USOC apologizes for 'Congo' joke

[peewee's lovechild]

Ummm, and what exactly do you mean by "a country like Congo and all that that entails"?

I'm with you here.

I'm offended that someone would be offended about being compared with an African country.

That's pretty ing racist.

[ObiwanGinobili]

I see, so if somebody compared the US with Congo? you wouldn't object?

Nope. I wouldn't. Infact, if I think hard enough I bet i can find some similarities.

[ObiwanGinobili]

Ummm, and what exactly do you mean by "a country like Congo and all that that entails"?

ditto.

[Mr. Dictionary]

Congo
–noun
1. People's Republic of the, a republic in central Africa, W of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: formerly an overseas territory in French Equatorial Africa; now an independent member of the French Community. 2,583,198; 132,046 sq. mi. (341,999 sq. km). Capital: Brazzaville. Formerly, French Congo, Middle Congo.
2. Democratic Republic of the. Formerly, Zaire (1971–97), Democratic Republic of the Congo (1960–71), Belgian Congo (1908–60), Congo Free State (1885–1908). a republic in central Africa: a former Belgian colony; gained independence 1960. 47,440,362; 905,568 sq. mi. (2,345,410 sq. km). Capital: Kinshasa.
3. Also called Zaire. a river in central Africa, flowing in a great loop from SE Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Atlantic. ab. 3000 mi. (4800 km) long.
4. Kongo.
---------------------
Kongo
–noun, plural -gos, (especially collectively)
1. a member of an indigenous people living in west-central Africa along the lower course of the Congo River.
2. Also called Kikongo. the Bantu language of the Kongo people, used as a lingua franca in the lower Congo River basin.
-------------------------------------
congou
–noun
a black tea from China.
Also, congo.
[Origin: 1715–25; < dial. Chin (Xiamen), equiv. to Chin gōngfū(-chá) lit., effort (tea)]

[peewee's lovechild]

Do Congo drums come from the Congo?

[ShoogarBear]

Brazil shouldn't be insulted because they are "better" than the Congo, and South America shouldn't believe they are "better" than Africa. If they think that, they're just as stupid as the American who think it's cool to lump everything outside the US as being all the same.

[peewee's lovechild]

Brazil shouldn't be insulted because they are "better" than the Congo, and South America shouldn't believe they are "better" than Africa. If they think that, they're just as stupid as the American who think it's cool to lump everything outside the US as being all the same.

That's exactly why Brazil was insulted.

And, a lot of people here are defending them.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Brazil shouldn't be insulted because they are "better" than the Congo, and South America shouldn't believe they are "better" than Africa. If they think that, they're just as stupid as the American who think it's cool to lump everything outside the US as being all the same.

I see, so you consider Congo's current situation to be the same as the US? You may think that noone should consider themselves better than anybody, but they're definitely not the same. Right now the US is "better" than a lot of nations out there. I'm talking better in terms of development, in terms of security, financial stability, education etc. Denying these things for the sake of political correctness doesn't make them dissapear. I can accept the US is "better" than my country in all those aspects, just like I understand we are "better" off than most African nations.

[ShoogarBear]

So it would have been okay to call another country "Congo", just not one of the "good" ones?

[peewee's lovechild]

Bolivia is the Congo of South America

[MaNuMaNiAc]

So it would have been okay to call another country "Congo", just not one of the "good" ones?

you think Brasil would've objected to a reference comparing them to the States? Its a fact of life. You're talking about being politically correct, I'm talking reality.

Im perfectly aware that its not fair for the people of Congo, and I'm not talking about its people as individuals. I don't consider myself to be better than a person from Congo, but I do believe my country is in better shape in most aspects.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Again, I'd like to reiterate that, I, personally, wouldn't really have taken offense with such a meaningless statement. It really doesn't say enough to merit the reaction that it had. People read way too much into it. I'm just stating what I think was the problem people were reacting to

[Extra Stout]

I seriously doubt that American was referring to the development status of Brazil when he made that comment.

My guess is that he meant, "There are a lot of black and black-looking people here, and being that I am a racist cracker, that annoys me."

[peewee's lovechild]

I seriously doubt that American was referring to the development status of Brazil when he made that comment.

My guess is that he meant, "There are a lot of black and black-looking people here, and being that I am a racist cracker, that annoys me."

I still think he was just comparing jungle with jungle.

I don't see this as being racist in the slightest.

[The Cougar]

Ummm, and what exactly do you mean by "a country like Congo and all that that entails"?

AIDS and killer monkeys?

[ShoogarBear]

Since you keep throwing around meaningless catchphrases like "politically correct":

1. The guy said he was talking about the weather. Brazil and the Congo nations are both equatorial, so in terms of weather they're not dissimilar. You're the one who wanted to read more into that ("sure it was because of the heat"). So who's being "politically correct"?

2. My argument is ignorance is ignorance, and arrogant ignorance is the worst of all.

[Extra Stout]

Since you keep throwing around meaningless catchphrases like "politically correct":

1. The guy said he was talking about the weather. Brazil and the Congo nations are both equatorial, so in terms of weather they're not dissimilar. You're the one who wanted to read more into that ("sure it was because of the heat"). So who's being "politically correct"?

I call BS on the "weather" excuse. Rio is in its mild, dry season, which means highs about 80 degrees, with sea breezes blowing in from the Atlantic.

[Help A Brother Out]

I think most americans would give a , being compared to a country like Congo and all that that entails. Of course most people knows its obviously not accurate. The problem is South American countries are fighting the perception that they are just like African third world countries, when in reality they are nothing the like.

if so then why is this news?

[ShoogarBear]

I call BS on the "weather" excuse. Rio is in its mild, dry season, which means highs about 80 degrees, with sea breezes blowing in from the Atlantic.

Oh, the weather excuse is completely BS. I'm just pointing out how the "politically correct" card comes out when it's time to dis Africa, but not when it's time to dis South America.

[samikeyp]

I think if someone compared the US to Congo, most Americans would laugh, because they know its a ridiculous statement. Well, half would laugh. The other half would wonder why you are comparing a country to a movie.

A lot of Americans would say... "Where?"

Sad but true.

[Extra Stout]

Oh, the weather excuse is completely BS. I'm just pointing out how the "politically correct" card comes out when it's time to dis Africa, but not when it's time to dis South America.

South America has HDI's between 0.7-0.9. Sub-Saharan Africa typically runs 0.2-0.5. I guess the Brazilians are sensitive to insinuations that they are less developed than they actually are (a development inferiority complex?), although as we mentioned, I doubt the American was making a reference on anywhere near so sophisticated a subject as human development. He was talking about all the darkies.

Often "politically correct" in that context means "we're not supposed to point out that virtually all the countries at the bottom of the development indices are black African countries." There are people out there who want to come to conclusions about racial inferiority based upon that. (How ironic that we extol the development of the indigenous Amerindians, but ignore and discount medieval Africa, which was more prosperous than Europe until the Europeans took to the seas following the fall of Constantinople?)

[ObiwanGinobili]

South America has HDI's between 0.7-0.9. Sub-Saharan Africa typically runs 0.2-0.5. I guess the Brazilians are sensitive to insinuations that they are less developed than they actually are (a development inferiority complex?), although as we mentioned, I doubt the American was making a reference on anywhere near so sophisticated a subject as human development. He was talking about all the darkies.

I agree that was the subtext, and was percieved as so.

Which basiclly makes the outrage: "Hey! we're not nearly as black as they are!"

[Extra Stout]

I agree that was the subtext, and was percieved as so.

Which basiclly makes the outrage: "Hey! we're not nearly as black as they are!"

Well, you're assuming that "black" = "backward and underdeveloped," which, while that may have been what the offending American meant, is not necessarily what the Brazilians perceived.

I don't think race matters to Brazilians to the degree it matters to Americans or Argentines. They pretty much have blended together into a nice mocha color.

[ObiwanGinobili]

That would have been my assumption as well untill I was shown Stormfront.org's very large section for South Americans.... and then was shown the ugly casual racism of one of ST's argie posters.... Now I've been looking at people different. Someone removed a shade or two of my rosetint raybans.

[Extra Stout]

That would have been my assumption as well untill I was shown Stormfront.org's very large section for South Americans.... and then was shown the ugly casual racism of one of ST's argie posters.... Now I've been looking at people different. Someone removed a shade or two of my rosetint raybans.

1) Brazil and Argentina are not the same. Argentina is 98% white.

2) Though Brazil by and large blends together all the races, they have their own legacy of slavery (not fully banned until 1881), and they have descendants of the old plantation owners, as well as the descendants of a number of American Confederates who expatriated around 1865, who have perhaps not the best at udes about people of African descent.