Fencing lesson Scam?

[thereom4]

Everyone who's even slightly interested in this thread has probably already googled the words "Nigeria" and "third world country". What might also be interesting is to look up the validity of stereotypes of Nigerians in district 9.

Using your own story and first hand experience with a handful of Nigerians to disprove popular views about the third world country in question is about as effective as boutAfrica's attempt to reaffirm stereotypes with experiences he's had with a handful of Nigerians. Though I suspect he's been living in Africa for a lot longer than you.

I'm sorry you are have not come to terms with the image of Nigeria and Nigerians.

You are also crazy. A handful of Nigerians? You are sorely misinformed. I haven't seen District 9 but I gather like BoutAfrica most people who still view Africa as a jungle that most of your opinions about Africa or anything not Western is media driven. I was born here and I've gone to Nigeria once. I consider myself both a Nigerian and an American but the superiority that most Westerners have is quite irritating. There are indeed very poor countries in the continent of Africa. Nigeria certainly has it's problems. Those problems tend to start with the corrupt leadership. But they'll end when the talented and Western educated youth who came back decide enough is enough. By the way Nigeria happens to have the second largest economy in all of Africa. I guess those "noble savages" know what they're doing hunh? Don't bother responding. Oh and about those stereotypes in District 9 (just looked it up) that you mentioned. The ones where Nigerians are supposed to be prostitutes, criminals and cannibals. They're supposed to be valid? Get the **** on. How many Nigerian prostitutes and cannibals do you know? Hmmm. The aliens on District 9 don't count. Mmkay. Their fictional characters in a movie not people. You may "know" a Nigerian criminal or two. But if you gave that so-called Nigerian prince some money is hopes of claiming some prize for your help that's your greedy and dumb ass fault. 90% of the people I know are ****ing Nigerian. **** you and your stereotypes. Take your ass to Africa and see for yourself. And I'm not talking about colonized, formerly segregated South Africa either. Oh and those images of Nigeria I'm supposed to come to terms with....yeah not going to happen. Why in the world would I need to come to terms with images of Nigeria perpetuated by ignoramuses with superiority complexes such as yourself?

Also....how is ALL of Africa and ALL of South America Third World? Who makes up these jank terminologies anyway? Oh yeah... "The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned or not moving at all with either capitalism and NATO (which along with its allies represented the First World) or communism and the Soviet Union (which along with its allies represented the Second World)."

But it turns out..."Although the term continues to be used colloquially to describe the poorest countries in the world, this usage is widely disparaged since the term no longer holds any verifiable meaning after the fall of the Soviet Union deprecated the terms First World and Second World. While there is no identical contemporary replacement, common alternatives include developing world and Global South and more recently Majority World."

I guess when the noble yet savage cannibals learn how to hook up an electricity system and indoor plumbing they can be included in the 1st world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_W...al_Description

[DangerMouse]

Just to clear things up a bit (or not), the designation of Third World arrose during the cold war to indicate that a country was neither aligned with the Western capitalists or the Soviet Union (first and second world). It is now generally used to refer to "developing" nations (generally those with low GDP and overall low incomes by WORLD standards). Third World does not imply jungle. This debate is a good example of why the term has largely fallen out of academic usage in favor of Developing Nations or the Global South, which is also a poor word choice.

[Superscribe]

You are also crazy. A handful of Nigerians? You are sorely misinformed. I haven't seen District 9 but I gather like BoutAfrica most people who still view Africa as a jungle that most of your opinions about Africa or anything not Western is media driven. I was born here and I've gone to Nigeria once. I consider myself both a Nigerian and an American but the superiority that most Westerners have is quite irritating. There are indeed very poor countries in the continent of Africa. Nigeria certainly has it's problems. Those problems tend to start with the corrupt leadership. But they'll end when the talented and Western educated youth who came back decide enough is enough. By the way Nigeria happens to have the second largest economy in all of Africa. I guess those "noble savages" know what they're doing hunh? Don't bother responding. Oh and about those stereotypes in District 9 (just looked it up) that you mentioned. The ones where Nigerians are supposed to be prostitutes, criminals and cannibals. They're supposed to be valid. 90% of the people I know are ****ing Nigerian. **** you and your stereotypes. Take your ass to Africa and see for yourself. And I'm not talking about colonized, formerly segregated South Africa either.

How is ALL of Africa and ALL of South America Third World. Who makes up these jank terminologies anyway? Oh yeah... "The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned or not moving at all with either capitalism and NATO (which along with its allies represented the First World) or communism and the Soviet Union (which along with its allies represented the Second World)."

But it turns out..."Although the term continues to be used colloquially to describe the poorest countries in the world, this usage is widely disparaged since the term no longer holds any verifiable meaning after the fall of the Soviet Union deprecated the terms First World and Second World. While there is no identical contemporary replacement, common alternatives include developing world and Global South and more recently Majority World."

I guess when the noble yet savage cannibals learn how to hook up an electricity system and indoor plumbing they can be included in the 1st world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_W...al_Description

Oooo, i love it when these things get personal.

I'm not crazy. I'm way more reasonable than you. I'll prove it with how I parse your barely coherent tirade/flinging poo on a wall.


I work with a group called Videre.
http://videremicrofinance.org/about-videre/

It's setting up a microfinance in Sudan to help the people there. You look up microfinance. Part of setting up a microfinance means taking a earnest evaluation of the situation so you can help where the people need it most. It does not mean deluding people into a false sense of self-grandoise and thinking they don't have a problem when they do. I have a very real understanding of what the continent of Africa is like. I'm making an very real and immediate impact there. (As an aside, if ANYONE wants to know more about how to help or get involved by making a BIG difference with very little money, please let me know)

YOU on the hand, are a simpleton supremecist without a mature grasp of how stereotyping works, what effects it has, what people in Africa need vs what they want, how little you learn about Africa in ONE TRIP to Nigeria, differences between different countries in Africa, why Africans get out of Africa, and what grown ups believe will help countries in Africa.

You know what happened last time talented and western educated youths grew up and went to Africa in the confines of corrupt leadership? Liberia. Der. Look that one up too.

I don't know why you're emphasizing the use of continent vs country. I don't think I made any error. You probably screwed up and thought somebody else screwed up in your haze of misplaced indignation. You are crazy.

I also don't know why you seem to be stereotyping me as a white Imperialist, by implicating me as guilty of uttering the words "noble savage". You are crazy. I'm not white, and not an imperialist. Also, using a stereotype to make fun of stereotyping is still promoting stereotyping. If that's too "jank" for you to follow, then what I really meant is you look ignorant for talking about something you know nothing about.

I was hoping we could have a discussion of how why Nigerians have the reputation they do in different parts of the world, particularly in South Africa (in light of the district 9 controversy), but I no longer hope for that.

Also your claim that "90% of the people I know are ****ing Nigerian" seems false because my Nigerian friends in Dallas, Manhattan, LA, and Baltimore can't make claims anywhere near that. Even if your claim was true, it doesn't do anything to dispprove how other people percieve them, so you are still crazy for bringing it up in the first place.

Also, I think you were the first person to bring up Nigeria in association with the term "third world country". Then somebody confronted you about it. Then you denied it. Then somebody told you to check yourself. Now you realize you're wrong.

You started this thing with "third world country" and you didn't even know what it really meant or how it's used? Mmm. You are crazy.

[DangerMouse]

To also muddy the waters, now that this has turned into a discussion of the term Third World, the designation is not just economic, but also reflects the stability of the government and individual freedoms. One of the fastest growing wireless communications markets in the world is in Somalia, which has no functioning government and zero stability. China has a strong national government and a high level of economic development, but the lack of individual rights and freedoms puts China on many of the lists of Third World countries.

I fully agree that the designation Third World is a poor system of classification, but so are many others. I personally think the concept of a nation-state does not work well outside North America and Europe, but yet it is the dominant unit of international relations and a lot of research conflates disparate ethnic groups with disparate linguistic, organizational, and cultural systems within nation-states. Does this mean I should stop referring to Iraq as a unit? Are your Nigerian friends Yoruba, Igba, Fulani, or members of one of the 250 or so other ethnic groups in Nigeria?

[NGV]

To also muddy the waters, now that this has turned into a discussion of the term Third World, the designation is not just economic, but also reflects the stability of the government and individual freedoms.

In my experience, the "Third World" designation (when not used in its original Cold War sense) is most comonly applied based on social and economic development, without much consideration of politics. Maybe political stability and state strength might be taken into account in some definitions, but very rarely political freedoms. Pretty much nobody considers Singapore a part of the Third World these days.

One of the fastest growing wireless communications markets in the world is in Somalia, which has no functioning government and zero stability.

Regardless of how fast its wireless communication market is growing, Somalia is incredibly poor - one of the few very poorest countries in the world, in fact. The CIA estimates its GDP/capita at $600 per year.

China has a strong national government and a high level of economic development, but the lack of individual rights and freedoms puts China on many of the lists of Third World countries.

China does not have a "high level of economic development" by international standards. Its GDP per capita is roughly in the same range as Namibia, Turkmenistan, and Ecuador. In the UN's Human Development rankings, China comes in below Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Kazakhstan, among others.

China, like many poor countries, has (mostly urban) enclaves of prosperity amid widespread (predominantly rural) poverty. Because the country is so huge, those prosperous enclaves have a bigger population than most entire countries - but, the average Chinese citizen still has a standard of living far below that of people in the developed world.

Human Development Rankings can be found here, as a point of reference.

[DangerMouse]

You are, of course, right on all counts. I was simply highlighting the difficulties of using the term and differen tways I've seen it used.

[thereom4]

@Superscribe you are clearly a jackass. I didn't even read your post past the title. That's all you probably really know about Nigeria. Fela. Really? What did you just catch the Broadway play about him? You ****ing idiot. Oh and, please don't PM again letting me know "it'd be fun to argue...in person." Mmkay? I mean eeewww. In fact put me on your ignore list. You are now on mine.

Edit: After actually reading your post, here is what I found worth replying to:

Also, I think you were the first person to bring up Nigeria in association with the term "third world country". Then somebody confronted you about it. Then you denied it. Then somebody told you to check yourself. Now you realize you're wrong.

You started this thing with "third world country" and you didn't even know what it really meant or how it's used? Mmm. You are crazy.

Yeah ummm....are you for real? Stop doing blow. Remember when you said....

Everyone who's even slightly interested in this thread has probably already googled the words "Nigeria" and "third world country". What might also be interesting is to look up the validity of stereotypes of Nigerians in district 9.

You know what happened last time talented and western educated youths grew up and went to Africa in the confines of corrupt leadership? Liberia. Der. Look that one up too.

So what do you propose? Hmmm. Throwing money at the problems? Like usual. Education is key. Educated people know this.

I don't know why you're emphasizing the use of continent vs country.

I emphasized continent in my post because jackasses like you tend not to note the large distinction. I don't know. You come across a little Sarah Palinish.

You work for Videre. Go for you. I'm sure you feel you're doing good work while probably at the same time holding some really ugly beliefs in your heart about the people you're helping. I don't know you but you seem like the type. I don't care if you're White, Black, Asian, Indian, Hispanic.....I really could care less what you chose to call yourself. What I do care about is not letting people like you define or stereotype a culture, a people that you know very little or nothing about.

I was hoping we could have a discussion of how why Nigerians have the reputation they do in different parts of the world, particularly in South Africa (in light of the district 9 controversy), but I no longer hope for that.

Really?

What might also be interesting is to look up the validity of stereotypes of Nigerians in district 9.

The fact that you even bring District 9 into the discussion lets me know you're a moron.

[thereom4]

Are your Nigerian friends Yoruba, Igba, Fulani, or members of one of the 250 or so other ethnic groups in Nigeria?

My family is Yoruba. My friends and church family are Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, and Hausa.

[erooMynohtnA]

@Superscribe you are clearly a jackass. I didn't even read your post past the title. That's all you probably really know about Nigeria. Fela. Really? What did you just catch the Broadway play about him? You ****ing idiot. Oh and, please don't PM again letting me know "it'd be fun to argue...in person." Mmkay? In fact put me on your ignore list. You are now on mine.

How third world of you.

[thereom4]

How third world of you.

[Superscribe]

@Superscribe you are clearly a jackass. I didn't even read your post past the title. That's all you probably really know about Nigeria. Fela. Really? What did you just catch the Broadway play about him? You ****ing idiot. Oh and, please don't PM again letting me know "it'd be fun to argue...in person." Mmkay? I mean eeewww. In fact put me on your ignore list. You are now on mine.

Edit: After actually reading your post, here is what I found worth replying to:


.

I'm all about fencing. I'm all about intelligent political and civil right's discussion. A lot of f.netters are interesting to meet in real life.

However, I feel that you aren't actually a fencer and offer nothing to a conversation but emotional vitriol and an inability to stand by your word. You'll notice that I haven't pm'ed you since about the second time you've opened your proverbial mouth here, 6 months ago, despite your PM affirmations that "yeah, it'd be fun to argue in person".

There's no way you're putting me on ignore, just like there's no way you had the self control to not read my post.

Ha ha! My apologies for the thread drift but as a Nigerian I wince when I hear scam and Nigeria in the same sentence. Truth be told those scammers are smart but lazy and also greedy. It's embarrassing and annoying that they are from Nigeria.

Nigeria is not a third world country. Dare not say that to a Nigerian. Nigerians will tell you that Nigeria is the best country in Africa. The job opportunities there are not the same as they are here or in European countries which is why so many Nigerians and other foreigners (my parents included) come here to go to school. And unfortunately why some of the Nigerian scammers decided to go the thieving route.

For what it's worth this is the first time anyone mentioned Nigeria and third world. That would be you. Not me. It seems you were being self conscious.

Also, nobody misused the words "continents", "countries", "Africa", "Nigeria", or "third world". Except Thereom4, when she said "Nigeria is not a third world country". I think, even if you were born in a third world country, that makes you wrong. Or you are crazy

I'm not going to defend my works or what you think of me, because you're wrong about them, just like you've been wrong about a lot in this thread, and you don't know how to handle being wrong yet.

I hope you understand that for some people, you might be the defining example of a Nigerian, and that's more important than you might think.

Also, the story of Fela is very pertinent to what the discussion has become, and talks a lot about what was/is wrong with Nigeria, how a Nigerian had to deal with stereotypes, and whether or not a "western" education could make lasting change in Nigeria. Also something i thought would be interesting to discuss. Unfortunately, you've emotionally frustrated yourself into incoherency.

I also saw the Broadway show. It was pretty great, like most Broadway shows.

[Superscribe]

I hope you don't get in trouble for your language and general poo-flinging demeanor in this thread.