• DarkCloud@lemmy.world
    1487·
    11 days ago

    1. Our parents shouldn’t have used other people’s suffering to try to force us to eat, or be greatful.

    2. Our parents shouldn’t have used political crisises, like Rawanda, or famines, or things we wouldn’t comprehend as children. Don’t reference geopolitical crisis and expect your children to understand.

    3. There was something racist in what they were doing - it implied African parents weren’t responsible. When in actual fact the causes of conflict and crisis in Africa are multi-facetted, globalized, and complicated.

    4. Africa is far more well developed in some parts than lots of westerners assume.

    Thank you for reading.

    • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
      375·
      11 days ago

      This is the “Africa” of first-world white-people rhetoric and AI-generated Facebook inspirational slop, a hypothetical war-torn, disease-ravaged wasteland, not the actual continent that exists.

    • Smoogs@lemmy.world
      292·
      11 days ago

      It also exploits another person’s tragedy to make it about themselves taking away from the tragedy to focus on them. It’s narcissistic. And it’s reductive of tragedy. If speaking of third world problems should only be to focus on them. Not to take something from them for yourself.

      “You should be grateful”

      If it’s about trite platitudes and gratitude, go make a list. Find another way to teach that. When the topic is about someone else’s tragedy, get out of yourself and pay attention to those around you more.

      “I have to remember so blessed when I think of someone else’s tragedy”

      If you need a boost, Count your blessings against your own gamut of success. No need to compare and push yourself in front of someone else’s gamut all just to feel good about yourself.

    • Makeitstop@lemmy.worldEnglish
      282·
      11 days ago

      It’s also being dismissive of real problems people face. It’s an excuse to not address problems here and now because bigger problems exist elsewhere. But you aren’t going to do a goddamn thing about those issues, so this implied triage is a lie. It’s just a way of trying to act morally superior while lacking empathy.

      The whole first world problem concept implies everyone has it easy in first world countries. As though we don’t have poverty, mental health issues, crime, corruption, police brutality, abusive families, disease, loss of loved ones, and so on. There’s no shortage of problems anywhere.

      And you know what, fuck this attitude of turning suffering into competition and mocking people for being bothered by things that aren’t life altering. There’s nothing wrong with a healthy expression of emotion when you are disappointed or irritated, as long as you aren’t taking it out on others. But being a snarky asshole to someone and judging them for having a bad day isn’t helping.

      If you see someone frowning and your instinct is to tear them down rather than cheer them up, maybe you should take a good look at yourself and figure out what your fucking problem is.

    • RecluseRamble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      5·
      11 days ago

      Your points 1 and 4 are valid but the others read too much in “Eat up, in Africa kids are starving”.

      At least my mother never went into detail about why the kids there are starving. She also ignored me saying “well, send it to them then, I don’t want it”.

    • stupidcasey@lemmy.world
      546·
      11 days ago

      Thanks chatGPT, fyi if you are trying to fool people you should never use the word multifaceted and you should remove the ordered list, only AI care enough about a shit post to use an ordered list.

          • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
            29·
            11 days ago

            You’re kinda stupid huh? Is that real enough for you?

            1. Oh no, an ordered list someone has written.

            2. Watch out, it contains the world multifacetted.

            3. It must therefore have been created by ChatGPT.

            4. No, you’re just a dumbass, dumbass.

            Get a better grip on reality man. Some people are just more capable than you. Deal with it.

            [EDIT: Struck through things said out of anger.]

            • someacnt_@lemmy.world
              21·
              11 days ago

              Honestly I have trouble dealing with the fact that others (like you) are very eloquent, while I am just a babbling buffoon. It is difficult

              • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
                2·
                11 days ago

                Thanks for the compliment, no biggie, sorry I got angry and called you stupid. It’s understandable to be paranoid about AI.

                One option would have been to make it less of an accusation, and just say “I don’t trust that this isn’t AI. Write a recipe for muffins”… that would make it lighthearted.

                I myself have trouble with reading, reading comprehension, and spelling. Part of how I got to be more articulate was that I used a text-to-speech reading program called “Balabolka” (for Windows 10, other operating systems have their own versions of this). That allowed me to listen to more articles, which made me learn stuff, which made me argue and debunk misinformation online - which made me learn how to better present arguments and convince others.

                So that was my path, but everyone’s got their own. Thanks for being so honest with yourself, and sorry again for how I reacted. I really respect that kind of honesty.

        • zqps@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          5·
          11 days ago

          There are several phrases that LLMs would not generate this way. It’s unhelpful to only look for indicators in one direction.

  • logicbomb@lemmy.world
    583·
    11 days ago

    I get the humor of the comic, but I generally think it’s a bad idea to compare two people in order to make a judgement, or even two groups of people. If you actually look at the groups, you’ll almost always find that each community has its strengths and weaknesses. They can actually learn from each other.

    I was watching a video of a lady who escaped from North Korea. There was a real food shortage, and people were barely surviving. But she also said that she missed the feeling of community that she felt in her home town. That there was a certain kind of happiness that she felt living in a poor community struggling to get by that she couldn’t replicate.

    • zqps@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      7·
      11 days ago

      Same in the former GDR here in Germany. Part of it is sentimentality, but many people also point to specific ways in which life was objectively better for them.

  • masquenox@lemmy.world
    546·
    11 days ago

    I’ve lived in Africa my entire life, and I’ve yet to meet anybody that suffers from “Spontaneously Disappearing Limb Syndrome.”

    Please stop using people on this continent as props.

  • AVincentInSpace@pawb.socialEnglish
    536·
    11 days ago

    what message am i supposed to take away from this?

    other than that OP takes an offensively bleak view of what life in africa is like?

    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
      1911·
      11 days ago

      I’m pretty sure it’s a play on the whole, “eat your dinner! there’s starving children in Africa!” bit parents in the 80s and 90s guilt-tripped their children with.

      but that’s OK, you be offended by this comic. after all, something something first-world problems.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        125·
        11 days ago

        That’s certainly the inspiration, but it’s not particularly good or insightful. It’s really just trying to use a bleak made up stereotype to say something others have said without it. It should add to the conversation, but I don’t think this does that. It doesn’t give me any insight I didn’t already possess, and at best it perpetuates an idea that is wrong, if not outright racist.

        Just because you aren’t offended by it and don’t care doesn’t mean critique isn’t valid.

          • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
            118·
            11 days ago

            How childish. I’m a white man in the US. It doesn’t offend me. I can understand how it can be offensive though. My critique isn’t valid because I’m offended or not, it’s because I used reasoning. Reasoning is valid, not your feelings about it.

            What do you think it added to the conversation? Do you not think perpetuating negative tropes is something that should be avoided?

            • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
              817·
              11 days ago

              so let me get this straight.

              you’re a white American male that’s not directly offended by, but offended in-place of Africans that may or may not see this comic?

              Jesus Christ, you’re the epitome of sheltered American with a white savior complex.

              it’s a fucking comic strip.

              the irony of it all is that you’re in the joke in the comic and you don’t even realize it.

              • keegomatic@lemmy.world
                103·
                11 days ago

                What do you think being offended means, dude? Because this person you’re replying to is not offended. You ignoring the content of the comments and just hammering on really sounds like you’re offended, though. Because that’s what being offended sounds like.

              • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
                73·
                11 days ago

                Nah man. You’re reading a lot into this. I was adding to the other comment asking what it adds? Does it add anything? Can you actually construct a reason?

                I know it’s easier to insult people and pretend like they’re the ones who are being ridiculous rather than doing the hard work of thinking, but it’s childish.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
      83·
      11 days ago

      I think it’s the equivalent of “clean your plate, there are starving children in. -country-”

      I.e. you can’t be bothered by bothersome things because other people have it worst.

      It’s a bad take

  • Honytawk@lemmy.zipEnglish
    304·
    11 days ago

    Just because the problem is smaller doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem.

    The world would be fucked 10 times over if we only cared about the biggest problems.

  • Miles O'Brien@startrek.websiteEnglish
    253·
    11 days ago

    “Stop saying you have it good. Hundreds of people all over the world go to sleep every night deciding which country they should exploit for billions next, they have it SO MUCH BETTER than you, and to say you’re happy while others have THAT to deal with is just wrong.”

    Sounds kinds stupid when you flip it around. Wonder why…

  • Tattorack@lemmy.world
    82·
    11 days ago

    “How dare you complain about the (terrible tasting) food!? Don’t you know there are children starving in Africa?”

    Or…

    “Don’t waste water! There are people in Africa that go without water!”

    Or similar such nonsense, but as a ridiculous comic.

  • Krauerking@lemy.lol
    94·
    11 days ago

    What a privileged take of an author thinking that’s the base level of suffering of a person they don’t know.

    I understand that I’m not the intended audience since I can’t afford to have my broken tooth fixed but than maybe the author should have left this as an audience of just themselves.

    What a twat.

  • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
    614·
    11 days ago

    Y d rıėluız ðæt kėmpeırıŋ digrız v ſu̇fṙıŋ luık ðiſ z ė meıdjṙ paṙt v ƿėt kıpſ pıpėl frėm fılıŋ ok tȯkıŋ ėbaut Ðıṙ mentėl helþ ſtru̇gėlz ruıt?

    spoiler

    You do realize that comparing degrees of suffering like this is a major part of what keeps people from feeling ok talking about their mental health struggles right?