Oops!
I guess I hadn't gotten the sarcasm across that I intended in my post "Interesting Take." My intention was certainly not to broadcast bigoted points of view and I apologize if that is how it came across.My point was, rather, to build on my previous (hopefully non-opinionated) observations on the way the concept and the discussion of Ethiopian "ethnicity" is shaped in this country. I find it a difficult, contradictory, fascinating theme that arises again and again. I don't feel that I am qualified to make any sort of in-depth analysis on how Ethiopians view/define/use ethnicity, but passing along things I observe is the only way I can convey how utterly screwed up it seems. Granted, America's "race" questions are no less convoluted and difficult, but I am not here to comment on those, thankfully.
As you may also read from my commenters, I have heard many Ethiopians claim that the government is exploiting and promoting narrow definitions of ethnicity to create rifts among the people; others argue that the rifts were always there, it's only now that the perceived hierarchy has been shaken up that people are blaming the government; etc. etc.
And there are people like this taxi driver, who make completely ridiculous statements that are more funny (at least to me) than they are remotely 1) accurate or 2) harmful. In order for them to be harmful you would have to take them seriously, which is impossible given the content. I hear similar gross generalizations about foreigners all the time, which I manage not to take personally, or even find humor in, and I hope any readers of mine would do the same.
That said, this IS an explosive topic in current Ethiopian politics and I do sincerely wish to convey my regret if the post appeared more offensive than absurd, as "Rasw" is right, I am responsible for putting these up publicly.
posted by Margot @ 10:39 AM
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