It's a familiar narrative at this point, you know the one: a bright-eyed, maybe even well-meaning, white person travels to "Africa"—no need to name the specific country, of course—for a trip. While there, they make sure to snap pictures with the poor "African" children—remember, no country specificity necessary—to show the great work that they're doing, how life-changing the trip was, and how empathetic they've now become to the suffering of others.

Ellen DeGeneres is simply the latest white celebrity to take part in this tired practice. The talk show host travelled to Kenya and Rwanda last week, in support of her foundation, the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. While there she met with Rwanda's president Paul Kagame, took part in a mountain gorilla excursion with the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund, and posted several images of herself enjoying nature and other types of wildlife.