Posted on Sunday, 1 January 2012

I don’t like this expression ‘First World problems.’ It is false and it is condescending. Yes, Nigerians struggle with floods or infant mortality. But these same Nigerians also deal with mundane and seemingly luxurious hassles. Connectivity issues on your BlackBerry, cost of car repair, how to sync your iPad, what brand of noodles to buy: Third World problems. All the silly stuff of life doesn’t …disappear just because you’re black and live in a poorer country. People in the richer nations need a more robust sense of the lives being lived in the darker nations. Here’s a First World problem: the inability to see that others are as fully complex and as keen on technology and pleasure as you are. - Nigerian author and artist Teju Cole
step 282: stop tagging situations/tweets with the expression “first world problems” used to think it was hilarious at first, but the more I think about it, the more it’s Orientalist paradigm becomes apparent. sheesh. 

(Source: xkimberlyx)

2,990 notes

  1. thelikesthatwere reblogged this from verstehmicheiner
  2. nakaonwood reblogged this from thelifeinrose and added:
    Think I’ll be adding some Teju Cole to my reading list…
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  9. vegetablesandoxygen reblogged this from iamapatientboy and added:
    While I think this is true and offers an interesting perspective, I think the term “first world problems” is used to...
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    My response: I always use the phrase to mean “yeah I know I’m being a whiny entitled idiot by complaining about this...
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