Remember when you couldn’t finish your dinner and your parents would tell you to keep eating because there are starving kids in Africa? Remember how confused you were because you didn’t know how you eating leftover meatloaf would make African children’s situation better? The phrase “first world problems,” a now often used retort by liberals when someone reveals their privilege, is the new “starving kids in Africa.” Before you accuse me of being the political correctness police, let me explain.
My homeland of Jamaica is often used as the backdrop for the White Savior Industrial Complex. It’s a common image. A young attractive Anglo-Saxon woman or man surrounded by a sea of smiling brown-skinned children with the desolate land they call home in the background. Volunteering in “exotic” destinations like Africa or Jamaica often serves (although are rarely admitted) as absolution for white guilt and privilege and is a side effect of American exceptionalism. You don’t see anyone jumping at the chance to volunteer anywhere in Siberia. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not condemning the act of volunteering in places of need. But when people ask me what it was like to live in a hut when discussing my childhood in Jamaica, tell me that the U.S. government needs to “save” my homeland (since that worked out so well for Haiti) or think that Africa is a country, I’m cynical of what they think their presence in these places really mean. For centuries there has been this view that Americans need to swoop down and save brown people who are deemed (by Americans) incapable of saving themselves, when that is far from the truth.
In this era of so-called hipster or casual racism – as a person who is often on the receiving end of racism, I believe that the only casual thing about it is the ease with which it is dropped – and perceived villainy of political correctness the phrase “first world problems” is used to show a certain liberal coolness. It says that, although I have a trust fund, I am still with the downtrodden and their struggles. Here is an example. Person A: “I’m feeling really depressed today. I think I need to see a therapist.” Person B: “First world problems.” There is even a Twitter account with almost 16,000 followers dedicated to the acknowledgement of first world problems, “I wanted a meaningful tattoo but I live a comfortable, sheltered life. #firstworldproblems.”
Not only is the archaic distinction between first world and third world problematic, but I first took issue with the phrase when I was reading a blog post by an American transgender person documenting the gender dystopia they experienced growing up. A commenter posted “first world problems” in response. This implied that people living in developing countries do not experience gender dystopia or any other social issue that has nothing to do with disease and war. This phrase is a part of a larger depiction that dehumanizes residents of developing countries. It seems that it is easier to objectify them as malaria-infected, barely dressed figures that are perfect for the cover of National Geographic, than to see them as human beings who suffer depression, struggle with their sexual orientation or worry if their outfit is stylish enough. This reminds me of the video of CNN’s Soledad O’Brian challenging Tea Party leader Amy Kremer after she tweeted that President Barack Obama didn’t love America as much as Mitt Romney. Dog whistling aside, Kremer used Obama’s stance on foreign policy as her defense, saying that he was moving America from its rightful place as a city on a hill. “City on a hill” comes from the Bible and was one of the driving forces behind Manifest Destiny, an ideology that insinuates that America needs to be a shining light of democracy to the rest of the world. This has been used to justify the Mexican-American War, the Native American genocide and slavery. American exceptionalism (a term loved by conservatives) rests on the notion that people in other countries, particularly developing countries, are less civilized than Americans. And so does the phrase “first world problems.” In this tense political climate where conservatives and liberals just can’t seem to get along, it is nice to see that they finally agree on something.
While I know that there is a difference between a conservative defaming our president and 20-somethings trying to seem tolerant, they are both rooted in the same American privilege. Saying “first world problems” does nothing for people from developing countries. It doesn’t make them like you more and it doesn’t take whatever problems they may have away. Just like finishing your plate doesn’t help starving kids. If any hashtag or term should catch on, it should be #Americansolutions. Faraway places aren’t the only places with problems. And in this election season it is more than obvious that America needs solutions.
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