5 ms·

What a great story! Sure he will inspire so many kids to get interested in science. Also wondering: why does the headline say "African"? Africa is not a countr

What a great story! Sure he will inspire so many kids to get interested in science. Also wondering: why does the headline say "African"? Africa is not a country. I don't think the WSJ says "European" when they mean "French" or "North American" when they write about somebody in Texas.

SixSigma 11y ago
I love "Asian" as a description. I'm quite sure Asian-american doesn't mean someone from Armenia.
- marcusgarvey 11y ago
  "Urban" is also a great euphemism for "black" that often pops up.
  - SixSigma 11y ago
    In the same way that "urbane" doesn't.
    - marcusgarvey 11y ago
      Which is ironic given that the very concept of "cool" originated within various tribes of Western, Central and Eastern Africa. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3334749?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents http://www.jstor.org/stable/3334749?seq=1#page_scan_tab_cont...
theklub 11y ago
What should the headline be?
- canjobear 11y ago
  Congolese
zo1 11y ago
Not to be offensive or anything, but for quite a lot of people, that's the extent of knowledge they have of "Africa" as a concept. Even ones that do know, they essentially clump all the individual countries into one bucket, and use that for basing their assumptions/opinions. It's gotten better over the years, but I've also gotten used to it. Also, I do my best to correct any misconceptions they have about the place I've called home for quite a bit of my life.
- marcusgarvey 11y ago
  Sure, and they'll continue to have limited knowledge as long as the media continues treating the continent like a monolith. WSJ readers are more sophisticated than the average, I would imagine they could handle it.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
_djo_ 11y ago
Especially because it diminishes his achievement. In some other African countries, building your own rocket is not such a big deal. South Africa, for instance, has its own amateur rocketry association [0], has shops specialising in rocket parts and once had a LEO space launcher and ICBM programme that was cancelled with the end of Apartheid. There are dozens of amateurs building serious rockets. It's far more impressive to me that this guy is Congolese and operating without any of that supporting infrastructure or shared knowledge. The headline removes needed context and makes the story seem less interesting than it really is. [0]: http://www.rocketry.org.za http://www.rocketry.org.za
futbol 11y ago
Well, the borders and names of many countries in sub-saharan Africa have gone through dramatic changes over the past few decades. Not trying to be a jerk, let's say he's 45 years old, and lived all his life in Kinshasa (previously Leopoldville), then most of his life was lived in a country named Zaire. So then there are the why's of which countries were actually valid states, and whether this or that country counts more. So maybe language is the answer? If he speaks Kongo, is he Kongo or Congolese, or if he speaks Ligala or several languages, then what? Maybe the reporter asked him which he prefered? Maybe the editor vetoed it. Maybe they all had similar discussions we're having in this thread.
- marcusgarvey 11y ago
  There have been changes to be sure. As also happened/is happening in Eastern Europe. But of course these countries have a name, no matter how new, and journalists have no problem using them in those other cases.

SixSigma 11y ago

I love "Asian" as a description. I'm quite sure Asian-american doesn't mean someone from Armenia.

marcusgarvey 11y ago
"Urban" is also a great euphemism for "black" that often pops up.
- SixSigma 11y ago
  In the same way that "urbane" doesn't.
  - marcusgarvey 11y ago
    Which is ironic given that the very concept of "cool" originated within various tribes of Western, Central and Eastern Africa. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3334749?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents http://www.jstor.org/stable/3334749?seq=1#page_scan_tab_cont...

theklub 11y ago

What should the headline be?

canjobear 11y ago
Congolese

zo1 11y ago

Not to be offensive or anything, but for quite a lot of people, that's the extent of knowledge they have of "Africa" as a concept. Even ones that do know, they essentially clump all the individual countries into one bucket, and use that for basing their assumptions/opinions. It's gotten better over the years, but I've also gotten used to it. Also, I do my best to correct any misconceptions they have about the place I've called home for quite a bit of my life.

marcusgarvey 11y ago
Sure, and they'll continue to have limited knowledge as long as the media continues treating the continent like a monolith. WSJ readers are more sophisticated than the average, I would imagine they could handle it.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

_djo_ 11y ago

Especially because it diminishes his achievement. In some other African countries, building your own rocket is not such a big deal. South Africa, for instance, has its own amateur rocketry association [0], has shops specialising in rocket parts and once had a LEO space launcher and ICBM programme that was cancelled with the end of Apartheid. There are dozens of amateurs building serious rockets. It's far more impressive to me that this guy is Congolese and operating without any of that supporting infrastructure or shared knowledge. The headline removes needed context and makes the story seem less interesting than it really is. [0]: http://www.rocketry.org.za http://www.rocketry.org.za

futbol 11y ago

Well, the borders and names of many countries in sub-saharan Africa have gone through dramatic changes over the past few decades. Not trying to be a jerk, let's say he's 45 years old, and lived all his life in Kinshasa (previously Leopoldville), then most of his life was lived in a country named Zaire. So then there are the why's of which countries were actually valid states, and whether this or that country counts more. So maybe language is the answer? If he speaks Kongo, is he Kongo or Congolese, or if he speaks Ligala or several languages, then what? Maybe the reporter asked him which he prefered? Maybe the editor vetoed it. Maybe they all had similar discussions we're having in this thread.

marcusgarvey 11y ago
There have been changes to be sure. As also happened/is happening in Eastern Europe. But of course these countries have a name, no matter how new, and journalists have no problem using them in those other cases.