"Donald Trump speaks to Africans frankly. Africans need to solve their problems. You can't survive if you are weak. It is the Africans' fault that they are weak. We are 12 times the size of India, but why are we not strong?" Museveni said in a tweet on January 23rd.
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| Donald Trump and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. |
Overall, Donald Trump's comment had been a reminder of the brutal history of African nations and imperialism. Which has now often been overlooked and neglected. However, the result of these actions still is seen in Africa today. With a comment from an oppressive dictator being a sad symbol of the many Africans living in a poverty-stricken world that has barely changed.
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| "Ugandan Knuckles" internet phenomenon, Which has been a seeming mockery of African culture and its poor infrastructure. Representing a stereotype of African nations that has been upheld by many american citizens, who often ignore the issues and problems occurring in other parts of the world, similar to Museveni's comment on Africa. |
How does Donald Trump's perspective of Africa build upon a stereotype of poverty and instability in Africa?
How do you think western nations should respond to this comment about Africa?
Do you think that the instability of Africa is due to the people themselves, or the history of imperialism in Africa?
Museveni provides a view from the top of society in Uganda, what do you think a person at the bottom of society in Uganda might think about Trump's comment?
Source;
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/24/africa/uganda-museveni-comments-trump-trnd/index.html
While some politicians have claimed that Donald Trump called certain nations “sh1thole countries,” other politicians have claimed otherwise, and the Trump continues to deny ever saying that phrase. There is also no recording of the meeting where he is accused of saying such a thing about certain nations, so it can’t really be said that he did in fact make the comment. Despite this, if he did in fact say this, even in a closed meeting, I don’t think he should have, even if Museveni does support Trump’s comment, and last year, according to Al Jazeera, Trump allegedly said that all people from Haiti have AIDS, which if true should not have been said. The President of the United States should not make demeaning comments about other nations because, given enough time, it will create international conflict. Also, I personally don’t think that imperialization during the 19th and 20th century is all that relevant to african countries being in a current state of poverty because the world has changed a lot in a hundred years, and India was also colonized, yet today, like Museveni references, India is stronger than Uganda. However, I do believe that the US and other more developed countries should aid African countries in developing for the sake of human rights and a better quality of life, making sure that more powerful outside countries, like the US, don’t take control of African countries, or else the US might run into conflict as did happen in the Middle East when the US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteWhile Donald Trump might have or have not actually said the comment. The reaction to it here, I believe, says a lot more about some nations than Trumps comment itself. So I decided to focus on that and also the issues of imperialism. Which, for one thing, was very widespread only 70 years ago, and even sooner for many nations. So I personally believe the issues seen in Uganda and many other African nations are the result of both imperialism and the people themselves. In response to the issue of India, and many African countries, such as Uganda, having higher GDP growth rates than europe. I believe they simply just have more room to grow their economy. Denmark, for example, is highly developed, so their resources are mostly developed and used. While Uganda has much unused and undeveloped land. So more potential inevitably leads to more growth. So while Uganda has a high growth rate. It will still take years to catch up to a developed nation.
DeleteDonald Trump making a dumb comment which he took down, is no shock (to me). Western nations have no need to respond to Donald Trump's comment they might start an argument which is useless. Museveni is the President of Uganda, and Trump being the President. Museveni could be only agree with Trump because we have a lot of H-Bombs ready to go as we do have a "bigger button" as said by Trump. Trump who is talking about stereotypes and not actual real facts. Trump comments on African nations and not the actual country as a whole. Here's some numbers because thats what Trump can only understand. By 2020 Uganda should have raised their GPD by 6.41% since 2010. A whole 5% will be raised, that is a great amount when you compared to Denmark, they will have a GPD raised by only 1.87%. These numbers tell us that Uganda is actually doing fairly well and Museveni is probably just avoiding a big conflict.
ReplyDelete-Nick Lee
I do think that people in the lower classes, might say the exact same as what Trump commented.
DeleteTrump's comment on his views of African nations brings up the stereotypical-children starving-no school image that most sensible people know as a rude generalization and have thus dismissed. Personally, I believe him labeling them as "sh#$thole countries" does not build upon the stereotype further, as most people either recognize the fault in that; rather, it builds upon his own self-image as the uneducated, hypocritical bigot. Despite many countries seeing "gains in health, education and living standards," (http://www.our-africa.org/poverty) and overall economic growth of the continent, Trump refuses to acknowledge the statistics and continue to shake diplomatic relations. However, I do not believe western nations should react to his comment, as he has a history of immaturely acting out upon the smallest offense, such as calling a father of a basketball player an "ungrateful fool" when the dad was reluctant to thank Trump for bailing his son out of jail for shoplifting (https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/22/politics/trump-lavar-ball-tweets/index.html). Other nations opposing his views may make matters worse.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I have a lot to say on this. I try to treat President Trump's actions as objectively as I can, and when he says or does something ignorant, I have always had the tendency to give him the benefit of the doubt, whether my biases lean against him or not. However, no matter if you agree with his statements, what he said was nothing short of vulgar and unpresidential, and is utterly disgraceful for a man in such a coveted position. President Trump's comments enforce the broken idea that a country or continent is a direct reflection of its people, which it absolutely is not. Africa itself has been the victim of corrupt leadership, with the West massively exploiting them both politically and economically for decades. Recent reports even state that $203 billion leave the continent annually due to illicit financial flows. It is important for the United States to do what they can to assist these nations rather than reject them, and statements akin to the one made by President Trump convey nothing but hostility. It is also evident that Africa has not been without massive improvement in recent years, granted it is still struggling majorly. The continent alone has added $78 billion to their GDP within the span of 2000 to 2010, and another $69 billion from 2010 to 2015. Urbanization has also been consistent in recent years, and is largely projected to continue in coming years as well. The statement made by our president seems to largely ignore these statistics and I genuinely believe it ultimately narrows down to a close-minded thought process. As to whether or not Western nations should respond to these comments however, I personally believe that they shouldn't. President Trump has a history of making comments which have been considered ignorant by many (as referred to by Stacy), and I honestly feel it unnecessary to address the opinion of one man, granted an important man, but still a single man. In the chance that these beliefs largely impact international law (which they arguably already have), then yes, I feel as though other countries absolutely have the right to and should respond, but at the moment the situation exists as simply nothing more than the ignorant comments made by a seemingly ignorant man.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though it would be appropriate to end on this quote:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
-The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
(Inscribed on a plaquarde sealed onto statue itself)
Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/05/africa-poor-stealing-wealth-170524063731884.html
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/what-s-the-future-of-economic-growth-in-africa/
http://time.com/4652666/statue-of-liberty-give-me-your-tired-poor/
Western Nations do not need to respond to Trump's vulgar tweet, that is of now, taken down. Museveni is the President of Uganda and Trump is the President of US. I believe responding to Trump's tweets will only cause unnecessary chaos between them. Trump referred the Africans as "sh#&thole countries" however, he denied it later on (https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/24/africa/uganda-museveni-comments-trump-trnd/index.html). This comment was utterly useless as it only brought problems into the situation. His tweet also brought up diplomatic issues, stereotypes of poverty, and instability in Africa. Contrary, Museveni stated "I love Trump because he talk to Africans frankly. I don't know if he's misquote or whatever, but when he speaks I like him because he speaks frankly" (https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/24/africa/uganda-museveni-comments-trump-trnd/index.html). These waves of comment battle swinging back and forth is a waste of both of their time. Therefore, I believe Museveni should ignore the nasty comments Trump is making. Ignoring these comments will block any unneeded issues.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Trump's comment regarding the nations of Africa is incredibly inappropriate for someone in his position and such comments certainly drive home the current stereotypes surrounding African countries. When the leader of a powerful country, like the United States chooses to label other nations as "s**thole"s they are broadcasting toxic ideas to the whole population, only enforcing stereotypes. His terminology is just plain rude and lacks any depth whatsoever. Unfortunately the rather impressionable American public cannot further understand conditions in some African nations when their leader provides insults instead of information. Trump's perspective is an uniformed one and the sole African leader to agree with him publicly is blaming his own people for Uganda's troubles. According to this BBC article on Museveni, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12421747, he is rather unpopular, and his refusal to take action and deal with Uganda's corruption has only harmed the country. After Museveni's degradation of his own country based off Trump's comments, it's easy to see that these comments only add to the reasons why people worldwide believe such stereotypes about African nations.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the instability of Africa is due to the Imperialism that the country has experienced. Since the Scramble for Africa when European nations colonized the country for it's natural goods, Africa has suffered as an independent country. They were never given the opportunity to govern themselves when the westerners were in control. Since this time, Africa has not been able to come back from this and their history of corrupt leaders has not helped the problem. Today, the country is not current with technology or modern concepts that we are used to here in the US. This causes a problem because the African people are struggling to even survive in the remote and harsh environment they live in. And since other more developed countries are not willing to help, Africa is struggling to thrive as an independent country. I believe that in order for Africa to become a more stable country, the European nations that once controlled the large continent need to step forward and offer help and support to get the country back on track.
ReplyDeleteThe comment that Donald Trump made about Africa is very inappropriate for a person in his position of power. When speaking about another country, a person with his amount of influence on people's judgement needs to understand that his comments impact the stereotypes that people in Africa already face. His comments made it blatantly obvious that even he believes the stereotypes that surround Africa, and he also compared Africa to a "dirty toilet" (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/27/trump-sends-letter-to-african-leaders.html). His repeated comments instill an opinion in Americans about Africa that may not be as persistent if he did not make those comments. For some people, his statements are the extent of their knowledge about Africa, which creates a deeply incorrect view of the continent.
ReplyDeleteTrump’s comment represents the widely held stereotype that all Africans live in poverty, which is a generalization that is not true about all Africans. Similarly, other countries shouldn’t assume that all US citizens are fat, racist, and obsessed with guns. Other than condemning Trump’s rude comment, there isn’t much other nations can do to change Trump’s opinion about foreign countries. In the future, Trump should comment on other countries in a more respectful and diplomatic way that offers a solution instead of criticizing the problem.
ReplyDeleteTrump's statement about Africa was a very immature comment and should never come out of someones mouth with his type of power whether they think it or not. Every country has several stereotypes and sadly one of Africa's stereotype is that they live in poverty. However, not all of Africa lives in poverty so Trump's rude comment just adds on to the disrespectful stereotype of Africa. By adding that comment, Trump not only embarrassed all of Africa but also supported the stereotype for America that we are racist. Overall, this comment should have never been said to begin with and has now started a spiral of chaos since then.
ReplyDeleteTrump's comment to this was very inappropriate and is unacceptable due to him representing the United States of America. He followed up to the stereotypical comments that all Africans live in poverty. Not all Africans live in poverty and it is extremely disrespectful to assume facts like that. Donald Trump should be careful with his words as it caused even more conflict that it ever was before.
ReplyDeleteWhile Trump's comment is not acceptable in the first place more importantly I think that the Ugandan president should have not responded the way he did, this sort of shows that he does not trust his very own country and he agrees to it being a sh** hole country. By such a reaction by the Ugandan president he deems to be accepting the stereotypes of poverty, lack of food and dirtiness which Trump is referring to. And furthermore this comment by Trump only created more problems for him and increased the hate and backlash he received.
ReplyDelete