Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in a recent interview with FRANCE 24, had her say on social media, Donald Trump and feminism.
She stated that the most tasking worry of our era is critical thinking.
Her words, “One of the things I find most concerning is that I think critical thinking is imperial.
I think that we have to be very careful that we don’t lose sight of how important it is to think critically.
I sometimes worry that technology means that we lose sight of empathy. And this evening I talked about how social media can sometimes make us forget that there’s an actual human being on the other end…
I think that the ability to think critically and the ability to feel empathy those are very important.”
On social media and how it is being used nowadays, she said she wasn’t a huge fan of the platform but agreed it could be used the right way.
Her words, “I think like most things in the world, it’s not so much that it’s inherently bad, it’s how we use it.”
When questioned about whether she thought “Trump’s America empowers public display of racism”, Her response was: “Absolutely. We have to remember that it’s in this period, in this presidency, that we have had people who parade publicly and they are very open about being white supremacists and it is important to remember that people have died, that a young woman was mowed to death by somebody who is a white supremacist.”
Speaking further about Trump, she said: “I think that the American president is very similar to an African Big Man in so many ways, sort of intentionally and stubbornly ignorant, very disrespectful of everybody else… that short of thing.”
On women’s involvement in politics, she said, “I’m very excited about the number of women who are becoming politically active.
I find it very exciting because I think it’s long overdue quite frankly, but also because it’s wonderful to know that women can now run as individuals rather than running as ‘The Woman Candidate.’
In the end, my idea of feminism is one in which people can be individuals.
So, I find it very exciting and I’m kind of looking forward to what will happen.”
