Models of Citizenship
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi explains the danger of a single story during a TED talk in July 2009. Many people hear a story about someone from a certain country or about someone of a certain race and then assume that it is true about everyone from that country or everyone of that particular race. At one point during her speech she said that her roommate once asked her to hear some of her tribal music, and her roommate was surprised when Adichi started playing Mariah Carey. This is an example of how stereotypes can be false. Just because Adichi is from Nigeria, does not mean that she cannot speak English very well or that she listens to tribal music all the time.
The dangers of a single story are very prevalent in my life right now. For one, I see tourists everyday who are walking around Venice, and I know that some of them are here as part of their cruise, which means they get to spend at most a day here. There is no possible way that a person can see all of Venice in twenty-four hours, I have been here for a little over two months and I still have not seen everything. These tourists go to San Marco and Rialto and pretty much call it the end of their trip. While those two of Venice’s main attractions, it is not close to everything that they could see if they stayed for a couple more days. They will never get to experience what it is like to eat at a restaurant like the Corner Pub, or have a coffee at Bar da Gino. They will never be able to experience outside of all the tourist attractions, which, in my opinion, is the best part about Venice.
On the other hand, I am guilty of just listening to a single story. Over the ten days, I am going to be travelling to three different cities, and I am not going to be able to spend a lot of time actually getting to know those cities. Over the last ten-day break, I had friends studying abroad in all the cities I visited, and they gave me input on the best places to eat and the best things to do. However, this time I am travelling with my dad, and do not know anyone who has been to these cities for extended periods of time. I am going to go to the top attractions that are listed on TripAdvisor and other travel websites, just because I do not know where else to look for information. I wish that it could be different and that I could go to the places that the locals love the best, not the places that tourists love to go.
Sometimes listening to a single story is unavoidable. I would love to be able to spend more time in the cities that I visit outside of Venice, but because I have class during the week, it is simply impossible for me to experience other cities in the way that I am fortunate enough to experience Venice. While the single story can be dangerous, I think it is only dangerous if you chose to believe that everyone experiences the same thing. If you realize that Nigerians listen to music that is not tribal and that there is more to Venice other than San Marco and Rialto then it is a little less dangerous. Over the next week, I know I am going to be deciding whether or not I like a city based off of the things that I chose to do, which are most likely going to be things that most people who visit these cities do. If I end up not enjoying one city very much, and I know someone who thinks that city is the best city in the world, I am not going to disagree, just because I know that our experiences there were completely different. Stories can only be dangerous if people do not stop to realize that every person has a different story, and that you cannot assume that just because they are from the same country or the same town or have the same color skin that they have the exact same story.
The dangers of a single story are very prevalent in my life right now. For one, I see tourists everyday who are walking around Venice, and I know that some of them are here as part of their cruise, which means they get to spend at most a day here. There is no possible way that a person can see all of Venice in twenty-four hours, I have been here for a little over two months and I still have not seen everything. These tourists go to San Marco and Rialto and pretty much call it the end of their trip. While those two of Venice’s main attractions, it is not close to everything that they could see if they stayed for a couple more days. They will never get to experience what it is like to eat at a restaurant like the Corner Pub, or have a coffee at Bar da Gino. They will never be able to experience outside of all the tourist attractions, which, in my opinion, is the best part about Venice.
On the other hand, I am guilty of just listening to a single story. Over the ten days, I am going to be travelling to three different cities, and I am not going to be able to spend a lot of time actually getting to know those cities. Over the last ten-day break, I had friends studying abroad in all the cities I visited, and they gave me input on the best places to eat and the best things to do. However, this time I am travelling with my dad, and do not know anyone who has been to these cities for extended periods of time. I am going to go to the top attractions that are listed on TripAdvisor and other travel websites, just because I do not know where else to look for information. I wish that it could be different and that I could go to the places that the locals love the best, not the places that tourists love to go.
Sometimes listening to a single story is unavoidable. I would love to be able to spend more time in the cities that I visit outside of Venice, but because I have class during the week, it is simply impossible for me to experience other cities in the way that I am fortunate enough to experience Venice. While the single story can be dangerous, I think it is only dangerous if you chose to believe that everyone experiences the same thing. If you realize that Nigerians listen to music that is not tribal and that there is more to Venice other than San Marco and Rialto then it is a little less dangerous. Over the next week, I know I am going to be deciding whether or not I like a city based off of the things that I chose to do, which are most likely going to be things that most people who visit these cities do. If I end up not enjoying one city very much, and I know someone who thinks that city is the best city in the world, I am not going to disagree, just because I know that our experiences there were completely different. Stories can only be dangerous if people do not stop to realize that every person has a different story, and that you cannot assume that just because they are from the same country or the same town or have the same color skin that they have the exact same story.