Eugene Robinson is a fine columnist for the Washington Post, but in this piece on Dave Chappelle, he embodies the befuddlement, ignorance, and misinformation of many Americans when it comes to Africa. In discussing the prodigal comedian (who disappeared when the pressure over his forthcoming third season of the eponymous Chappelle’s Show got to be too much to bear) he refers to Chappelle’s desire to “seek anonymity on an Indian Ocean beach, about as far from Hollywood as he could get.”:

But just as he was finishing a batch of third-season shows, Chappelle vanished. There were rumors of drugs or a breakdown, but a Time magazine writer tracked him down in remote Durban, South Africa, of all places, where he was clearing his head with a friend and sometime spiritual adviser.

From this telling, you would think that Durban is the middle of nowhere and that it is some quaint little outback with lions and elephants frolicking. (Interestingly, though apropos of nothing, in Zulu the city is called “eThekwini,” the meaning of which is unknown, but some of the interpretations are “the place where earth and ocean meet,” “lagoon” or, my favorite, “the one-testicled one.” There is talk that this will become the city’s official name in years to come.) Think again.

Durban is South Africa’s second-largest city. It has a population of more than 3.7 million (and rapidly growing), – the township of Umlazi alone has more than 2 million people. Comparable cities in size and scale are Seattle, Melbourne, Montreal, Pyongyang, Athens, Minneapolis and Rome. Durban is a city known for its gorgeous beaches and its tourist infrastructure (I spent a week on Durban’s Golden Mile, in a hotel overlooking the spectacular Durban Indian Ocean coast), but it also is South Africa’s busiest port and the city has both a substantial industrial and a reasonably healthy service economy. The city continues to grow, and is one of the more dynamic in all of Africa. “Of all places” indeed.

Obviously I am taking offense at what can at best be described as a minor slight, and certainly one that was not intended to offend. Indeed, the article in question was about race, and Gene Robinson is a respected commenter on race. He is black. I doubt that Mr. Robinson would ever intentionally diminish Africa. Nonetheless, what does it say when someone like him is able casually to diminish a vital, vibrant area of millions of people with a passing comment? Dave Chappelle may indeed have been seeking anonymity far from Hollywood. And to do so he went to “remote” Durban. Of all places.

Derek Charles Catsam - 5/26/2005

Chris --
I know what you mean by being an "Un American American" in the sense that whenever I travel, I surely look like an Americxan (the baseball hat is kind of our calling card) but I think I do a pretty good job of blending in culturally. I try to avoid, as much as possible, being the ugly American.
It is interesting that many Americans might have some concept of the Zulus but rarely could point out where they live(d) and what they fought for. I plan to try to introduce my students to the mfecane debate when i teach my South Africa course in the fall. my grad students got it. We'll see about the undergrads.
Mmmmm, mealies. Although it is not a Zulu dish, you also have me thinking of koeksisters. Yum is right.

dc

chris l pettit - 5/26/2005

Some of the best surfing anywhere in the world...and I love the traditional mealie dishes of the Zulu...yum yum.

Sigh...good job at bringing the ignorance of most Americans to light once again DC. I wonder how many would know about the great Anglo-Zulu battles. how many worshippers of Churchill would know that he spent a bunch of time here during the Anglo-Boer war (and was quite happy with the English concentration camps...which the Germans artfully learned from).

Many South Africans know even "minor" cities in the US, and have travelled there to figure out whether we are all as ignorant as our government and many "scholars." Alas...in my experience, 85% of the time, we are...

I have to tell you...I have a good friend in academia who says he likes me because I am the "most un-American American" he has ever met...meaning that I actually acknowledge the international community and care about rights and law instead of ideology...as well as identify myself as human before American. One of the better compliments I have received...

CP

CP

Derek Charles Catsam - 5/26/2005

Oscar --
I understand what you are saying, but I still maintain that there was an element of dismissal in Robinson's tone. Durban -- of all places.
Direct flights to South Africa -- from New York, DC, Orlando, Atlanta that I know of. Durban is the second largest city in SA, and when it has its new int'l airport one will likely be able to fly directly. As it is, you'll have to fly to JoBurg or Cape Town then jump an SAA flight to Durban.
dc

Oscar Chamberlain - 5/26/2005

Derek, I cannot say that you are wrong--I certainly did not know anything about Durban, but I can imagine the same phrases being used for many other foreign locales, including obviously urban ones like Singapore or Hong Kong, of all places.

Also, our cities are not all that well known. When I was in Italy a couple of years ago, I tried telling people that Rice Lake is near Minneapolis. I
found out that most people only had a very vague idea of where Minneapolis is or even that it existed.

Chicago worked much better. A small US map in my Rick Steve guide to Italian was best.

Another factor, other than ignorance, would be the "how do you get there" one. I certainly don't know the best travel route to South Africa. Anything we can't imagine getting to easily, probably seems our of the way.