The sudden surge in "African low IQ" rhetoric online and…
0 reactions
The sudden surge in "African low IQ" rhetoric online and in the workplace is getting out of hand and genuinely scary
I need to get this off my chest because it’s becoming incredibly exhausting and, honestly, terrifying as an African professional. Lately, there has been a massive spike in right-wing rhetoric, podcasts, and street interviews (think YouTubers pushing specific narratives) constantly pushing the pseudoscientific idea that Africans have inherently low IQs. It feels like this toxic discourse is spreading everywhere, and it’s leaking into real life.
I’m Ethiopian, and my background is heavily rooted in theoretical academics. At my job, my coworkers (who are Asian) used to constantly quiz me on complex topics, and I realized later they were literally just "testing" my intelligence because they couldn't wrap their heads around an African being sharp. When I’d prove them wrong, they’d deflect with bizarre claims like, "Oh, well, Ethiopia is basically Indian anyway," just to avoid admitting an African person is smart. They constantly make sarcastic, condescending remarks about the continent.
What kills me is seeing how some Africans—especially on tech/crypto Twitter, like many right-wing Nigerians—repost and align with these right-wing figures. They don't seem to realize that the very people they are cheering for do not like them and see them as inherently inferior. I’ve watched videos by creators like Kurt Caz or Tyler Oliveira where the comment sections or the people interviewed openly spout this "low IQ" nonsense about Black and African people.
This isn't just online trolling anymore; it has real-world consequences. It is incredibly scary to think about how this affects job applications, tech hiring, and corporate bias. When hiring managers are bombarded with this propaganda online, it unconsciously (or consciously) affects how they view an African applicant's resume.
Has anyone else noticed this massive shift in mainstream racism lately? How do you deal with this kind of subtle, toxic skepticism in professional spaces?
#local
source
I need to get this off my chest because it’s becoming incredibly exhausting and, honestly, terrifying as an African professional. Lately, there has been a massive spike in right-wing rhetoric, podcasts, and street interviews (think YouTubers pushing specific narratives) constantly pushing the pseudoscientific idea that Africans have inherently low IQs. It feels like this toxic discourse is spreading everywhere, and it’s leaking into real life.
I’m Ethiopian, and my background is heavily rooted in theoretical academics. At my job, my coworkers (who are Asian) used to constantly quiz me on complex topics, and I realized later they were literally just "testing" my intelligence because they couldn't wrap their heads around an African being sharp. When I’d prove them wrong, they’d deflect with bizarre claims like, "Oh, well, Ethiopia is basically Indian anyway," just to avoid admitting an African person is smart. They constantly make sarcastic, condescending remarks about the continent.
What kills me is seeing how some Africans—especially on tech/crypto Twitter, like many right-wing Nigerians—repost and align with these right-wing figures. They don't seem to realize that the very people they are cheering for do not like them and see them as inherently inferior. I’ve watched videos by creators like Kurt Caz or Tyler Oliveira where the comment sections or the people interviewed openly spout this "low IQ" nonsense about Black and African people.
This isn't just online trolling anymore; it has real-world consequences. It is incredibly scary to think about how this affects job applications, tech hiring, and corporate bias. When hiring managers are bombarded with this propaganda online, it unconsciously (or consciously) affects how they view an African applicant's resume.
Has anyone else noticed this massive shift in mainstream racism lately? How do you deal with this kind of subtle, toxic skepticism in professional spaces?
#local
source
| 1,000 mlx | |
| 3 | |
| 0 |