The internet has done this really extra ordinary thing, turning the world into a global village (that is for those who use the internet). I’m not a hands on figures person, so I don’t have any numbers other than those which wikipedia kindly provided me with.
www.worldometers.info tells us that as of January 2022, there are about 7.9 Billion people in the world, and according to datareportal.com, about 4.95 Billion people of the world’s population have access to the internet and log in online. That’s about 62.5% of the world’s humans.
So it is no surprise that something happening in the hinterlands of the USA (and yes I just said that, because not only African countries have Hinterland territories) makes the headlines in Asia and could evolve into a challenge, a common worry or something of community concern in the global village.
Feel free to pursue this article with pre conceived ideas at your own risk, but you guessed right, I’m about to question some BLM issues. We all watched that horrid video of George Floyd about 2 years back. It felt like the whole world was in an uproar (which is not true because the world is way bigger than the internet, but that’s not our bone of contention for the day) and people were upset. But the internet and netizens were quite prominent among the upset people.
Personally I’ve lived in Cameroon my whole life and I never ever felt for half a second that there was an issue with my complexion, because on this part of God’s green earth I walk on, it isn’t. I have never felt the need to say I am black. If I’m being honest, I have never felt black either…. darling my skin complexion is not black. I’m a brown shade skin girl, which is not black and nobody ever called me black. Even those that were called black, it was not to strike at their identity nor self-worth, it more often than not was cruel joking among kids (kids are downright cruel with no shade of pretence).
My skin tone is beautiful and sometimes envied on this end of the globe(a girl can always throw herself flowers). But me feeling I suffered a different treatment because of my skin colour has never been an issue. Tell me about nepotism and tribalism and I would totally get it, Black Lives, not so much.
What is a Black Life? Yes, Hollywood culture has done its best to educate the rest of the world on what a Black Life is, but point is I can only imagine. I can’t cry or take up arms at the thought of it because it is not my reality. It is not something my mind’s eye can see, though my heart does sympathise.
It is not something I have experienced and it is certainly not something I would lay my life down for. In other words, it is not my war, it is not my fight, and I am keen on picking my battles.
If you have been a part of the BLM movement or are still part of it, you should be honest and ask yourself, what is a Black Life? Do you understand why it matters? Would you lay your life and align your ideals to show it matters? Did you ever feel Black in the first place? Is this war yours to fight? Are you ready to fight it?
Don’t all lives matter at the end of the day?
Think on these things.
Hi Pearly
You are totally in your rights with your opinions but i think it’s a matter of solidarity ,and you cannot wait for injustice to come your way before lending your voice.
Let me reference the Anglophone Crisis, many of those who originated from the NW and SW regions but were raised out and the French speakers have never felt the injustice of being an english speaker and they may never due to their privileges… Still as concerned Cameroonians they should if not must react against it.
Thankyou😅
Hi Awah, thanks for the comment by the way.
I think more it’s more about territorial realities than solidarity. If the tables were turned around, do you think a “Black American” of origin and culture will take up arms and stand in solidarity to fight the anglophone crisis? Solidarity I believe goes beyond support and sympathising, it is being of one mind. If you don’t share the same realities, I don’t see much on how it counts as being of one mind and in harmony. We logically can mainly sympathise with things our mind’s eye can only imagine.
We lend our voices because above all else it an inhumane treatment that does not depend on skin complexions. It’s mainly about a human being should not have to endure such treatment.
Like u I have never felt “Black” the way African Americans/Hollywood describe it, I see what’s happening on the new but to relate to it difficult since I have never experienced being judged/segregated/treated due to my skin color or …, But I strongly stand for the fact the “ALL LIVES MATTER” it’s high time we put all this racial difference aside and focus on real issues like : upgrading our educational and political systems, climate change, etc …
Thanks Pearly sparking my brain to rethink on this
Thank you for sharing my view of the table and voicing it out.
Let us have more discussions that prick and contribute to our realities. Not just following the trend, but aiming for practical impact.