very dark with straight hair. I also have Malaysian, French and Scottish blood and the Indigenous Carib – that is all I know.
This is a really cool list, we need more about Africa, especially from a person who cant tell you straight.
Wow, what a vapid list.
are you talking to americans? as a canadian i have been asked if we all live in igloos and go to school in dogsleds! my doctor is from kenya and our neighbours are from south africa, so some people do know that africa is not a country of starving people who live in mud huts.
There are weird ideas about Americans in other countries, too. A friend of mine who was an exchange student from Manchester, England, wrote back to his family to tell them that Pittsburgh, also a post-industrial city, reminded him of Manchester, He said his family refused to believe him that all Americans weren’t rich, tan, living in gleaming vast apartments, driving around in big cars, and carrying guns. Maybe he was putting me on, or maybe his people were putting me on, but when I was in Toronto a guy once asked me, very seriously, if I had to check my gun at the border, and did they have a facility for checked American guns at American customs? And the Canadians are our closest neighbors. I think misconceptions about far away foreign places are common to all peoples in all countries.
I know you wrote this 13 years ago (!), but as an American who lived in Europe, people were shocked that I wasn’t rich, blond, white, have a fancy car, live the life of a starlet, etc.
It’s embarrassing, because a lot of people in the US are either dumb, ignorant, or both. I’m an Asian American and can say I probably know a few people who have more than half of these misconceptions on this list. But I also know many people who aren’t stupid enough to ask somebody if they get electricity in their huts.
There are really dumb people in many places in the world, it just so happens we have stupid shows like Jersey Shore to represent our country which isn’t entirely full of idiots.
So it’s kind of biased to ask if this is talking to Americans…it’s a misconception due to what media portrays and so it speaks to whomever has access or utilizes the access to media.
I am not an American, and when I was a kid, I thought it snows in the whole country of United States and that every white guy I saw on the street is an American. I also never imagined that there are farms in in the US, i realized that you have farms too when i saw Laura from ANTM cycle 13 talking about how to castrate a cow.
I understand why she wrote this as a point of pride for her upbringing, but it feels irresponsible to try and portray Africa as all caught up with the west and doing just fine. South Africa may be modernized but there’s still an acceptance of wild racism in the culture and good luck finding a safe hotel in Liberia or Guinea, let alone a westernized city. More people have been killed in the Congo since 1990 than in every other war on earth since Viet Nam. People who should wear helmets for there own safety may get caught up on some of the goofy points of this list but overall it’s best to treat Africa as a problem that needs solving instead of dong just fine.
Nice bathroom, but I can’t see the toilet. Am I blind or is it actually true you Africa as a country doesn’t have a toilets?
I’m no expert on Africa, but all of these “misconceptions” seemed obviously false to me. What person, over 5 years old, thinks that Africa is a country?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/rick-san…
this guy does
Good list. As an anthropologist studying genetics I liked the part on Black is Black. Good work.
Great list. The “Black is black” part I always find strange because Africa is the most genetically diverse continent. A European or an Asian could be more closely related to one African than he/she would be to their fellow Africans.
ANyway, the next century belongs to Africans and it’ll be well deserved.
“but the bulk of each country have become westernized and civilized.”
Unfortunate Implications
This list had so much potential to be good. Disappointed to say the least.
Thank you for this list! I tell my French students every year that the term “African-American” used to refer to the black American population in the U.S. I point out that people like Charlize Theron and Dave Matthews are both from South Africa and therefore could be considered “African American”. Usually blows their mind or at least makes them think twice about the term. (BTW, I work in a VERY diverse school.)
How I would love to send my daughters to a school like that! i thank all teachers that implement diversity into their teaching…
As an African, who happens to be white (my whole family is from South Africa), I love this list. Many people are completely ignorant when it comes to Africa, and it drives me completely insane.
I loved this list mostly because the author completely discredited a common and patronising myth- that all ‘Africans’ are the same. Many think that all ‘Africans’ are starving dark-skinned people who have never heard of wireless internet, and certainly haven’t been subjected to Justin Beiber’s music… The author shows us how wrong our perceptions of Africa are and that some people (of course not the majority due to the immense poverty and unrest within the continent) living in the various countries within the African continent are just as modern as Westerners. I think the real question is how do we save the rest of the ‘Africans’ from starvation, disease, violence and death? Not “how many mcdonalds are there in Africa”?
You’re from USA right?
“And no, we aren’t still stuck on dial-up!”
I am.
I’m happy to see how materialistic Africa is. It’s really disappointing, because I have wanted to travel to Africa for years to ESCAPE a materialistic world and live with the Earth, and this list just shows me how unappreciative the “privileged” people of Africa. This list is truly appalling.
Go to India instead.
So you are complaining that people don’t understand that Black is an ethnic group all the while bundling English, Spanish and Russian in to a “white” ethnic group.
hahaha guilty of none
Huh?! What the heck is up with the date and time on your comment? November 29, 1999 at 5:00pm?
This is driving me crazy. I’m so confused!
The list is dated:
Thu
December 15, 2011
The comments are dated:
29 Nov, 1999 at 05:00 pm
I don’t think we’ve entered a time warp. Have we?
Time Traveller!!!! Both of you!
I guess Y2K finally caught up with us.
ha ha…yeah…i was like…DAAAAMN this was posted a decade AGO!!!! lol
Does anybody actually read these before there published? This list is a joke. From the content to the style it was written in.
The girl writing the list contradicts herself every other sentence and displays Ignorance herself towards other cultures just as much as she thinks people are towards hers.
I agree with you completely, It is like me as an Englishman writing a list about European misconceptions. I would be out of my depth.
Im pretty sure there are many countries in Africa with no McDonalds, hotels, broadband internet etc…
How ‘pretty sure’ are you? Of course Zimbabwe has a McDonalds ? And Somalia is an exception, colonialism and western influence didn’t take in Somalia, they are a country unto themselves and they don’t have a government, let alone a McDonalds
For example?
Zimbabwe and Somalia don’t have McDonalds.
She says that all British, French and Russian people are white…
I wrote such a list a year or so back (you can find it in the controversial section, it’s called misconceptions about Britain). In all honesty, it sucked and suffers many of the potential problems you mentioned. I feel the author of this list did a far better job than I.
James I have read your list before, I didn’t have a problem with it. I hate to say it but alot of these lists are only beneficial to some Americans.
That’s not what she meant. For someone to say they are 1/4 Spanish, 1/4 British, 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Black, they are saying that “Black” is a notionality just like Spanish, British, and Russian. “Black” is not a nationality, but Ovihimba, Herero, Angolan, and San are. So she is asking us not to lump ALL African people as black, but instead learn about the different people on the continent.
@James
“1/4 Spanish, 1/4 British, 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Black. That is incorrect as the first three races that they mentioned are all white”
I understand the point she is making about Black not being a Nationality but she DOES say that all Spanish,British and Russians are white.
Well what she said was that people are saying that they are 1/4 spainish, 1/4 british, & 1/4 russian then saying they are 1/4 “black”.. She said the first three were white? nope. Okay, Russians are slavic ethnically, spaniards are their own blended ethnicity, british are a blend but all traditional blends are white. I myself am half black & half white. I know that I am mainly french & irish on my white side. But I am american. How does she expect an african american to know their true heritage? So we call ourselves black, which is our common feature. It sucks that we have to clump it, but african americans are kind of a clump. Our ancestors didnt all come from the same country in africa, so in a sense we truly are AFRICAN american with the combination of diferent peoples of our motherland. Not to mention 75% of african americans have native american ancestors. We no we arent the same, but black & african our the only labels we can clame from our ancestors.
Couldn’t agree more. I lived in Africa in a tiny village for 2.5 years and traveled through most of southern/sub-saharan Africa. There were lions, hyenas and elephants near our village not to mention the witch doctors. Most people didn’t have electricity let alone technology. Swahili was spoken (which isn’t a language with clicks in it so bad photo) and many many people lived in mud huts….and it wasn’t because they chose to do so. Although the list does have a fact or two (yes, Africa is more than just deserts), it seems like a complete misrepresentation of Africa outside of the larger cities.
I think that was her point. That the countries in Africa DO have larger cities.
Same here
Top misconception about people not from Africa is that they have all these misconceptions about Africa.
Cool! Another fact and fiction list. I’ve never heard of anyone thinking Africa is one country though.
By the way, I’m glad most of the comments on my nudism list from February were positive.
She must talk to a lot of idiots .
African language really or Africa the country really or steam powered computers really .are you smarter than a 5th grader?
Ever heard expressions like this?
“There are five students in my class. Two British, one French, one Japanese and one African”.
I never thought thought that there were no toilets in Africa
Such an interesting list! I could see myself making this list, but mine would be about Texas. We don’t ride horses to work, we don’t go to rodeos for fun, no one “square dances” and its not all desert, it snows here lol.
You should add the fact that Texas is occupied Mexican territory, stolen by the US.
SKINNER!!!!!!
HA!
everywhere is occupied land stolen from some other people……what’s your point? oh, i forgot – you don’t associate yourself with genocide or land stealing in the area you live because it wasn’t you personally, right? but everyone else is fair game because that don’t hurt your conscience…flippin yankee..
You should also add the fact that the Mexican people have always been there from the start, right?
No they weren’t.
@Booyah
Well if you want to be incredibly specific about it, fine
Then who were? Aliens?
Uhm. Nobody was there “from the start.” People didn’t just magically appear there as the rightful owners. The first inhabitants were the Paleo-Indians that migrated into the Americas from Eurasia. So nobody has any true claim to anywhere. We all stemmed from one place and we’ve been conquering each other ever since. Get your facts straight.
First of all, you make the mistake you accuse ‘many’ of making, i.e., generalization. You act like people think the whole of Africa is a technological black void. Of course most people know that there are modern urban areas in Africa just as well as in any other continent.
However, most people also think that, besides those areas, Africa is still retarded in their development. You should address those ideas: are they true or are they false? The media can give quite a distorted view, so it would be nice to hear about that from an African.
As for the hotel thing: Amsterdam alone has more than 450 hotels, on a population of ca. 700.000 inhabitants. Cities with a comparable national status and number of inhabitants, usually have much more hotels.
Also, you spelled Johannesburg wrong.
They were writing from a point of frustration, which I completely understand since i’ve lived in China almost my entire life and have met the same ridiculous generalizations, even had a hair dresser ask if me if they knew how to use scissors or if they had to use knives.
Yeah, there are idiots out there. I’m Dutch, and because of that I’m being described as using drugs and visiting prostitutes just a few posts down. So what? Should I get all angry because someone has the audacity to show his idiocy to the whole world?
Also, does that mean everyone should write some list debunking the obviously stupid prejudices and stereotypes about their country/continent?
If so, I’m looking forward to the lists saying not all Americans are war-loving, immigrant hating, religious zealots, not all French love to surrender while reeking of cheese and arrogance, and not all Germans are Lederhosen-clad, *****ual deviants bent on invading Poland, to name some.
Better yet, let’s not publish those lists, acknowledge there are dumb people out there, and don’t get all butthurt over it.
My favourite part is when the author tries to dispel a misconception by using a misconception himself.
“describing their ethnicity, that they are (for example) 1/4 Spanish, 1/4 British, 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Black. That is incorrect as the first three races that they mentioned are all white, so why generalize about your black genetics? ”
Great job at confusing ethnicity and race, that whole sentence being a mess(spanish is anything but a race. These people take 2h naps in the middle of the day. Russian may be race to see who can burn off a candle at both ends the fastest. ). Maybe tomorrow’s list will be better.
Yes, that is what the author did, they gave an example of the misconception in order to *demonstrate* it, not to *dispel*it, the point being people will say 1/4 british, 1/4 russian and 1/2 black, or whatever, the fact that the first two are ethnicities and the last a race is the point I believe, generalising a whole bunch of ethnicities into one “black” coverall.
Really the person should either say: 1/2 white and 1/2 black.
or: 1/4 british, 1/4 russian and 1/2 nigerian.
It’s obvious it’s her words when she says ethnicity. The example starts later. Basically she mixes ethnicity, nationality and race (and race and ethnicity are her words). Like i said that phrase is nonsensical.
“I would advise you to find out more about your family history and where your ancestors came from, than to generalize and say that you are just black.”
and
“Really the person should either say: ”
This is the type of speech i hate.
If someone wants to define him/herself in a certain way it is their freedome to do so and no one has the right to impose their views. I feel this urge to say mind your own business.
@arsnl
Sure, i respect your point, but I understood what she meant and appreciated the point, however minor.
My point about “should say” was more about making the sentence make sense rather than an implication that I can tell you what to think.
I’m Dutch, and because of that I’m being described as using drugs and visiting prostitutes just a few posts down.
Must be difficult walking around in those silly wooden shoes all the time. Lol.
I’m looking forward to the lists saying not all Americans…, not all French…, and not all Germans…
One of those lists would generate over a thousand comments. The others? Not so much.
Armin Tamzarian has just provided a beautiful example of what I mean. American stereotypes are built upon careful observation by the objective foreigner, and if the American tries to make a counterpoint, he’s just being a humorless, overly irritated a**hole.
Surely the stereotype that Americans are stupid arose from foreign observation that we are too unproductive a country with too few achievements in science and commerce to be at least average in intelligence, right?
Not to mention, Tamzarian, that most stereotypes about Americans (with one glaring exception: obesity) are in conflict with statistical facts.
-Are Americans widely hated? No, in reality, global surveys show that, as a power, America has by far a net positive opinion and as a place to live, it is the single most desired place in the world.
-Are Americans hostile to Muslims? No. In reality, country-wide surveys show that an overwhelming majority of Muslims feel comfortable and happy in their communities and, as a matter of fact, identify themselves with the American flag.
-Are Americans stupid and awkward? No. In reality, the average United States worker is anywhere from first to fourth in the world in terms of productivity. Productivity isn’t a direct measure of intelligence, but on such high levels it’s a clear indicator of competence. Competence is not compatible with stupidity.
-Are Americans resentful of foreigners and foreign countries? No. In reality, polls show that Americans have a net positive image of most other powers. With very few exceptions (China, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea), Americans express their feelings toward other countries in friendly terms.
-Are Americans exceptionally resentful for hating China, Iran, Pakistan, and NK? No. Polls also show that Europeans are as skeptical of those countries as Americans.
So, no, I’m not buying it. Also, I didn’t mean to suggest that the Catch-22 was **consciously** devised to work like that. I’d be giving you too much credit if I did.
@Arsnl: Not to mention the abnormally tall people and the uneatable food.
@Ernest: Oh, yeah, the Pan-European Committee for Devising Ways to Annoy Americans has thought that out perfectly.
But wait, that doesn’t exist. Could it be that the stereotype of Americans is built on things foreigners notice about Americans? That couldn’t be! It must be because we’re jealous and try to irritate the ‘Murrikans as much as we can because of our crippling self esteem issues.
Also, it usually isn’t that big a problem if Americans joke about stereotypes from other countries, it’s just that American humour seldom corresponds with foreign humour, and sometimes that’s hard for them to understand.
Don’t forget about the tulips, the windmills, the sinking country, the bland, blonde people. And the very annoying language. Oh wait that one’s true.
No set of country-specific stereotypes has been built more cleverly than the one for America, Maggot. It is devised so as t work like catch-22:
“Americans are fat, ignorant, culturally insensitive idiots who can’t take a joke about themselves because they are overcome by their stupid patriotism.”
There’s no way around this. If you counter the stereotype, you’re being humorless. If you embrace humor and, in turn, mention stereotypes about other countries, you’re being culturally insensitive and ignorant. If you don’t counter in any way, you’re tacitly admitting to being incompetent and unable to outwit a foreigner.
So, yes. I’m guessing the ~100 comments on the “Not all Germans” or “Not all French” articles would be all something to the extent of “only fat, American idiots believe that.” On the other hand, the ~1,000 comments on the “Not all Americans are/do” list would go, “Oh but you are/do.”
Shut up, ass.hole.
I second that. Trolls keep on trollin’.
@Ernest. Youre an idiot. Obviously you dont know america. Of course there are annoying, fat, & stupid religious nuts in america that love war & hate foreigners. But im from america, & I hate those types of people. There are plenty of people just like me here genius. Yes I believe my country is the greatest, dont you think you country is too? What an idiot.
I’m American, but I’ve really grown tired of people thinking we can do no wrong
Great list and great read.
very informative.
I definitely know Africa is NOT a technological void.
Heck, I receive an email from a Nigerian Prince every week offering me to transfer his wealth to my bank.
LOL
Hey! I was given the impression that I was the only one he contacted!
Other than generalizing the African continent as veldt, jungle or desert, one of these struck me as particularly widespread stereotypes about Africa or its people. I was expecting debunking of e.g., “Africans are poor,” “African governments are corrupt,” “Crime/violence is rampant,” “People practice/believe in witchcraft,” etc.
I meant “NONE of these struck me as particularly widespread.”
Yeah i was expecting something on the same lines too like genitial mutilation and child soldiers not to mention AIDS.most of the items feel really topical,things only a raging racist would assume
A lot of African governments are incredibly corrupt. Not all of them, but enough for this to not be an ignorant generalisation
Yup
Did you know that the Chocolate industries used child labor in Africa ?
They steal kids from poor country and bring them to the Ivory coast to work as slaves .
People need to know witch company add’s to this problem and as a consumer you need to make the right choice inform yourself .
Don’t support child labor !
http://www.slavefreechocolate.org
I wish people you focus on the real important issue .
^sheeesh^
Seriously, stop getting all your information from The Enquirer
@ Segues
Stop being a drug addict , the opium is rotting your brain .
Funny how misinformed you really are , you probably buy chocolate that was harvested by kid’s but your to ignorant to know that.Welcome to the real world works .
Say no to Drugs kid!
is it a misconception that HIV came from Africa?
Speaking as an African, I don’t like these kinds of lists. If people have misconceptions about Africa, let them dwell in their own ignorance. I know the truth and that’s enough for me.
Aids infested, Crime Ridden, ***** Hole that has no appeal to anybody except the wildlife. ( Lions and that not black people. )
My brother said to me that in the 1800′s Africans believed that Europeans are more interested in wildlife than the people. How sad….
Why is it sad?
As a white South African, I commend this list! I have lost count on the number of times people on the internet are surprised i’m white, live in a city, have access to technology they have and haven’t been up close and personal with the Big Five. And I don’t mean to generalize but most of the time above mentioned people are from the US. And sorry Christine but you did spell Johannesburg wrong, being from Joburg myself
“8. Africans Live in Huts” Who knew? Next thing I’m going to find out is that I live in the only Igloo in Toronto. :\
Speaking as an African, I don’t like these kinds of lists. If people have misconceptions about Africa, let them dwell in their own ignorance. I know the truth and that’s enough for me.
I agree with you, GENERALLY listverse has an audience who are most likely aware that none of the above entries are true, therefore this list isn’t really educational to anyone reading.
If anyone here did actually believe ANY of those things they should have been banned for life. As mentioned it seems to be aimed at some poor racist uneducated fool who’s been living under a rock for the last 50 years or so
On the whole, I agree with you, but there are still some people who have misconceptions about race/ethnicity/culture, etc. I’m not saying it’s their fault, some people just have the misfortune of incomplete facts. I am a Native North American, Ii get asked a lot of stereotypical questions about my people. Some of those asking are well-educated.
When I was in elementary school I learned a scientific fact that the number of stars in the universe is equivalent to the number of grains of sand in the Sahara Desert (The Sahara Desert is the size of the United States !!)
Sahara means desert – so you are calling it Desert Desert. and I don’t think you can call that a scientific fact
Wrong, there are more stars in the universe then there are grains of sand on EARTH let alone the Sahara
yeah, cause the way you can the Universe is in INFINITE numbers
mistake sentance you made, think I
Sorry, but these aren’t very common misconceptions, as soon as I saw the first one I decided not to read and just look at the titles of each number.
Well I just glanced through the items. Kinda seems like the author does not understand sarcasm or technology.
My laptop is steam powered. Cuz at least80% of the energy i use comes from nuclear plants that use steam turbines. After a quick google check 90% of the us is steam powered.
Oh ha-ha.
I realize people are just trying to ignore you and not enable any more dumb comments. But you are *****ing retarded.
They are all obvious, I mean it is clear that there are a lot of people in Africa who are not black.
But when you hear “African” you always imagine a black person no?
Though I had fairly realistic assumption of Africa, I STILL managed to enjoy this list.
little bit of a boring list. all these misconceptions are by morons. zero surprising or amazing or interesting points. i ain’t lying i’m not just being a d o u c h e…i thought this one was dryyyyyyy
To Hey : THANK YOU. And if this person ARMIN is from Amsterdam, then he’s living in the fricken drug capitol of the world and is probably on something as we speak and in their world famous “Red Light” district probably getting his rocks off at a strip club !!
LOL at your small puny closed-mind. Amsterdam the drug capitAl of the world? Maybe for pot, but i think you’ll find USA has a worse drug scene then anywhere in Holland (maybe not rotterdam), but i’m almost certain Spain, most of South America, Afghanistan, China etc are all much worse for drug addictions. Have you ever been to Amsterdam?
I have and rest assured it is just like any other old city in Europe, friendly people, clean streets and beautiful scenery. Not a bunch of raging drug addicts crawling through the streets, robbing people at gun point, *****s and gangstas running around the streets etc. You’d have to look closer to home for that stuff buddy. Deny ignorance
Yeah yeah yeah, cant tell if trolling or stupid, whatever.
This list reads like a school report for middle school.
I agree with you
does anyone else agrees listverse is starting to suck?
i used to think it started to suck because the lists were boring, but at least
those list were objective and well researched.
the lists these days are extremely subjective junk.
it’s kinda… disappointing
Exactly what i was thinking.
Suppose from the education she received coming from Namibia, this is A* work.
Thanks for saying that, I wasn’t about to be the first one. It seemed like the author genuinely wanted to get out some frustration but I read this and imagine a 12 year old writing it. I just can’t imagine anyone that survived into high school continuing to believe anything on this list.
Wow african toilets look nicer than toilets in some asian cities
No I have been to Africa and the only place I saw an actual toilet was in a rich woman’s home whose couch I crashed on a couple nights. There were armed guards at the door all night and she drove a BMW. Wasn’t expecting that in Dar es Salaam.
Read the first 3 titles and thought… she’s ignorant person here in thinking people believe this, this list is going to be awful..
So i continued reading… and came to the conclusion, this list IS in fact awful.
Africa … Contributing nothing good to the world since 1487.
So you thought it was going to be awful, and kept reading?
Its fine to not like a list, but you read all the way to the end and then commented multiple times about it?
Cant you find a better way to waste time? How about you write a list that everyone finds fascinating?
Why do you care how he spends his time?
you would be criticizing him more if he was calling it awful and hadn’t read it surely. There is no problem with negative critique…lets face it, the list deserves it.
“negative critique” is a fairly generous description.
You do make a fair point, but you can see what I mean, if I take a bit of a snickers and go “urghl, this seems horrible” then continue to choke down the rest of the bar, i have a certain responsibility there.
I suppose it is a pet peeve of mine: the comments that just say something along the lines of “this list is sh*t” without much else to add – waste of my time, and more significantly, theirs.
Especially seeing as though this list is not completely without support.
I’ve made a few comments on this list, some out of boredom. My only two genuine comments are this one and the one as a reply to the first reply.
As for me reading through the list after reading the first couple and thinking it was awful and your hypothetical with a snickers bar… really not the same as somebody’s writing.
When I started reading Eragon I didn’t enjoyed it was childish but the writer developed and I read straight through all 4 books and it turned out amazing.
The first three I gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was just getting a few of the obvious out of the way and gradually as the list went down it may of improved and I could of come across something that I had perceived about Africa before and was ignorant too. So I continued and it didn’t happen.
@Jamie
Point taken, *****ogy retracted, though I think I can be forgiven due to the hostile nature of your first comment.
Wow, disrespecting an entire continent, classy
Great read, thank you.
Speaking about the bonus item, many Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves. This and time have erased the heritage of many blacks making it very difficult to track down heritage to a specific area in Africa. Black, to my knowledge, is used as an all encompassing term.
I was thinking the same thing. I bet most North American blacks who are descendents of slaves have no idea which country they trace there heritage to…if the country even existed at the time. The best they can probably do is say they are West African…since that is where a lot of them were taken from.
Thank you! I was goIng tO mention this myself but I’m glad someone else recognized the problem. The author comes across as generalizing all non-Africans.
Oh, I wish it was that easy for me to trace my roots. Unfortunately for me my ancestors were more than likely slaves and I have lost every bit of my heritage.
Lucky u.
I’ll just assume you’re american, but let me tell you, very few people actually know things about their roots that go further than their great grand parents. Im european and i think it would matter very little to me if one of my relatives living in the 1800′s came from some other european country. Generally our personality isnt influenced by people further than our grandparents. So the knowledge wouldnt impact you that much.
More than likely? I can accept that for some strange reason your great great grandparents decided that after leaving their home country to not tell any of their offspring the name of that country, but at the very least you should really know whether or not they were even slaves…
If you relatives are that embarrassed by their heritage, or care so little about spreading it down the generations, maybe they thought it wasn’t worth knowing? Though, if its just a matter of not being sure of your lineage, then congratulations on supporting another stereotype.
A lot of people on here are commenting that they are not guilty of any or most of these.
I was also quite incredulous, especially when i read the first one about it being a country.
But as I read down, I realised that even though I probably havn’t pre-judged anyone regarding these issue, I also realised that, for example, even though I don’t assume all africans live in huts and eat worms, I was still slightly surprised to see a McDonalds and the (quite beautiful) Windhoek high street.
The day-to-day lives of Africans is just something I have never seen, even in media.
So even though I would have said I don’t suffer from the above misconceptions (Well not completely anyway. For example, I knew that Africa is not all desert, but in almost all media, everything is dust. And i was sure that they have the internet, but assumed that it was not very common. Etc. Etc.), so I was still pleasantly enlightened by this list, so bravo!
I do know a little more about South Africa than I do about the rest, and I’d say that it must be the most developed nation over there, and that might skew things if your only example of something is from there.
I also liked the bit about “black” not just being “black” and African not being a race.
Nice read.
your problems is you trust your Media and can’t do research for yourself .
Sorry, the conspiracies list is down the hall on the left.
I just said I was mildy enlightened and pleasantly surprised and I need to stop trusting the media and do research? Can we get another cliche in your comment please?
Oh oh, wait, I get it, its trolling right? You’re trolling me. I feel such a fool.
I’m not sure that anyone who believed any of these would be smart enough to use a computer to get to this page. Seriously, the average list verse reader is not that much of a moron.
Oh and FYI, I’m from New Zealand and there’s things here other than sheep and hobbits. Just in case anyone had that misconception. =P
Yeah you have Milford Sound, Mt Cook & the Haka as well XD
I’m proud to say I am guilty of none of these.
I don’t think it is anything to be proud of
Somehow I feel like this list is racist. Not in it’s content, but in the style it was written.
No, you can talk ***** about white people all you want and it’s never racist. Aryans/white will never live down the atrocities they have commited against people so although there is Latina and Ebony magazine, it’s racist to have a Caucasion magazine or White TV. double standards are everywhere. like there haven’t been genocides and crazy ***** everywhere in the world, right? Ha! It’s not just the white man bringing other races/ethnicities down.
I would like to see a ‘White music awards’
Who gives a crap? Why do people want these things? I’m white and I don’t want a white music awards show or white entertainment television. We’re already the majority of America (assuming you’re American, though when I hear these complaints is always from Americans), so for god’s sake let minorities have SOMETHING.
Also who the hell says Aryan? It’s CAUCASIAN darling
Actually, if you were to read i little bit and not wasting time in the internet watching ***** and reading *****ing books you would know and ESPECIALLY number 10 who the ***** said that africa is a country? Just *****ing read, maybe even a few almanacs if you wish. ***** it, this list is for ‘em ignorant americans (specifically USA)
This is a fantastic list. These misconceptions about Africa are ridiculous. I have lived in Ghana, Egypt, Algeria and South Africa and have have never come across these silly ideas. I’ve lived in houses, 5 star hotels and never had a lick of trouble, and I’ve met a wide variety of peoples in these countries too. Only some gumnut would come up with these dumb misconceptions.
you totally blew off NORTH AFRICA…and the fact that Arabic, French and Spanish is spoken there…So, I guess you made a fatal error as well when it comes to Africa to think that it is only Nambia, Chad etc….North Africa mostly speak Arabic and are Muslims so its totally unfair you did not mention it once!
She still made the point that there is tremendous diversity, you do not have to cite an example of every language, country or culture to make the point that it is more diverse than people think.
Given that the author is from Namibia and, one of her points actually, it IS a whole continent, she is obviously going to use what she knows best to cite her points.
Wait. Why do I keep saying “she”, thats weird…
P1n1.
Just stop talking.
Erm. Sorry? I guess?
i’m just commenting to prove i am from the past.
HEY MCFLY!
GREAT SCOTT!
1/4 Spanish, 1/4 British, 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Black. That is incorrect as the first three races that they mentioned are all white. See what you’ve done there is what you criticised people of doing to Africans in point number 1. Not all Spanish, British, Russians are white, they are black, white, asian etc… all sorts of colours.
Again as you said Africa is not a country, well neither is Britain, it is 3 countries England, Scotland and Wales
I think its a slightly different case and you could see more reason for calling Britain a country than Africa.
Im from England, but I have Scottish roots too, and I am fond of keeping the realms united under one Queen (relax, its just because I think ew’ll do better together than apart.) so I call myself British. I *should* call myself “from the United Kingdom”.
Under a Queen! Ha ha, how can anybody be STILL under a Queen?
I’m on top of her, is that any better?
Well, the answer to that is: easily.
The way I see it, for us, unity is good, especially these days. The Queen is one of the things that does unite us, a job that a monarchy can do in quite an effective and unique manner.
Whilst she has a completely different roles to monarchs in the past, she does fill the role of a figurehead that people can get behind, whilst many governments come and go – and there is always a lot of people that just straight up hate government, the Queen can unite us whilst being immune from this sort of discord. As the governments come and go, the monarch remains, so myself, my parents and grandparents were under the same Monarch, again this leads to a fairly deep-seated sense of national self (or somesuch).
Imagine if the United States had Reagan (I assume he is a well-respected former president, if not, just go with me here) constantly in the background doing high-level statesman work, not technically in charge but legally above the government. Then as the clintons and bushes and whatnot fall into and out of favour, regardless of that state, you will always have a widely and globally respected leader in a prominent position making an unsaid promise that everything will come alright in the States again.
It may not be concrete, but it is valuable.
There are other benefits too, but they are less on my mind and harder to explain, the above is enough for me on its own anyway.
I don’t want to get into a big monarchy debate, its fairly obvious that your standpoint is that a monarchy is fairly obsolete these days and that they are, at best, a drain on society.
Which you are well within your rights to believe and that is fair enough, but i will respectfully disagree.
Anyhoo, i hope that answers your question
Have a nice day!
If all you want is a symbolic presence so that three countries can rally behind and stay united, I am afraid, your Queen is playing a roll not better than that of an, say, official seal or a coat of arms (for that matter, your Queen is Australia’s Queen too and Australia has no reason whatsoever to stay united with you and your group of four).
Must you cobble together ragtag arguments just to justify a system you can safely do away with?
*role. Too bad, Listverse does not give you a chance to edit your comment.
She isn’t Australias queen any more than she is Canada, Pakistan or Indias Queen. She is the symobilc head of the Commonwealth. I don’t even know why I am arguing with you because you are sir…an idiot.
Whoa! Queen Elizabeth II IS Australia’s Monarch and that’s official! For India and Pakistan, the Queen is no different from Britney Spears as they DO NOT officially recognize the Queen.
Please don’t argue with me, DanF, better for you!
@Surya
Thing is we don’t WANT to “do away with” our monarchy, it is part of who we are, for most of us.
And neither do Australia, India, Pakistan or Canada want to “do away with” their association either.
And I’m pretty sure we aren’t the only nation that still has a monarchy.
That should tell you something, no?
Even the most ragtag and cobbly arument is strong as steel in the face of your, for want of a better word, argument.
If you don’t like the idea of a symbolic monarchy, that is fine, I can see that there is more way than one to live, I can even see the sense in some of the arguments against it. However, you asked “How can anybody be STILL under a Queen?” and I answered. If you choose to ignore that information, then so be it.
Now you may return to, what i assume must be, a eutopia of perfect government and national substance to whcih we all must aspire to.
Good day.
Surya,
I apologize you are actually correct.
I think I speak for many subjects (I know not all) when i say that we like having a monarchy. It brings in alot of money from tourism and as someone previously said she provides a sense of nationalism.
if the government becomes corrupt or oppressive, people will rally behind the queen and shell start cracking skulls
a country with great example of racial diversity in africa is South Africa
No, they are NOT three different countries. The UK is the country. Scotland is a territory of the UK. Where did you go to school? Detroit?
No, I went to school in the North of Ireland. And Sorry if I missed the class where the were talking about Britain I was probably busy trying to avoid getting my head blown off by your *****ing “soldiers”. As far as I know Scotland is a country within the UK which is also a country. Anywhere I’ve seen it Scotland is usually referred to as a country.
1999 was NOT a good year for me. Perhaps now I will get the chance to make it better. OK list.
I just want to be a time traveller.