So I was having a conversation with my partner about hive and race, and how these two things impact our individual journeys. As much as I would like to turn a blind eye to these sorts of things (because I would rather focus on things I can positively impact), I am aware of their existence overtly or covertly).
One thing I have agreed on is that location and race are also social currencies which come into play when building social capital in a space like this. It impacts how you interact with the chain and how the chain (community) interacts with you.
For instance, if you are black and from (anywhere in) Africa, chances are your journey would be a bit different. This is mainly because those in positions of power on the chain have a reality that is quite different from yours and how they perceive you would be quite different from how your kinsman would perceive or relate with you. Perception bias.
For instance, there are people here who honestly think it is easier to live in this part of the world because it's supposedly cheaper. So they believe a $2-$3 upvote is life-changing, and will most likely want you to do the most to get it–I am speaking from a curator standpoint. It is almost similar to having foreign relatives. Some of them would have you do the most for the barest minimum because they know or think they know what it(whatever currency they are sending) is worth back home.
Obviously, not everyone here has such bias towards certain groups (and even those who do don't do so in a malicious way), but then most people here do not have agency or any real power to impact the chain. It all boils down to stake–which is your voice and most people from this part of the world do not have enough, neither are they willing to work collectively, they would rather settle to be bottom feeders.
If there is anything I have learnt in life it is that people will treat you how you portray yourself. Unfortunately, certain groups have a reputation that precedes them. It doesn't matter how much they familiarise themselves with other groups, that stereotype still exists, consciously or unconsciously.
Unlike most people, I do not clamour for equality because I am of the opinion that if I have to demand to be treated equally or as a human being who is contributing (in my little way) to the development of a global community then I have no agency.
Ultimately we are all equal on hive considering we all have the opportunity to earn, network and build. However, there is no such thing as equality in terms of outcome and it is not merit-based. This isn't something that is upsetting in any way or considered to be unfair because I know where I stand and I can say the same about my community. Even the most successful individual from my continent on this chain is still a bottom feeder like most of us, so why would I be offended? As long as we can have some luxuries/opportunities we can circumvent the negative narrative attached to our name, faces and skin, right?
I have no issues with someone seeing me as sub-human (it simply means I have no business or interest in your life or opinion), especially when we do not have a shared reality, but I do cringe when people like myself do not about these stereotypes or worst live up to them. This is because whatever affects my community impacts my life directly or indirectly. This is a truth I have come to accept. For instance, I know being Nigerian is going to present a challenge for me anywhere I go, however, I do not and will never have to prove my worth to anyone, especially in situations where it doesn't further my interest.
So in a nutshell, perception bias is a thing; racism is a thing; favouritism is a thing and I am of the opinion that we all, despite our differences need to learn how to navigate through things. It is all part of life's many struggles. I am learning to navigate through life aiming for what I want and not necessarily having an opinion or agenda on things (it is also a dilemma of some sort considering I make opinion pieces for a living).
I certainly would have an issue with someone seeing me as sub-human and expressing that sentiment particularly if I could not avoid that person.
Have you encountered anyone who has behaved toward you as if you were sub-human on chain or otherwise in the Hive community? I would imagine that sort of thing to be less frequent here than in real life. We are all a pretty select group of people.
As for the value of our rewards relative to our living expenses, I would say that's a different thing than how easy it is to live where we live. And I don't think it is unreasonable to say that covering one's living expenses is easier with Hive income in poor countries with lower costs than in countries where everything is more expensive. That's just mathematics.
As for how much we deserve as rewards for our content depending on how expensive our home countries are, I can't confirm or deny that as I haven't looked at the issue systematically. But it seems to me that the correlation between the country one lives in and one's rewards is pretty weak.
Social status on Hive is largely a function of one's Hive Power and age on chain. No one with over 100,000 HP would be considered a bottom feeder on Hive regardless of where they came from.
As for your reputation as a Nigerian, that's an interesting question. When you travel abroad where no one knows you, people will judge you by your nationality. But here you are an established user. Your content and your history is all traceable many years into the past. Every on-chain quarrel you've had is searchable. All your financial decisions are accessible by anyone.
This is really really relevant and important to talk about and also really complex and confusing too.
I started to write a comment but it got way too long, so I will make a full post responding to this and leave you with a "short" version for now.
I respect you a lot for bringing up these issues, a lot of people don't like to talk about uncomfortable topics unless they are the ones dictating the conversations, and at hive, that tends to be the ones with the biggest upvotes or the support of those people. And most of these people tend to come from certain countries OR have certain world views due to certain life experiences or financial realities.
People are really stuck in tiny bubble realities, and yet most of the world seems to conform to the cultures of 3 major super powers. Those cultures aren't always bad, but it's really one-sided. An American can expect most people who speak English to understand their culture, a Nigerian can't, right?
There may be some racism in the world, but I believe that for many people, it's less about race or nationality and more about your ability to understand all their cultural references and share their beliefs with someone.
The thing is, you (or any Nigerian or Filipino or Serbian) should not have to be the only one making an effort just because you come from a place that didn't produce Netflix or K-pop or because some countries have more issues than others (many of which may have been caused by other countries).
I really think the solution is to change how we see culture, to realize we create it with our behavior, and make efforts to do it with whoever we can. It's fucking fun to share and create and play with culture too. Man, I love checking google and coming up with funny pidgin to make Naija friends laugh, but the really really cool part will be when we naturally start to make new words and languages together across borders with the Africans and South Americans and Middle Easterners being just as much a part of it as the Europeans and Americans. It may just be a tiny minority at first, but I'm game. I think it's happening in crypto, and also in tiny pockets around the world.
This is why I focus on culture so much and it's one of the main reasons I'm doing my podcast now.
Thank you for taking out your time to read and reply. It's a courtesy I plan to return soon. My offline life has most of my attention now, pardon me.
One of the things I enjoy about our exchanges is that there is mutual respect. I dunno, but hive has a way of turning one into a judge--judge of content;judge of opinion. Rather than having meaningful conversation we tend to judge (maybe because of the financial implication of our judgement).
It's one thing to judge and another to understand. With understanding comes empathy.
When will you invite me?🤡
I totally understand man, I’ve only been reading posts the last two or three days. I was barely on chain for a month. IRL has been demanding.
Mutual respect for sure. I also like how you don’t get overly emotional but you really say what’s on your mind and dig deep into stuff sometimes. It’s powerful, you make more of a difference here than you know.
You wanna be on the podcast? I was thinking of asking you at some point but I was worried you might be too intellectual for my crazy hippie show 😆 that’s less than half serious, mostly a joke. If you are interested we can talk about it and figure out a topic to start with. I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.
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This made me laugh quietly inside. :)
You know as e dey go...
I agree with you. I have seen it time and time again on any blockchain. It wasn't Nigerians on others but Indians. I understand why someone who has nothing in their world would all of a sudden start flooding with all kinds of spam, plagiarized work, etc when they find out there are places that will pay them for content but it was often overshadowing the people from the same area that actually had something to say that was worthy of a $1 tip. The problem was/is that the scammers take off after they don't get rewarded anymore and the legitimate artists are left with their art and an uphill battle to establish themselves. I don't mean to generalize but was just using Indian people as an example. It could really be anyone who gets a taste of "free money" that hasn't had it before.
Venezuela was a good example a few years ago when their country was being decimated economically. What would buy me lunch in Canada would feed a family for a few days there. I was happy for these blockchain platforms because it actually gave us a way to help our friends that meant something. Not just sending "thoughts and prayers" but actually making it so they could survive.
I guess I'm getting off topic but it just points out the vast differences based in where we are born and raised.