“Are You From Africa?” And Other
Stupid Questions
Kovie Biakolo
In the 6th grade or “Standard 6″ as it is called
in Botswana where I lived at the time, my
teacher once said, “There are no stupid
questions.” I really liked my 6th grade teacher
but I’m calling bullshit on that one. There are
stupid questions, lots of them. After six years of
living in America as an African, it is high time I
call out the stupidity that I have faced in this
context.
1. Are you from Africa? This is just a really
annoying question and it’s stupid because
technically, I am “from Africa,” but Africa is a
continent. And while I, specifically, may be
complicated because I was born in Nigeria but
lived elsewhere, you still don’t get a pass.
Universally, nobody claims to be from a
continent. We claim to be from a city, from a
state, and from a country. But, asking me if
I’m from Africa is like asking you if you’re from
North America or Europe or Asia, etc. It’s
stupid, isn’t it? Stop asking me if I’m from a
continent.
2. Do you speak African? Really? Okay let’s
put this in the context of other continents once
again. Do you ask someone from a country in
Asia if they speak Asian? Or do you ask
someone from a country in Europe, if they
speak European? Exactly, you probably don’t.
“African” is not a language. And while we’re at
it, don’t add “an” to the end of the name of a
country and assume it’s a language. (Ex.”Do
you speak Nigerian?”) What the heck do people
learn in school these days? It’s better to simply
ask, “What languages do you speak in country
X?” It’s not that hard people.
3. How do you speak English so well? Gee,
I don’t know – how do you? Wait, you probably
learned it at school or spoke it at home or
come from a country where English is widely
spoken. As it turns out, Britain kind of
colonized many African countries too so guess
what? Many of us speak English. Weird.
4. How did you get here? This was one of
my favorites in college. I would sarcastically tell
people that I swam from Cape Town to Florida,
and then hitchhiked to the mid-west from
there. I really don’t understand what I’m
supposed to do with this question. Are you
asking me my reasoning for choosing this city
or what mode of transportation I used to get to
America? Or do you think that Africans are all
so poor that I must be a refugee? And even if
the latter, were true, it would still likely have
been by plane as far as transportation is
concerned. In any case, let’s at least clarify the
stupidity.
5. What is Africa like? I’m always taken by
surprise whenever I get asked this question.
What do you mean, “What is Africa like?” Do
you know how many African countries there
are? 54. Explaining what one African country
“is like” may be tasking enough, now you’re
asking me to explain 54. Are you asking what
the culture is like? Or what the weather is like?
Are you asking whether my family lives in a hut
or hunts for their dinner every night? Are you
asking if I roamed around with lions in the wild
or whether I wear clothes when I go back to
the homeland? Again, I need some clarification
here.
Okay, this became a sarcastic rant and I’m not
really sorry about it. The point I’m trying to
make is that I am tired of having to pretend to
find stupid question about Africa endearing.
They’re not endearing and they’re
not innocuous; most of them are flat-out
ignorant, and you make me feel embarrassed
for you. I will be glad to satisfy your curiosity
but there is a way to go about asking
questions, intelligently. We live in world that is
increasingly becomingly a global village and
one in which Google is literally at your finger
tips – use it.

IIIIxRoyalxIIII:


Australia....End of Thread./

its 4rm an African's Point of view.....d frustrations r valid

I agree, the frustrations are valid

But at the same time sometimes people can be over sensitive an insecure

My Female Cousins on my Papi side always get asked "Are you from Puerto Rico"..."What's Puerto Rico Like"...

Blah Blah Blah

Yet, they could be from any of a Number of Hispanic/Latino Islands/Block of Land.

But all Hispanic Women get stereotyped in the North as Being Solely P.Rican.

Moral of the Story is, There are a Plethora of Ignorant People in this World, and Large Abundance of even more Overly Sensitive People.

Life is Beautiful Though. Despite the Stupidity of you Humanoids.

We can say that it is ignorant if the question is purely vapid but let look at it objectively...if a person has never left their homeland...how else would they know what the world is like? Think about it.

Some of the questions on this thread is valid but some of them are vapid. We just have to take it with a grain of salt and consider the source.

Which one is worse...an educated fool or uneducated dummy?

My friend is from Sudan and she always share stories of how she is told..."you are too beautiful to t e dark or African". It is much worse than some of the Black girls told they look "West African" implying their dark skin and features. These girls aren't attractive but to simply imply that individuals from certain part of Africa are allergic to beauty is beyond incredible.

IIIIxRoyalxIIII: I miss your Vapid Trick Swag, Haven't heard any of those Lately

I miss those lips planted on my juicy booty cheeks.

Have you heard Beyonce's Bow Down Bitches video? Bow down bitches.

IIIIxRoyalxIIII:


{~Vapid Trick~}.....One of the All Time Great Diss Lines Ever Written by a Non Royal Writer......

Cheers.

You ain't gon kiss my booty?

I thought you like wide azz.

Mrs..Chima:


I miss those lips planted on my juicy booty cheeks.

Have you heard Beyonce's Bow Down Bitches video? Bow down bitches.

so wats up miss chima need some pink lips on dose booties

belicov: so wats up miss chima need some pink lips on dose booties

No suga....I like my meat dark.

IIIIxRoyalxIIII:

You Gotta Open It First

I like my Mamiis to Spread Their Cheeks.

So i can smell their Fingertips when i Fhhuck em.

s

You are nassy!

Na wa o.....pls I И̣̣̣̥o won spoil o,besides the topic is abt the impression of the African abroad

Afam4eva: Tufiakwa, pls you guys should get a room in a brothel or something

Shutcho hating azz up!

nedu2000: Na wa o.....pls I И̣̣̣̥o won spoil o,besides the topic is abt the impression of the African abroad

We sorry suga. Proceed.

The one question I hate is when Americans ask "so do you see lions on the street walking around?" I just feel sorry for them and laugh it off.

Some of d impressions they have come 4rm documentaries on TV....Africa needs 2 step up their game

Eri8: The one question I hate is when Americans ask "so do you see lions on the street walking around?" I just feel sorry for them and laugh it off.

If lions were walking the street u don't think you would be alive to post this comment! Lol.

nedu2000: Some of d impressions they have come 4rm documentaries on TV....Africa needs 2 step up their game

Don't come here blaming Africans for the actions of Americans. Africa is filled with thriving cities, universities, banks, factories, shopping malls, and well to do, educated people. But the western media DELIBERATELY shield THAT Africa from their people, concentrating solely on filming remote villages, scenes of war, and animals. It is a DELIBERATE strategy of disinformation for which you cannot blame Africans, but rather, the evil purveyors of racist stereotypes in the western media and their backers.

Rossikk:

Don't come here blaming Africans for the actions of Americans. Africa is filled with thriving cities, universities, banks, factories, shopping malls, and well to do, educated people. But the western media DELIBERATELY shield THAT Africa from their people, concentrating solely on filming remote villages, scenes of war, and animals. It is a DELIBERATE strategy of disinformation for which you cannot blame Africans, but rather, the evil purveyors of racist stereotypes in the western media and their backers.

what percentage of cities in africa r actually 'thriving'?we shldnt celebrate our mediocrity?

Nedu, you bring up a very interesting point. Many people ask questions that are annoying and stupid. It's like asking a blind person what it's like to be blind. Or saying, "What does gray look like to you?" Obviously if the person has been blind since birth, he or she has never experienced gray so has no image of it. People are trying to be polite, but they may not come across that way. If you want to make friends, just answer their questions with a smile, and answer as truthfully as possible.

TheCharisma: Nedu, you bring up a very interesting point. Many people ask questions that are annoying and stupid. It's like asking a blind person what it's like to be blind. Or saying, "What does gray look like to you?" Obviously if the person has been blind since birth, he or she has never experienced gray so has no image of it. People are trying to be polite, but they may not come across that way. If you want to make friends, just answer their questions with a smile, and answer as truthfully as possible.

I don't think I would want to be friends with people who might infect me with their stupidity. I only hang out with and make friends to ENLIGHTENED people and not daft people who have refused to use their brains and computers in this age of technology to find out more information about the world we all live in.

Luckily, America has people from all over the world living in it so one is thankfully not left with the only option of making friends to only Americans. I am allergic to ignorant folks so I will not be wasting my time stooping to their level to dignify their stupid questions with an honest response and I will definitely not be smiling because the last time I checked, I don't work in the circus as a clown.

stupidity and ignorance is not limited to one group of people be it gender, race, or nationality.

the "stupid American" stereotype is just as false as the assumption that all terrorists come from the mid east. that all Jamaicans smoke weed. that all Colombians deal coke...um no.

I agree with the post where the poster stated that over sensitivity and insecurity can be a problem. it can cause people to resent an entire group based on hurt feelings or cause the individual to make assumptions thus asking "dumb questions".

you also have to take it into consideration that many americans are not well traveled and genuinely do not know about where you come from. sure they annoy me too but I know it's because THEY don't know. I educate them..I move on. #simple

this is not the 1930s.
judging entire groups of people based on the actions of a few is played out.

Well I think its mostly white people , I grew up in canada and used to get the same dumb azz questions like '' do you know what christmas is??'' and iam like WTF

I remember in Canada, I used to get questions like how did you get here all the way from Africa?

Ignorance is truly a disease.

Dreamestorical: I remember in Canada, I used to get questions like how did you get here all the way from Africa?

Ignorance is truly a disease.

funny but can be said to be offensive

My question would have been, "Where are you from?" I read something of hers and I wanted to know the economy of where she grew up, whether a poor or affluent region in the US. What I found when searching the Net was schools of higher education, nothing earlier. Most people include where they grew up so my search gained a second question, "Was she hiding something?"

I found this forum on silly questions. "Are you from Africa?" Ms Biakolo does not say why was the question asked. Some people want to know for similar reasons, how might her perspectives as a child influence her current views?

Ms Biakolo could have said she moved to America in XXXX. Better, she could have described the economic conditions of where she was born and raised. This was not a silly question. And I still don't know the answer to my question but I'm guessing her parents were wealthy.

nedu2000:
what percentage of cities in africa r actually 'thriving'?we shldnt celebrate our mediocrity?

What do you mean? Most African cities are thriving and developing, and are seeing a massive influx of people from the villages because they offer better infrastructure and services than rural areas. If anything we need to reduce their growing congestion by investing more in rural development.

ROSSIKE:


What do you mean? Most African cities are thriving and developing, and are seeing a massive influx of people from the villages because they offer better infrastructure and services than rural areas. If anything we need to reduce their growing congestion by investing more in rural development.

thriving in relative terms,compared to their villages.......i agree with you on the last part