Now I'm a Terrorist

One of my favorite authors Chimamanda Adichie has a feature on TED discussing 'The Danger of a Single Story' Basically highlighting the point that its messed up that Africa to the rest of the world is pretty much a jungle of savages waiting to be saved by the blue-eyed white man.

If you're Nigerian you probably had Christmas day kinda ruined by hearing about the Nigerian man trying to blow up the Northwest Flight. If you're like me you probably also put your hand over your face, bent your head and sighed heavily. You could probably hear the sound of your heart beating faster thinking. "FUUUCCCKKK what does this mean for me now? What opportunities will silently get swiped from underneath me because of the simple fact that I'm Nigerian. Should I change my name? But I will always look Nigerian...(I get the "where are you from question ALL the time). Should I say I'm really Cameroonian not actually Nigerian?"

Maybe I'm exaggerating. Maybe I'm just tripping. Maybe my non-Nigerian friends won't judge me or look at me weird. But it sucks. It sucks because people do shit things all the time, but when it's a blackNigerianlatino person that will be the first word that comes with the headline.
Nigerian man starts fire....
Nigerian Scam...
Nigerian man kills wife...
Nigerian...

Why is it SOOOO important that he's Nigerian, why is it so important to use that descriptor over and over and over and over again. I almost shot my self in the head from CNN being on for an hour. Ugh!

I never heard similar headlines beginning with "Whitecaucasian man blah blah blah..."

and so the stereotypes stack up

First I was selling my brothers to the white man
then I was chasing tigers naked and clucking my tongue in the back of my throat
then I was  writing letters to thousands of innocents citizens of scamming them out of their hard earned money
then I was chasing tigers naked and clucking my tongue in the back of my throat
Now i'm bombing damn planes!!
WHILE STILL CHASING TIGERS NAKED AND CLUCKING MY TONGUE IN THE BACK OF MY THROAT

And the list goes on and on...

Maybe now people can change the insults 'jokes' they make about me upon being introduced to me as a Nigerian  "Oh you're Nigerian, are you gonna 419 me? Should I give you my bank account number?"

I wonder how they would feel if I went ahead and said
 "Hey you're white so you gonna put me on a ship and sell me to your grandpa who will then proceed to rape me and make me his slave whore?"

grrrr,

N