Maciej of Pinboard.in, Nigerians Demand an Apology.

I know this is "just a joke", it's obviously harmless and no malice was intended (probably). I would be the last person to suggest that any topic is off-limits for humour, and firmly believe we should be able to joke about anything and everything.

That said: Imagine you're Nigerian. Every time this comes up on the web, someone cracks a joke about 419 scams. For this person they maybe make a joke like that say, once a year. No big deal, they're not racist or anything. But Nigerians are vastly outnumbered by people that aren't Nigerian (obviously), so if each of these people makes a once-in-a-blue-moon joke when you mention that you're Nigerian, that means for you it happens every. Damn. Time.

I imagine that gets pretty old.

For what it's worth, I've never seen an accusation that the banking system in Nigeria is itself materially involved with advance-fee scams or otherwise corrupt, and I don't have the impression that people believe that. I took "into a Nigerian bank account" as shorthand for "unexpectedly into the custody of Nigerian internet users", and the unfortunate stereotype persists around the guys hanging around internet cafes, not the bankers. Just as "into a Swiss bank account" connotes money that is being made more difficult to trace, not a criticism of people in Switzerland who actually operate the banks.

You deserve an apology, but let's be realistic here. The internet has developed a sort of culture that thrives on the jeering and jest of others. Going around pointing out how every individual on the internet has wronged you will only get you labeled as something far worse than having potentially poor financial management practices. Americans (likely a majority on sites like HN) get their fair share when we have high profile characters like G.W.Bush and (more recently) Charlie Sheen floating around the nets.

My advice to you (especially if you're an entrepreneur) is to persevere the stereotypes and prove them wrong. Let's get over it and move along. beer

While we can complain and fuss about incidents like this one, I doubt there's much to gain. I don't expect there'll be a significant change in public opinion till there is a sufficient number of positive stories to counterbalance the negativity.

Less than a decade ago, when most people thought about "China", the first thought that popped into their heads was probably "cheap counterfeit goods". It's clear that things have changed since then.

Until we have a balance of positive stories, I fear we're stuck with this. Time to get moving and add to the positive stories about Nigerians.

+1 i feel you! kinda stigmatizing in my opinion - you deserve an apology!

Great post, must agree, but generalizations are prevalent in every part of society its how we humans process and categorise. The wise man however has more granular filters....

I think you are taking what he said in the wrong way. The way I read it, he is not saying Nigerian banks are bad (or anything about the banks at all really). What he is saying is that he is promising his users that their money isn't going from them to a 419 scammer THEN into the Nigerian banks.