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Ghana, not Africa. When will Westerners stop treating Africa as a monoculture.
by alephnerd 1y ago
Ghana, not Africa.
When will Westerners stop treating Africa as a monoculture.
- fooqux 1y agoThe article says it's from Ghana in the second sentence and other places throughout. Is that not enough?
- zdragnar 1y agoTo be fair, it would be rather odd to use Asia in the title only for the article to refer more oe less exclusively to China or Vietnam.
- Barbing 1y agoGood comparison, thanks, helps put it into perspective. Either of these better titles or no? “…from Ghana, Africa…” “…from Africa’s Ghana…” (China, Asia & Asia’s China don’t really fit so probably not?)
- em500 1y agoOr how about just “from Ghana”?
- mitthrowaway2 1y agoDefinitely not. Ghana, Africa is phrased as though Ghana were a city in the country of Africa.
- fooqux 1y agoTrue, although Asia is also nearly twice the size of Africa, which might have something to do with that.
- ozgrakkurt 1y agoAnd Africa is more than twice the size of Europe, it is fair to complain that they don’t just put Ghana in the title. It is not that the title is unacceptable but it is just wrong and weird
- exFAT 1y agoAfrica's GDP is also 1/10th of Europe's...
- sometimes_all 1y agoAnd Canada's population is 1/20th that of Europe, yet we all know where that is. No need to cherry-pick some random metric and try and justify a point that's not worth justifying.
- exFAT 1y agoMaybe the English-speaking world. I think most people couldn't place Canada on a map. More people than Ghana or any African country, certainly, but that's because it's more famous. GDP is more correlated to this than population or landmass. I'm not justifying anything. I also think it's more polite to say "Ghana" rather than "Africa". I just don't agree with the arguments.
- sometimes_all 1y agoI am fairly certain that most people in the non-English speaking world will also be able to place Canada on the map - I'd assume the French know exactly where Canada is. But I digress; it's not about placing a country on a map. It's more about we know that Canada is a separate country, and it has an identity distinct from other countries in its continent. This goes beyond mere politeness; that you used this word is a bit suggestive. Refusing to acknowledge an identity is far more than just a lack of politeness.
- croes 1y agoYou only see that after the click. I expected different posters for the same movie from different African countries. Imagine buying a cook book of European cuisine only listing UK dishes.
- Elidrake24 1y agoI can appreciate where you're coming from in general, but this article isn't that. All Headlines suck, by their nature they have to cater to the lowest common denominator in who they assume their audience is, so we're using the headline to place an unfamiliar country in a continent that is familiar enough, at least in name.
- alephnerd 1y agoThat is not an acceptable reason for clickbait.
- jchw 1y agoHow exactly is that clickbait? You might not like it, but that doesn't make it clickbait. That's like saying it's clickbait to say Europe in a headline instead of Austria.
- croes 1y agoIf you claim to show the art of a continent but only show art from one country it’s misleading. Like a tour guide for the US and you only list places in Texas.
- jchw 1y agoA tour guide for the U.S. definitely implies that you are going to see a variety of places in the U.S. That's implied by the word "tour" which means something roughly akin to "a journey through several different places". This is merely an example where the writer of the headline believes that the average reader may not be familiar with the country of Ghana. If the demographics include Americans, I'd have to guess they were spot on. (I'm American, I know how Americans are.) Would it really be similarly offensive if a headline referred to something happening in "South America" when actually it happened in Guyana? Or, a headline about something happening in "Europe" when actually it happened in Andorra? None of these headlines are inaccurate. They're just not specific. I can obviously see why this is frustrating but to me it's a complete misunderstanding to blame the person writing the headline.
- hiccuphippo 1y agoA lot of people say America as if it was a country and not a whole continent or two.
- ndsipa_pomu 1y agoAnd Canadians tend to get upset if you refer to them as an American, though technically they are.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- fart-fart-FART 1y ago[flagged]
- ALM 1y agoThe original commenters critique is valid, as the discussion illustrates and ultimately vindicates. This comment you have left in response is dismissive, childish, and lacking of any meaningful contribution. Although, I suppose with a username like yours it should be of no surprise this is all you could meet them with. It is nevertheless disappointing to see such low-brow low-effort commentary on HN, and it is ironically your comment that is misplaced rather than the original commenter.
- fart-fart-FART 1y ago[flagged]
- ALM 1y agoEditorial decisions and biases are relevant discussion points in writing. Subtext may be elusive amongst words, words, and words. You would benefit from embracing maturity and critical thought, as your contributions are a disservice to the community in present form, fart-fart-FART.
- fart-fart-FART 1y ago[flagged]
- Razengan 1y agoWait till you hear about Asian people!