NationStates Jolt Archive

Now an excerpt from the newly released book entitled, Average American's Knowledge of Africa.

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago. I forgot."

Well, that wasn't a excerpt...that was the entire book. Sorry.

I guess I'm just a little too outspoken then.

DP

This false sense of superiority that people have towards Americans is ridiculous. Americans know less about foreigners than foreigners *think* they know about Americans because American culture is everywhere. American movies, music, and TV get sent all over the world, but very little gets sent back to us. Even our language, English, is becoming the world's universal language (no offense to other Anglo-speaking countries, but most people learn to speak like Americans rather than like Brits, Aussies, etc., even if that's only because of exposure to TV and movies). That in and of itself is part of the reason why Americans are less multilingual than other countries-- they haven't really had the need because for much of the last century it has been the rest of the world that has had to learn our language, not the other way around. However, just because you foreigners have seen our works of entertainment, don't assume that you really understand us all that well. America isn't an endless stream of car chases, explosions, crime, obesity, and ignorance. Do you really believe that America became the world's most powerful nation by luck alone?

Now an excerpt from the newly released book entitled, Average American's Knowledge of Africa.

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago. I forgot."

Well, that wasn't a excerpt...that was the entire book. Sorry.

My American "knowledge" on Africa - I'd just like to show NSers from outside the US that we're not all dumbasses

Egyptians used to be a powerful emipre

built pyramids for their PHARAOHS (sp?) to rest in (but they did treat the Pharaoh like a god-figure)

The Old Kingdom in Egypt declined into the Middle and New Kingdoms

There are black Muslims, Christians AND Jews in Africa

The European imperialism in Africa (which thus screwed over a land and a people which were quite prosperous) began to accelerate when Leopold II of Belgium took control of the Congo

Sudan harbored Bin Laden for 6 years

South Africa - just to keep it short: Nelson Mandella, Apartheid

AIDS

I'll stop there as to not clog up the thread

I guess I'm just a little too outspoken then.
Or just assinine. So what's the logic here? That americans are supposed to be stupid and therefore don't know about Africa? Based on....what exactly? You don't think that the few hundred years of labor and then a big ass war would have figured into our knowledge of Africa to at least include the Ivory Coast? Edi Amen (There, you can make fun of my spelling big guy)-you don't think he passed through our consiousness? Even if your impression of americans comes only from movies you would have noticed a national obsession with South Africa and ending aparthied. No discussions on 'Lucy'? Like, constantly? We're probably more aware of Africa than any other continent.

Jesus f'n christ-have you even met an american? Ah, no-it's just flamebait. Surely you'll find some flag wavers and bashers and incite them into riot over your clever little ruse. Wow. You can inflame. Good job.

It's a big country with a lot of things that are there for the criticizing. Hell, we even set up the whole government on the notion that we have to criticize it to get it to work (though some have forgoten that). Why don't you come back when you can try just a smidge harder.

Now an excerpt from the newly released book entitled, Average American's Knowledge of Africa.

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago. I forgot."

Well, that wasn't a excerpt...that was the entire book. Sorry.
Just in case you didn't know. The egyptians were not black africans. They were an entirely different racial type more related to the groups along the north shore of Africa today. (Not the Arabs but the ones who have always been there like the Nubians (Libya).
I say this cause every liberal political correct university in America has been teaching that the Egyptians and Israelis were black.
Of course with the recent conflict, I am sure there are people noting the descrepancies between university race based dogmas and the actual reality on the ground there.
The real egyptians were a race older than the jews, the arabs, and the black africans. While Mesopotamia was still being ruled by city states, Egypt already had a unified government with advanced medicince. None of Egyptian Culture is found anywhere in black africa except when showing local tribes paying tribute to the mighty Pharoe.

Now an excerpt from the newly released book entitled, Average American's Knowledge of Africa.

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago. I forgot."

Well, that wasn't a excerpt...that was the entire book. Sorry.
Just in case you didn't know. The egyptians were not black africans. They were an entirely different racial type more related to the groups along the north shore of Africa today. (Not the Arabs but the ones who have always been there like the Nubians (Libya).
I say this cause every liberal political correct university in America has been teaching that the Egyptians and Israelis were black.
Of course with the recent conflict, I am sure there are people noting the descrepancies between university race based dogmas and the actual reality on the ground there.
The real egyptians were a race older than the jews, the arabs, and the black africans. While Mesopotamia was still being ruled by city states, Egypt already had a unified government with advanced medicince. None of Egyptian Culture is found anywhere in black africa except when showing local tribes paying tribute to the mighty Pharoe.

Even our language, English, is becoming the world's universal language (no offense to other Anglo-speaking countries, but most people learn to speak like Americans rather than like Brits, Aussies, etc., even if that's only because of exposure to TV and movies).


Well I kind of think the Brits led the way for that change. I don't think you have to be afraid of American English. Most people won't get the slang aspects! ;)


That in and of itself is part of the reason why Americans are less multilingual than other countries-- they haven't really had the need because for much of the last century it has been the rest of the world that has had to learn our language, not the other way around.


Is that the real reason?

Look a Europe. How many native languages?

Look at Africa. Look at Asia.....

Now look at the US. Two oceans on the sides, Canada on top(English), Mexico on the bottom(many english speakers).

There really wasn't a need for extra langauges as English was pretty well established.

However, when you start getting closer to Mexico , you find more Spanish speakers.


However, just because you foreigners have seen our works of entertainment, don't assume that you really understand us all that well. America isn't an endless stream of car chases, explosions, crime, obesity, and ignorance. Do you really believe that America became the world's most powerful nation by luck alone?

It's scary to find that thought process. I remember being in a pub in Ireland and was introduced to two guys. When I said I was in California, they asked which movie stars I knew! :? :wink:

Just in case you didn't know. The egyptians were not black africans. They were an entirely different racial type more related to the groups along the north shore of Africa today. (Not the Arabs but the ones who have always been there like the Nubians (Libya).
I say this cause every liberal political correct university in America has been teaching that the Egyptians and Israelis were black.
Of course with the recent conflict, I am sure there are people noting the descrepancies between university race based dogmas and the actual reality on the ground there.
The real egyptians were a race older than the jews, the arabs, and the black africans. While Mesopotamia was still being ruled by city states, Egypt already had a unified government with advanced medicince. None of Egyptian Culture is found anywhere in black africa except when showing local tribes paying tribute to the mighty Pharoe.

Let me guess, they were "aryan". Nazis :roll:

This one has been trying to declare war on me. His nation was only 1 day old when he did.

-----------------------------------------
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Free your mind! (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/berkman/comanarchism/whatis_toc.html)
I like big butts!
http://img63.photobucket.com/albums/v193/eddy_the_great/steatopygia.jpg

Now an excerpt from the newly released book entitled, Average American's Knowledge of Africa.

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago. I forgot."

Well, that wasn't a excerpt...that was the entire book. Sorry.
Just in case you didn't know. The egyptians were not black africans. They were an entirely different racial type more related to the groups along the north shore of Africa today. (Not the Arabs but the ones who have always been there like the Nubians (Libya).
I say this cause every liberal political correct university in America has been teaching that the Egyptians and Israelis were black.


Well Politicall Correct and Liberal aren't always the same person. I can introduce you to some conservatives that are PC.

Finally, unless things have changed, I don't recall any effort to say they were black. In fact my professors made an effort to point that out.

I have never heard or read an argument that Israel was black.


The real egyptians were a race older than the jews, the arabs, and the black africans. While Mesopotamia was still being ruled by city states, Egypt already had a unified government with advanced medicince. None of Egyptian Culture is found anywhere in black africa except when showing local tribes paying tribute to the mighty Pharoe.

Well that is not exactly right. Black Africa has been around probably longer then the Mesopotamians.

The Arabs of today are decendents of people the Egyptians used to fight and or trade.

Jesus f'n christ-have you even met an american? Ah, no-it's just flamebait. Surely you'll find some flag wavers and bashers and incite them into riot over your clever little ruse. Wow. You can inflame. Good job. Foxxinnia is American, by the by. He's probably making fun of the stereotype of the 'ignorant american' - or at least that's what I'd be doing in a thread like this.

If you would like to learn more about Africa visit this site! I wrote this article for my self-employed job.

http://turtlesattack.tripod.com/africawrittenbynewcyprus/

(If you like it, visit www.histon.info for more articles).

If you would like to learn more about Africa visit this site! I wrote this article for my self-employed job.

http://turtlesattack.tripod.com/africawrittenbynewcyprus/

(If you like it, visit www.histon.info for more articles).

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago."um, aren't there Egyptians in Africa? And didn't they consider the pharaohs to be gods? And isn't Africa big? And aren't a lot of blacks from there? And weren't there wars in Africa during the past few years (Liberia, Zaire, Nigeria, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Nigeria)?

Just in case you didn't know. The egyptians were not black africans. They were an entirely different racial type more related to the groups along the north shore of Africa today. (Not the Arabs but the ones who have always been there like the Nubians (Libya).
I say this cause every liberal political correct university in America has been teaching that the Egyptians and Israelis were black.
Of course with the recent conflict, I am sure there are people noting the descrepancies between university race based dogmas and the actual reality on the ground there.
The real egyptians were a race older than the jews, the arabs, and the black africans. While Mesopotamia was still being ruled by city states, Egypt already had a unified government with advanced medicince. None of Egyptian Culture is found anywhere in black africa except when showing local tribes paying tribute to the mighty Pharoe.Uh, Nubian is just another way of saying 'Black'. So you just said that the Ancient Egytians weren't black, they were more like the blacks that live in north africa today.


Embarassing isn't it?

black people come from there.

i think most people only know that. isn't it the important thing to know?

The egyptians were not black africans. They were an entirely different racial type more related to the groups along the north shore of Africa today. (Not the Arabs but the ones who have always been there like the Nubians (Libya).


No, the Ancient Egyptians gradually assimilated with the peoples from the Levant (Syria-Palestine) and the Kush (present day Sudan), who, following the collapse of the New Kingdom ruled over Egypt. Many other civilisations ruled at one time, including: The Assyrians, Kush, Romans and following the rise of Mohammed, the Arabs conquered Egypt in the 7th century AD.

However, the Egyptians, as a unique race, were already assimilating during the 2nd Intermediate Period. This was a time where the Hyksos ruled in the north from Rowarty (Avaris - next to the site of Pi-Ramses, city of Ramses II). Following the birth of the New Kingdom, northern Egypt was very multicultural, and under the reign of Ramses II during the 19th Dynasty there were sectors in the new capital at Pi-Ramses for various religions and cultures (a system later copied by the Venitians during the 16th Century AD with their Jewish ghettos and sectors in the city of Venice for different nationalities).

The Nubians are not from Lybia, but from two main lands called Wawat and Kush (modern day Sudan). The Lybians come from Lybia and were also a traditional enemy of the Egyptians. So much that Ramses II build a series of fortresses along the Egypto-Lybian border - strengthening the forts built during the 17th and 18th Dynasties.

There is no actual trace of the Ancient Egyptian race at this time, and one might be safe in saying that they assimilated rather than died out.

I say this cause every liberal political correct university in America has been teaching that the Egyptians and Israelis were black.

The Egyptians, as depicted on various tomb walls and other monuments, were a lighter, bronze-like colour. The Israeli's have been seen as not white, but not bronze in colour. It is difficult to determine as to what colour skin these people had. Although, it is assumed they would have been of a close colour to the Ancient Egyptians.

The real egyptians were a race older than the jews, the arabs, and the black africans. While Mesopotamia was still being ruled by city states, Egypt already had a unified government with advanced medicince. None of Egyptian Culture is found anywhere in black africa except when showing local tribes paying tribute to the mighty Pharoe.

This is not so. Mesopotamia (later the land of Babylon) had created writing long before the Egyptian's developed hieroglyphs.

Egyptian culture is found throughout the Sudan in terms of pyramid structures, tombs and plenty of stelae. In fact, under Egyptian rule, Wawat and Kush became highly Egyptianised and there are many examples, although poorly preserved in many cases, of this culture.

You will find that the reason Egyptian culture is not found outside of "black africa" is because over time, other cultures dominated Egypt and it is their civilisations which survived throughout the old Egyptian Empire (included: The Levant as far as Khadesh [and trade with Afghanistan], Wawat and Kush to the south and Syria-Palestine [which included the land of Israel - a conquered land whose symbol appears on the walls of Karnak under the reign of Thuthmose III - LOL not me!]

Now an excerpt from the newly released book entitled, Average American's Knowledge of Africa.

"Egyptians were there, and they made pyramids for the Gods or something. It's pretty big and black people come from there. I think there was a war there or something a few years ago. I forgot."

Well, that wasn't a excerpt...that was the entire book. Sorry.

Yet, amazingly, foreigners know more about American history than many Americans. For example, in Australia, students are being taught about the US Civil War, Slavery, The Cold War, etc. No British history is taught anymore, despite Australia's heritage linked to the UK. I would actually like to see a wide range of histories taught.

Something worse is Americans' grasp of geography. Now, there was a TV show out in Australia a while back and the mock news crew went about on the streets of the US showing Americans a map of the Asia-Pacific. They wanted Americans to point out where North and South Korea was. Except, the catch was, that the countries were lablled all wrong.

I was shocked that every single American relied on the labels to determine where North and South Korea were. On one occassion, however, a man (looking at Australia as North Korea, and the state of Tasmania as South Korea) said he thought North Korea was smaller, but all the same that the US should go and get em.

Considering the USA has some of the best universities in the world, why is it that the average American is so hopeless at things like history and geography? I admit, I was shocked. I suppose that shows how little I knew of American knowledge.

[this is not US-bashing, just observations I have made over time. I know there are smart Americans out there]

The argument about Ancient Egypt being a black culture is a relatively new one. It was given more credibility with the publication of “Black Athena” by Martin Bernal in the 90’s.

Bernal claims that ancient Egyptian culture was created by blacks. And the Ancient Greeks essentially “stole” this culture, or at least borrowed it, and because Romans incorporated Greek culture into their own civilization, and Western Europe owes a large debt culture-wise to the Greeks and Romans, Western culture is predominantly of black African origin.

It’s a great read, but unfortunately (for him) DNA samples of the great majority of mummified Egyptian remains don’t prove his point to be valid. The Ancient Egyptians were a mixed lot, to be sure, but very few of them were “authentically” black.

Just to note that Bernal also claims in his book that the Greeks also incorporated Asian culture into their own. This has more credence and it's a shame he didn't explore it further.

To this day, largely because of Bernal and the Afrocentrists who adopted his message, the theory of a black Egypt is taught in many colleges, especially to black students. It’s part of the whole grand project to make blacks feel better about themselves, on a par with holding up black scientific and literary achievements, for example, as being just as worthy of being lauded as the accomplishments by people of European descent.

I actually wasn't aware of any 'black Egypt' theories being taught at universities. I was under the impression that Egyptians were Egyptians.

Hell, my Anthropology classes, including one taught by an Egyptologist, all dismiss the very concept of race. The presence or lack of melanin or an epicanthic fold is incidental and primarily cosmetic - we're all still Homo Sapien Sapien.

Unless you're a taxonomic splitter, in which case you may rot for all I care. Rot!

And regarding the post at the start of this thread, yes, the average American is ignorant of what goes on beyond his borders, it’s not just Africa he or she knows little of.

Americans are the most insular people in the world. Considering that the country is the most mixed in the world it’s amazing how little they know of the way the world really works. It’s a paradox.

There and again, maybe it’s not. The American educational system is geared now to the concept of multiculturalism. This necessitates the doctrine of “all cultures are equal”.

But if all cultures are really equal, why would anyone be interested in learning about another culture? What is there out there in the rest of the world that is really interesting, if all cultures are at their core really just the same? There’s not much point really getting interested in another culture or country under these circumstances.

I actually wasn't aware of any 'black Egypt' theories being taught at universities. I was under the impression that Egyptians were Egyptians.

Hell, my Anthropology classes, including one taught by an Egyptologist, all dismiss the very concept of race. The presence or lack of melanin or an epicanthic fold is incidental and primarily cosmetic - we're all still Homo Sapien Sapien.

Unless you're a taxonomic splitter, in which case you may rot for all I care. Rot!

Well, next time you see an Olympic games 100 meter final with one white runner in it, let me know. Okay, maybe that’s not the best example, and I could produce a lot more, but blacks in general, on average, are phenomenally more physically proficient and successful in sporting activities that require brawn and not brain.

Orientals and whites (the former especially) tend to be more intelligent, on average, than blacks. There are certainly differences between the major races of mankind.

Anthropology, once a well-taught subject with many different viewpoints, has unfortunately been hijacked in the last 40 years by those monomaniacs who are extreme egalitarians. Some of these people to this day claim that intelligence is equally distributed among all people and that variations in later life are entirely the consequence of nurture, not nature.

It’s one of the reasons why anthropology is not taken seriously as an academic pursuit any more.