Cultural appropriation - your thoughts

Trigger alert!

Is CA a valid concept, or just a complete bag of sh*t?

CA - Wiki

Is it racist for a white person (or a black person for that matter) to cook a curry or to prepare Mexican food, for example? Have we all misunderstood diversity and multiculturalism, and in fact should really be pushing everyone into their ethnic silo's, never acknoweldging each others cultures?

Who is behind this agenda and why?

I'm with Micky on this.

that is why it is complete bullsh*t .... it is like creating the notion that the sky is blue... that has been going on for millenia... find me a culturally homogeneous society today... you'd have to go back to before the wheel was invented to find where one culture has not borrowed concepts. Food, fashion, music...

I think diversity and multiculturalism are different things, I support the first but oppose the second in the form that it has been imposed on modern societies economies. The main reason is that the latter lacks respect and understanding from all parts.

I think cultural appropriation to a small degree is required for societies to function in harmony, but not to the extent described here.


Edited by aapatsos - April 09 2016 at 07:50

So embracing other cultures and taking enjoyment in what they have to offer is now a bad thing to some?

A non-black person dressing up in blackface as a sterotypical black dude is racist. Wearing cornrows or dreadlocks is not.

I think the interaction between cultures has lead to numerous cultural elements being enjoyed by many millions more than they would have been otherwise: the Hindu numeral system, blues-derived rock, pizza, Swedish meatballs, soccer, bagpipes, chess, Go, etc.

With that being said, I think there are legitimate cases where a group can protest how another cultural group trivializes some of its cultural elements, particularly when it's done in a derogatory, overtly commercial or patronizing manner.

I can see how some Native Americans take offense at sports franchises that use Native American imagery in what they construe as a stereotypical manner (ex. Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves). Also, there have been a few cases where college fraternity members dressed up as stereotypical Mexicans using sombreros, ponchos, mustaches, etc.

As with many other subjective situations that can lead to conflict, a little bit of common sense goes a long way.

I can conceive of situations in which cultural appropriation would be a bad thing, but this has little to do with real life examples of where this term is applied en masse. Cultural appropriate as its usually used is a good thing which allows rather different people to find some common ground and gain appreciation for their differing cultural backgrounds.

That being said I think many of the people who cry cultural appropriation are just ill informed as the crotchety old guys who complain about people crying cultural appropriation. I think PZ Myers wrong a pretty good piece summing up what I mean though I don't quite like his tone nor do I agree with every point.

To all the academicians who buy into this:

Another trap liked by people who are now facing every quirk and aspect of their lives suddenly being turned against.
It's Centralization vs De-Centralization now. But there will be more lunatic stuff like this in due course!