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Monday, August 3, 2009

Poor Africa

Posted by on Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 8:41 AM

Admittedly, this story put me in a state of laughter:

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) — Two U.S. filmmakers were injured Saturday when their small plane crashed into a three-story residential building in downtown Nairobi on Saturday.

Dan Parris, 25, and Rob Lehr, 26, both from St. Louis, Missouri, were shooting an independent documentary on poverty in Africa.

Both men were hospitalized and expected to survive...

What kind of poverty do you see from the sky? Americans, mai we.

 

Comments (55) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
Roscoe 1
Sorry, Charles, what's funny about it? How do you know that they were attempting to show poverty from above a la G.W. Bush? It looks like they were just trying to get from place to place.

Posted by Roscoe on August 3, 2009 at 8:55 AM
Zoroastronomer 2
Ha ha, a plane crashed, isn't that rich? Once again, Charles = Jerk.

Now then, what can be seen from the air? Architectural poverty, poor urban planning that leads to poor conditions, poorly designed waste facilities that lead to disease, and the list goes on. Aerial photography shows a different perspective that can be used in conjunction with research on the ground.

For all the self-serving posts about thought, Chuckles, you sure didn't think about that last statement.
Posted by Zoroastronomer on August 3, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Cato the Younger Younger 3
Yeah funny, here's a thought: maybe they were moving to another location to do some shooting and it was faster than walking or driving.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on August 3, 2009 at 9:04 AM
hartiepie 4
Charles you really are an ass. The pilot died and another crew memebr is in serious condition --- and you are in a state of laughter. Indeed, it's pretty f-u-n-n-y when people try to understand poverty and die!

And what does "Americans, mai we" mean?
Posted by hartiepie on August 3, 2009 at 9:06 AM
5
Maybe they were shooting an opening sequence or something.
Posted by Brandon J. on August 3, 2009 at 9:09 AM
mmoffatt 6
I think I am in agreement with the rest of the posters. You are a complete douchebag.

What is funny about a plane crash and people being injured? It says they "survived" but that doesn't mean they walked away from the crash and went straight to dinner. they could be paralyzed, have limbs amputated, be in comas, etc. But of course, I am sure that you think sympathy and empathy are bourgeois emotions that the intellectually superior do well to avoid.
Posted by mmoffatt on August 3, 2009 at 9:11 AM
7
Perhaps you can see the extent of poverty through the miles upon miles of slums one can see from the air? Dipshit. If African filmmakers were doing a similar film about American excess in the wealthy suburbs of some metropolitan area and crashed I'm pretty sure laughing would be the last thing I'd do.
Posted by pragmatic on August 3, 2009 at 9:17 AM
NumberOne 8
That is pretty fucked up to laugh about. I hope the survivors pull through and they continue their documentary.
Posted by NumberOne on August 3, 2009 at 9:18 AM
TVDinner 9
It is true that you learn a great deal about a people when you take the same transportation as they do. The daily inconvenience of getting from Point A to Point B may be the larger story these filmmakers are missing. Imagine the story they'd tell if, instead of flying to a place in a day, it took them three months and incalculable risks to get there.
Posted by TVDinner http:// on August 3, 2009 at 9:26 AM
Charles Mudede 10
Africa does not need another film about its poverty, so fuck you all.
Posted by Charles Mudede on August 3, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Cato the Younger Younger 11
And THAT justifies laughing about it.

Go fuck a horse!!
Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on August 3, 2009 at 9:31 AM
12
Additionally, if you laugh over the pilot being killed you are a sick piece of shit. It's not like these guys were terrorists or something, THEY WERE FILMMAKERS ASSHOLE!
Posted by pragmatic on August 3, 2009 at 9:33 AM
Posted by Sir Learnsalot http://ubiquitousthey.com on August 3, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 14
No, Charles, you ignorant fucking shit-stain. You've got it backwards. Fuck you, asshole.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on August 3, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Zoroastronomer 15
YES!!! Chuckles resorted to saying "fuck you all" as his measured response to criticism of his laughing at people trying to educate who were killed/maimed in a crash! Now THAT'S philosophy! CHARLES FTW!!!
Posted by Zoroastronomer on August 3, 2009 at 9:44 AM
16
"Africa does not need another film about its poverty, so fuck you all."

Yeah that's right, dude. That whole African poverty thing is soooo totally figured out by now. There's no way there could possibly be another angle or different issues to address. All available, pertinent information is already out there so lets not spend any more time discussing it. Hey, why don't we all get together and intentional injure people who try and make documentaries about poverty in Africa? That'd be hoot!
Posted by bassplayerguy on August 3, 2009 at 9:47 AM
TVDinner 17
The narrative of Those-Poor-Downtrodden-African-People is a tired one. The assumption that White-People-Should-Do-Something-About-It is too. Blah blah blah colonial legacy blah blah blah largest forced migration in history of humanity...it doesn't change the inherently colonial mindset of well-intentioned white people who feel obligated to relieve their white guilt by imposing their own narrative on an entire fucking continent, full of different people, languages, and cultural norms.

Frankly, it's no different than the idea of the white man's burden being to bring the light of "civilization" to the poor, unenlightened, dark masses. We just dress it up in prettier language.
Posted by TVDinner http:// on August 3, 2009 at 9:56 AM
hartiepie 18
@17 Next please tell us all about the nobility of the African peasants and their quest to keep poverty pure! I'm sure it'll be funny ala Charles.....
Posted by hartiepie on August 3, 2009 at 10:01 AM
19
#10 - you're just digging your hole deeper here. i suggest you try to have some humility and admit that you said something that in hindsight was callous, ignorant and presumptuous.
Posted by pffft on August 3, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Reality Check 20
Can someone from the Stranger please justify while Charles has a job with the Stranger again?

Given this economy, there truly has to be better candidates in the unemployment ranks that can write stronger posts than what this guy passes off as "work"
Posted by Reality Check http://www.nraila.org on August 3, 2009 at 10:12 AM
hartiepie 21
@10 -- "Hello? Africa?? This is Slog and I just wanted to let you know that Charles Mudede has decided he is Emperor of Africa and no more films will be made on poverty starring Africa.....Mudede....M-U-D-E-D-E...

That's right, Moo-day-day......What do you mean you're glad he's gone since he didn't do anything there anyway? How rude! AS Charles himself would tell you----Go fuck yourself Africa!"
Posted by hartiepie on August 3, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Matt from Denver 22
@ 19, he couldn't even do that when he posted about bullying and generated over 200 negative responses, including from his confirmed fans; he just said he wasn't going to post about that sort of thing again.
Posted by Matt from Denver on August 3, 2009 at 10:17 AM
john t 23
I'd love to be a fly-on-the-wall at The Stranger's editorial board meetings (if you're actually organized enough to have those sorts of things). I imagine it goes something like, "OK, we've got pitbulls covered already, I've got a nice fat-bashing post lined up, we need another cupcake story... hey Charles, it's your turn to write something stupid and infuriating, the website hasn't had enough hits lately."
Posted by john t on August 3, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Charles Mudede 24
@19, those American people flying about and crashing and causing even more misery to africans ("Local residents were using water, dirt to put the fire out" before the fire department arrived..."), to them, i will use the words of the great feli kuti: "i looko and i laughfo. he, he, he; haw, haw, haw."
Posted by Charles Mudede on August 3, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Stupid White Man 25
The best way to see Nai-robbery is from the air.
Posted by Stupid White Man http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ on August 3, 2009 at 10:32 AM
26
Mudede, living in Zimbabwe doesn't make you the expert in all things Kenya. Likely the filmmakers were trying to document the Kibera slum, which alternates with South Africa's Soweto slum as the largest in Africa. Aerial shots effectively document just how huge, populated and dilapidated Kibera is. Now do run along and have an iced latte from Espresso Vivace.
Posted by Obic on August 3, 2009 at 10:38 AM
27
Funny like accidentally killing a horse funny! And in both situations, I'm glad it wasn't me!
Posted by sall on August 3, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Stupid White Man 28
"Local residents were using water, dirt to put the fire out"

I believe the writer here meant to say the locals were throwing 'Kenya's finest drinking water' on the fire.

Spend enough time in Africa and you'll realize 'dirt' and 'water' are actually the same thing; the ability to realize that you shouldn't drink water from the same place you shit is quite handy.
Posted by Stupid White Man http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ on August 3, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 29
Reality Check @20: He's the official Token Black - he has a job for life. Unfortunately.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on August 3, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Max Solomon 30
if you don't laugh at death, death wins.
Posted by Max Solomon on August 3, 2009 at 10:46 AM
31
They were surprised to find a bushmen walking through the streets several days later with the coke bottle they'd thrown out the window mid-flight...
Posted by Mr.Joshua on August 3, 2009 at 10:53 AM
32
those American people flying about and crashing and causing even more misery to africans

Frank Toews, the pilot who died, was Canadian. I'm not sure what nationality Ryan Williams, the engineer currently in the hospital with a broken hip, broken pelvis, broken patella, numerous very severe burns, and a number of deep lacerations, is. He's white, though, so whatever, right?

This is the movie they were working on at the time of the crash. I'm sure if it ever gets completed, it will only bring more misery to africans.
Posted by RJL20 on August 3, 2009 at 11:01 AM
33
Does "mai we" = "mais oui"?
Posted by luxe on August 3, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Curmudgeon 34
Why say "put me in a state of laughter" when you can say "made me laugh?"

Yuck.
Posted by Curmudgeon on August 3, 2009 at 11:08 AM
Geni 35
@33 - that was my supposition as well. One really should not use foreign-language aphorisms if one is required to spell them phonetically.
Posted by Geni on August 3, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Roscoe 36
"Africa does not need another film about its poverty, so fuck you all."

Goodness gracious me and mine, Mr. Mudede. Was that really necessary? What a shame, to respond with a "fuck you" to a simple question. I guess that's about the level of discourse I'd expect from the guy who finds plane crashes funny.

Or shall I just say "fuck you back" and call it a day? That seems to be more your style.
Posted by Roscoe on August 3, 2009 at 11:46 AM
37
@32, did you go to the link! The hospitalized Americans now need aid and donations. They have become just like the africans! This comedy does not know how to end.
Posted by mudede on August 3, 2009 at 11:46 AM
onion 38
I think Mudede is drawing some kind of line in the sand. Him versus us. He is not like us. He is superior. He is not rich spoiled White Man. He is somehow way more thoughtful than us. Hard to respect a writer who despises us so.
Posted by onion on August 3, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 39
Respect? Now that's funny.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on August 3, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Charles Mudede 40
@33, "mai we" is hard to translate. It's from shona and it means somethin like: "god damn." But is not as strong as "god damn" and not as weak "load have mercy."

37, is indeed me. i just can't believe they went all the way to africa to crash a plane and ask for donations. mai we.
Posted by Charles Mudede on August 3, 2009 at 1:06 PM
onion 41
uh, and by spelling it "mai we" isn't he mocking us, somehow?
Posted by onion on August 3, 2009 at 1:07 PM
onion 42
@41 ok, gotcha! thanks as always for writing things that we have a 1/1000 chance of understanding. it would be really neat to learn new stuff like that...if you told us what it meant, up front. not explaining way down the road.

if i randomly spewed some saying from some random language on another continent, what's the chance that you would know what it meant, and could gain from it?
Posted by onion on August 3, 2009 at 1:10 PM
43
Do you suppose if everyone avoided making any documentaries about problems in Africa that Mr. Mudede would thereupon decry whitey for avoiding Africa and sitting in its comfortable ignorance, etc. etc. Marxist whatever?

And Charles, I have tried to keep an open mind about you, but I confess that you minimize to just about zero my willingness to cut you any slack when you write "fuck you all." I expect that kind of immature, mindless, rude, reactionary spew from some of the less eloquent commenters, but I expect better from a professional writer.
Posted by LeslieC on August 3, 2009 at 2:26 PM
Stupid White Man 44
I guess Africa just wants the We$t$ aid, but no embarrassing movies about African corruption and how people STILL haven't learned not to shit in their water supply.
Posted by Stupid White Man http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ on August 3, 2009 at 2:49 PM
TVDinner 45
@18: How on earth could you have interpreted the next logical step of my comment as being a treatise on the nobility of poor African peasants? I, who have lived among some of the poorest of the poor in this hemisphere, know that poverty is hardly an ennobling condition. And surely you could discern that I am aware that the noble savage myth is an extension of the white man's burden myth.

Or perhaps discernment isn't your strength.
Posted by TVDinner http:// on August 3, 2009 at 3:07 PM
46
Can someone at Slog make an RSS feed that filters out Mudede's posts?
Posted by eskimo on August 3, 2009 at 3:27 PM
hartiepie 47
@45 -- Ahem --- since discernment isn't your strength either, I'll explain it you.

You used classic broad-stroke and tired narratives. I anticipated your next long-toothed explanation......

And @43 is right on.

@40 -- What the hell are you using "mai we" for when you have to admit very few people here would know what it means (Google it ot see what the hits are)..... unless of course you want to showboat you vast knowledge for us.
Posted by hartiepie on August 3, 2009 at 4:28 PM
48
Can someone at Slog make an RSS feed that filters out Mudede's posts?

I've been meaning to do that for a while. Here it is.
Posted by RJL20 on August 4, 2009 at 12:53 AM
49
How many zillions of dollars does the rest of the world need to pour into Africa and nothing there ever f*cking changes?? Seems like it just gets worse. That's why I NEVER donate to charities having anything to do with Africa. Waste of time and money.
Posted by Marliss on August 4, 2009 at 7:54 AM
50
#48 FTW
Posted by pffft on August 4, 2009 at 11:41 AM
51
Charles ... I find it funnier that you can get 50 hate posts for such an asinine comment.

and for saying something moronic like "what kind of poverty can you see from the air?"

har har har

Is this some Sasha Bara Cohen styled shock post to expose something about ourselves?

Charles why not make TWO posts. Say that you feel that African Poverty is exploited and the suffering of Africans is turned into a novelty to portray for privelaged white folk to assuage their liberal guilt. Maybe that would be something profound and thought inducing (and totally unproductive for everyone ... but at least you'll be an insightful douche)

THEN make a post about a plane crash with a 50% fatality rate for white people.

Furthermore ... what the fuck do YOU know about these white people. For all you know they could have grown up in the projects, rural trailer gheto, foster care ... whatever. The odds are slim yes, but it's insulting to those that happen to be white AND underclassed ... because they do exist.
Posted by former tri-state on August 4, 2009 at 12:07 PM
NumberOne 52
@ 17 Please speak for yourself in terms of white guilt motivations. Maybe the filmmakers actually CARE about humanity. And why make the assumption that the people interested in helping Africa consists of the "...inherently colonial mindset of well-intentioned white people who feel obligated to relieve their white guilt by imposing their own narrative on an entire fucking continent, full of different people, languages, and cultural norms".
Maybe folks accept cultural relativity and are trying to use the resources they have at their disposal to help those who lack said resources? I doubt the filmmakers were feeling guilty about some nations colonization agenda(s) of the past. Its too late to worry about the impact of past colonizations- obviously Kibera is in a state of need for basic necessities. Its not about changing the slums as much as it is about empowering the people who live in them. I think its great that the filmmakers saw themselves in position to help and stepped up to the plate, and I do hope that they pull through.
Posted by NumberOne on August 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM
53
I know Rob Lehr personally. Here's his account of what happened:

"Injuries Don't Always Bleed"
http://tinyurl.com/mnpsoj

Yeah, pretty fucking funny. While I agree that Africa probably doesn't need another documentary on poverty made by relatively wealthy white people, you, sir, are still an asshole.
Posted by Sembers on August 5, 2009 at 6:52 AM
Confluence 54
TVDinner, you get it - likely an RPCV. @18, you're a dumb ass.
Posted by Confluence on August 5, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Confluence 55
@52

It's just swell that you're so well-meaning (as cliché as it is), but it's folks like you in the international development industry that have kept Africa poor. Read some William Easterly or Dambisa Moyo to get caught up. And by the way, Africa isn't full of a bunch of poor, starving, miserable sods who are desperate for your whitey assistance in order to survive. You need a project to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? Adopt a stray puppy.
Posted by Confluence on August 5, 2009 at 5:12 PM

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