DEAR PRIVILEGED AMERICAN
- Victoria Okudoh
- Aug 2, 2019
- 2 min read
Dear Privileged American,
-Yes I have an accent, but I am just as American as you are.
-I am welcoming you with my heart as open as a smile, please don’t mess it up?
-Let’s exchange names and yes, feel free to ask me where I’m “originally” from, absolutely! But don’t dwell on it.
-I am happy to share what the cultural differences are, but pleaseeee don’t ask me questions that will make me tear up...lol
Don’t ask me how I know English so well. It’s very insulting. It would be dumb of me to not know how to speak my country’s official language. Clarify what the language is!
“Do you and your descents live on trees?” Ermmm…duhh NO. We actually have well-furnished habitable houses with cable network, AND they’re not all huts. Ermm and yeah, that’s why I’m in touch with the American pop-culture and lifestyle in general…we’re actually not disconnected from the rest of the world! wow!
The saddest and creepiest of all: Don’t ask me about my VISA status just as soon as you meet me. I may be international or even be a citizen. Does it matter to our friendship right away? Get to know me first!
Am I not scared of Boko Haram, so why would I go back to visit?” Are you scared of your own country and where it’s going? Why not leave?
Don’t ask why I still have an accent even after moving here. I can choose to keep my accent if I want, it is authentic, it makes me truly me. Truly tied to my roots! What if I just cannot change it? As long as I am still speaking English and you can understand me clearly.
If you refer to my country as “Africa”, I will correct you on the spot (with love :)) and a little bit of irritation. Africa is NOT a country, it is arguably the 2nd largest continent in the world. Point is, do your research on some of the basic things.
I once heard this guy I met for the first time say that “Africans in the US” culturally appropriate the African American culture. I was so confused initially. Then he went on to talk about the fact that Africans can very rich BUT they try to feel like they don’t have anything, which mirrors the African American culture. I was laughing in my head. If that’s the definition of cultural appropriation then I don’t know what that word even means anymore. Wow! I thought this was very ridiculous. My response to you sir: “No one is more black than the other”
Yours sincerely, ... xoxo
Vee
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