Monday, March 28, 2011

The Danger of the Single Story

Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie, gives a TED talk about the "danger of a single story." This danger is something I know all too well as a firsthand witnesson both sides of the coin. I know this danger as a Liberian woman in the Diasporahaving had to continually explain that I grew up with some of the same modern conveniences as people in the West. I also have been a part of the dangerhaving had some prejudices of other peoples based on the single story I've heard; I've given Nigerians, for example, (yes, even Africans can be judged wrongly by a fellow African) a bad rap based on a few criminal activities (Read: Nigerian email scams).

What I get from this enlightening talk are two things:

1. Don't base your opinions on just one thing you've read or heard about anything and conversely do your homework on anything you write/talk about.

2. We all need to tell our own stories, to be sure that they are representative of who we truly are and to paint a more accurate picture of ourselveswhoever "we" may be.