Black on black hate 2.
I wrote about black on black hate in a previous blog & today I want to focus on ethnic, cultural & national differences which separate black people.
Black people are as diverse as any group in the world. On the African continent alone, without the diaspora, we are probably the most ethnically & linguistically diverse group or race in the world. We simply cannot force ourselves to unite because we're all black because when you think of how different we are, forced unity almost sounds absurd. A giant black Babylon can only cause more problems than it will solve. Every black person has their own ancestors & ancestral language.
I'm going to write about the four main black on black hate rivalries I've seen:
NIGERIA VS SOUTH AFRICA
This rivalry also sometimes extends to the football field. I think this rivalry comes from the fact that our Nigerian brothers still think South Africans are "cooning" when showing solidarity with their white population when Nigeria kicked out the British imperialists a long time ago. Nigerians have a notable community in South Africa & they are often victims of xenophobia being accused of being drug lords & pimps. Nigerians are also seen as a problem in other African countries like Kenya & Ghana where they were kicked out. The problem with Nigeria is their population, they are just struggling to keep their population within their borders.
In the recent xenophobic violence in South Africa fueled by poverty & lack of resources in the land, Nigerians were called out for occupying suburbs & turning them into ghettos e. g. Hillbrow in Gauteng. This led to other African countries commenting on this phenomenon of Nigerian communities popping up all over Africa & introducing crime & prostitution into their lands. The xenophobic violences in South Africa were, obviously, not met with smiles in Nigeria when they attacked South African business MTN. There was even a video of the car of South Africa's ambassador to Nigeria being viciously attacked on a Nigerian road. I suppose if nothing was done, it could've escalated into war but the Nigerian president was invited to South Africa to have talks with the South African president to calm the situation down. I've never experienced problems with Nigerians in my life I've met a few in real life & online & can say I've gotten along with them but they do have an inexplicable confidence in themselves which is what I suppose irks other people.
Black people are as diverse as any group in the world. On the African continent alone, without the diaspora, we are probably the most ethnically & linguistically diverse group or race in the world. We simply cannot force ourselves to unite because we're all black because when you think of how different we are, forced unity almost sounds absurd. A giant black Babylon can only cause more problems than it will solve. Every black person has their own ancestors & ancestral language.
I'm going to write about the four main black on black hate rivalries I've seen:
NIGERIA VS SOUTH AFRICA
This rivalry also sometimes extends to the football field. I think this rivalry comes from the fact that our Nigerian brothers still think South Africans are "cooning" when showing solidarity with their white population when Nigeria kicked out the British imperialists a long time ago. Nigerians have a notable community in South Africa & they are often victims of xenophobia being accused of being drug lords & pimps. Nigerians are also seen as a problem in other African countries like Kenya & Ghana where they were kicked out. The problem with Nigeria is their population, they are just struggling to keep their population within their borders.
In the recent xenophobic violence in South Africa fueled by poverty & lack of resources in the land, Nigerians were called out for occupying suburbs & turning them into ghettos e. g. Hillbrow in Gauteng. This led to other African countries commenting on this phenomenon of Nigerian communities popping up all over Africa & introducing crime & prostitution into their lands. The xenophobic violences in South Africa were, obviously, not met with smiles in Nigeria when they attacked South African business MTN. There was even a video of the car of South Africa's ambassador to Nigeria being viciously attacked on a Nigerian road. I suppose if nothing was done, it could've escalated into war but the Nigerian president was invited to South Africa to have talks with the South African president to calm the situation down. I've never experienced problems with Nigerians in my life I've met a few in real life & online & can say I've gotten along with them but they do have an inexplicable confidence in themselves which is what I suppose irks other people.
AFRICAN AMERICANS VS AFRICANS
I have to distinguish that it's black Americans in the U. S. A. I'll be writing about because I'm not sure how black Africans are treated in Latin America or the Caribbean.
If we're being honest on the continent, we only like black American media because were we to meet these people in real life, we might find that we don't like them. If a black American were to live in Africa, they'd have to navigate through the complexities of African culture so as to not overstay their welcome on the continent. African Americans don't like Africans, they only like Africans if they do American-ish things or do American music. We talk of Akon who was bullied because of his dark skin tone, black Americans calling us Kunta Kinte, jungle brother & all sorts of other names. The hate in this rivalry isn't as deep because black Americans are miles away & we don't have to worry about them on a daily basis for this "hatred" to escalate into something bigger.
I have to distinguish that it's black Americans in the U. S. A. I'll be writing about because I'm not sure how black Africans are treated in Latin America or the Caribbean.
If we're being honest on the continent, we only like black American media because were we to meet these people in real life, we might find that we don't like them. If a black American were to live in Africa, they'd have to navigate through the complexities of African culture so as to not overstay their welcome on the continent. African Americans don't like Africans, they only like Africans if they do American-ish things or do American music. We talk of Akon who was bullied because of his dark skin tone, black Americans calling us Kunta Kinte, jungle brother & all sorts of other names. The hate in this rivalry isn't as deep because black Americans are miles away & we don't have to worry about them on a daily basis for this "hatred" to escalate into something bigger.
HUTU VS TUTSI
This might be one of the darker black on black hatred topics, along with the Gukurahundi Genocide of Zimbabwe, because there were massacres involved. Even though Rwanda has recovered, people still talk of this dark chapter in African history & will not forget it.
XHOSA VS ZULU
This might come from the fact that Xhosa people seem to want to ride on every Zulu success for no real reason. Xhosa people ridicule Zulu people & a lot of Zulu people don't really like Xhosa people. They are only forced to work together because they were both forced into South Africa by colonialists. The Xhosa seem to feel they have a strange right to Zulu territory & further show disrespect by not speaking the Zulu language. Zulu people won't mind speaking Xhosa but Xhosa people would still be speaking Xhosa at Nongoma just as an exhibition of their disrespect & disdain for anything Zulu. I remember at school, the Xhosa students refused to learn Zulu IN KZN! That just shows the level of arrogance of Xhosa people coming to KZN. Ofcourse, in Gauteng they are also ridiculed because they are so haughty & in the Western Cape (KhoiSan territory) they've even claimed some places as their own even being called economic refugees by a Western Cape politician at some point. The Zulu are known to disapprove of anything foreign so there has been a few Xhosa vs Zulu squabbles even though the South African government wants to play it down & divert attention elsewhere. Nelson Mandela disliked Zulu people & denied the Zulu gaining their old territories back when the Zulu king sent a direct letter to Nelson Mandela so he could right this historic wrong but apparently Mandela denied as the area north of uMzimvubu River is still in the Eastern Cape & not part of KZN. Any attempt at Zulu people improving themselves will definitely be met with either Xhosa people wanting to ride on the success of it or contempt from Xhosa people whereas any attempt made by Xhosa people to improve themselves is not even noticed by Zulu people unless it comes directly at Zulu people's expense. This is probably one black on black hate topic that has one clear wrong side.
There are many black on black hate topics & rivalries I could write about some are milder & more jestful like the rivalries between Caribbean islands, some are more violent like American gang wars & African civil wars but to think we should all show unity because we're one race is, frankly, delusional. We love Africa as Pan-Africanists but I think we need to set new clear boundaries & stop these odd tribalist & nationalist squabbles from happening. That way, we won't get cultural & tribal wars or cultural & tribal discrimination within our respective black communities. Ethnic & tribal wars are a problem as old as the Sahara Desert & will not be stopped or solved because some rich man says so.
This might be one of the darker black on black hatred topics, along with the Gukurahundi Genocide of Zimbabwe, because there were massacres involved. Even though Rwanda has recovered, people still talk of this dark chapter in African history & will not forget it.
XHOSA VS ZULU
This might come from the fact that Xhosa people seem to want to ride on every Zulu success for no real reason. Xhosa people ridicule Zulu people & a lot of Zulu people don't really like Xhosa people. They are only forced to work together because they were both forced into South Africa by colonialists. The Xhosa seem to feel they have a strange right to Zulu territory & further show disrespect by not speaking the Zulu language. Zulu people won't mind speaking Xhosa but Xhosa people would still be speaking Xhosa at Nongoma just as an exhibition of their disrespect & disdain for anything Zulu. I remember at school, the Xhosa students refused to learn Zulu IN KZN! That just shows the level of arrogance of Xhosa people coming to KZN. Ofcourse, in Gauteng they are also ridiculed because they are so haughty & in the Western Cape (KhoiSan territory) they've even claimed some places as their own even being called economic refugees by a Western Cape politician at some point. The Zulu are known to disapprove of anything foreign so there has been a few Xhosa vs Zulu squabbles even though the South African government wants to play it down & divert attention elsewhere. Nelson Mandela disliked Zulu people & denied the Zulu gaining their old territories back when the Zulu king sent a direct letter to Nelson Mandela so he could right this historic wrong but apparently Mandela denied as the area north of uMzimvubu River is still in the Eastern Cape & not part of KZN. Any attempt at Zulu people improving themselves will definitely be met with either Xhosa people wanting to ride on the success of it or contempt from Xhosa people whereas any attempt made by Xhosa people to improve themselves is not even noticed by Zulu people unless it comes directly at Zulu people's expense. This is probably one black on black hate topic that has one clear wrong side.
There are many black on black hate topics & rivalries I could write about some are milder & more jestful like the rivalries between Caribbean islands, some are more violent like American gang wars & African civil wars but to think we should all show unity because we're one race is, frankly, delusional. We love Africa as Pan-Africanists but I think we need to set new clear boundaries & stop these odd tribalist & nationalist squabbles from happening. That way, we won't get cultural & tribal wars or cultural & tribal discrimination within our respective black communities. Ethnic & tribal wars are a problem as old as the Sahara Desert & will not be stopped or solved because some rich man says so.
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