Column: It is more than just a joke

How dare you complain about [insert petty misfortune]? “There are starving kids in Africa!”

Really? Can we get away from this? No, seriously. Have we yet to learn what to say and what NOT to say?

When someone complains about something, using the joking rebuttal of “starving kids in Africa” is not only inappropriate, but also most of the time unrelated.

It is unfair to compare something as extreme and important as famine to minuscule tasks or situations we may groan about on a daily basis. For the record, your use of this is problematic and, if anything else, makes it appear as though you are entirely insensitive to the situation.

It is neither cute nor funny for you to say this. Stop the madness.

Some of you may say “Oh, but it is just a common exaggeration! No harm, no foul.” The thing is, there is power in language.

What we have to say says a lot about who we are and what we believe to be true. “Starving kids in Africa” generalizes the continent as having nothing but hungry children walking around everywhere you see. Wait, you do realize Africa is a whole continent, right? Not every country in Africa has been subjected to extreme hunger. But for the countries that do, let’s think about the historical implications that caused this.

Side note: Make sure your knowledge of this region stretches far beyond the “for 10 cents a day” commercials we know all too well.

You are absolutely right when you say there are starving kids in Africa. It’s true. Just like how there are starving kids in our own backyard. Food insecurity is common in over one in four North Carolina children.

But will we ever tell someone not to complain because there are “starving kids in North Carolina?” Of course not! That’s way too close to home.

Instead we’ll just assign that misfortune to a whole continent. If you are truly concerned, our cities of Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro have some of the highest levels of food insecurity in the NATION. Also, using “starving kids in Africa” as a response reinforces the notion that Africa is solely home to those who are poor, starving and lacking in sufficient resources of any kind.

It’s time we think about what we say and how we say things. If you ever visited Africa and worked to improve the environment and malnutrition, then talking about the food insecurity is perfectly fine because you won’t use it as a joke ­— but chances are you haven’t. If you’re not actually concerned with the issue, but use it just to appeal to guilt, I urge you to just think about the issue a little bit more.

opinion@dailytarheel.com