cultural Appropriation?

[Flapjack]

What do you guys think of cultural appropriation? I have tried reallyyyy hard to understand the problem and have watched youtube videos to try to understand the problem but I still do not see it. I get it's annoying when a white person wears dreadlocks and it's all cool but a black person will get discriminated for it but that's not the white person with dreadlocks fault!!

I think embarrassing other cultures is great personally:)

[lyhom]

it exists (although most of the time I personally don't see it as a massive deal), but it gets annoying seeing most accusations generally being people speaking over other cultures over trivial shit like hairstyles

[Porpoise101]

It's irritating. People can do what they want I guess, but they should know they are diluting what they adapt (not always).

I'd say it's only really bad when people start misusing religious items. Then you are perverting not just an identity, but a way of life in some sense.

[Flapjack]

I'd say it's only really bad when people start misusing religious items. Then you are perverting not just an identity, but a way of life in some sense.
How would that be bad? They would not be perverting a way of life?

[Porpoise101]

How would that be bad? They would not be perverting a way of life?
How would that be bad?

Disrespectful
Unrepresentative
Can be abused
Cheapens the significance
The General Population can get the wrong idea


It perverts a way of life because if we are talking about a situation in the West, it brings sacred things, ideas, concepts into the commercialized mass culture that we live in. At least many Asians do not like the idea of Diwali or Eid or Bodhi Day to be commercialized in the way Christmas has become.

[Vilnius]

I think the whole issue is ridiculous. I have yet to hear about Europe or Asia "appropriating" western culture. There's been talk about white people having dreadlocks, but what about black people straightening their hair?

I'm waiting for the day an SJW goes to a Chinese buffet.

[Flapjack]

I think the whole issue is ridiculous. I have yet to hear about Europe or Asia "appropriating" western culture. There's been talk about white people having dreadlocks, but what about black people straightening their hair?

I'm waiting for the day an SJW goes to a Chinese buffet.
See I thought that but to be fair the white western male has never been oppressed. Not saying I disagree with you just saying that that is how they defend it.

[Living For Love]

I think dreadlocks have been used for hundreds of years, it's not something black people invented per se, nor it's something that defines their culture.

[lliam]

The principle is, among many others, the reason that cultures may evolve, perhaps even converge.

Although affected cultures may be pissed off about it, at least each culture, those cultures are also based on that principle.

In the end, it's not a big deal. It takes place constantly, and will always take place. We've to get used to it.

[Judean Zealot]

I agree with Porpoise101. The only time I see appropriation as wrong is when it's seriously undermining an essential symbol of a culture or belief. It's like if vegans were to adopt the crucifix as their symbol - or for that matter the Nazis appropriating the swastika.

[Porpoise101]

I think the whole issue is ridiculous. I have yet to hear about Europe or Asia "appropriating" western culture
Well to start, Europe is western culture, at least west of Germany. But even that is changing, and I'd wager that most of northern Europe could be considered 'Western.' So they aren't stealing anything according to these people, they are the original bearers of that culture.

Asia has appropriated Western culture. They have taken dress, food, social systems, religion, etc from the West. But in Asia, the leftist would call it Colonialism because most of these ideas weren't exactly taken or adopted, but forced into. If you want to be more generous to the west you could say that cultural appropriation of the West is what is known as 'westernization.'

As for it not being a thing between westerners, here is an example for you. I live in the Midwest, an area where lots of Germans settled. So there is a German Festival. All of these white Americans go there and get drunk off of German beer and get cheesy hats and eat second-rate sausage. I went to this with a group of friends and one is German. When he went there, he thought "how is this possible? Only the Bavarians are this stupid!" So he felt upset that these people all had this false idea of German-ness and that this is what they thought the German identity was.

[Jean Poutine]

See I thought that but to be fair the white western male has never been oppressed.

Tell that to the Irish in America or even Ireland, or the French in Canada. "Whites" aren't a monolithic power bloc that oppresses everyone who isn't white, no matter how much whiners wish it were.

Cultural appropriation is fucking stupid, especially when it comes to dreadlocks. If you snoop around a bit you can find Ancient Greek statues depicted with dreadlocks. Rastas like dreadlocks because that's how they interpret this one passage in Numbers. Indians also wear dreadlocks. It's definitely not a "black-only" thing.

It's just another inane rhetorical device used to bully whites and only whites for stupid bullshit, same as "racism = prejudice + power".

[Judean Zealot]

I thought this might be a rather amusing place to dump this (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36738303).

[GeneralSkrubz]

I think the easiest way to conquer issues like racism and something like this, is to not acknowledge them, if a racial slur is no longer a slur, what power does that word have?

[Judean Zealot]

I might add that I'm awfully put out that the Americans have adopted circumcision...

[Porpoise101]

I might add that I'm awfully put out that the Americans have adopted circumcision...
Lol maybe you understand my pain of seeing Americans do 'modern' yoga..

[Jean Poutine]

One time I went to a restaurant in Vermont and they had poutine on the menu. I ordered it and it was made with shredded cheese.

I had a stroke on the spot.

[Flapjack]

I thought this might be a rather amusing place to dump this (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36738303).
As stupid as that is, I'm not surprised. The war on drugs was created to target Nixon's political enemies.

[PlasmaHam]

I make fun of different cultures and people all the time. No specific group has a claim on anything. People need to lighten up and realize that if they want social equality, they have to learn to take a joke.

[SMgfai]

I think embarrassing other cultures is great personally:)

what the heck dude....

[Stronk Serb]

How would that be bad? They would not be perverting a way of life?

Well, look at the swastika. It was a symbol of the Sun, peace and other good things and then a fancy German guy took it as a symbol of his ideas and now it's regarded as a sign of support for genocide, anti-Semitism, opression, racism, totalitarianism, anti-Slavism, anti- disabledism (if such a thing exists, if not yay I made a new term), child indoctrination, a cult of personality (of that same fancy German) and can land you in prison for a few years if displayed publicly in some countries frequented by fans of that fancy German guy wearing stylish black uniforms.

[Flapjack]

what the heck dude....
Do you want to justify that statement?

[Stronk Serb]

Yes. The Swastika embraces peace. A friend of mine from India told me that it's even considered religious back there. Associated with a God.

Yes and due to cultural appropriation by Hitler, that religious symbol is regarded with utmost disgust in the west because of what one country under his command did. That's why I'm against hijacking religious symbols. Other stuff I don't really care, I might find it annoying, but I just don't care.

[Porpoise101]

Yes. The Swastika embraces peace. A friend of mine from India told me that it's even considered religious back there. Associated with a God.
Yes, you will often see it depicted with Lord Ganesh. It is a religious symbol in India and in areas where Indian religions and ideas spread.

Buddhists also use it too. In Japan for example, some of the temples will have a swastika and it is even the symbol for temple in Japan on Google Maps.

A religious swastika usually isn't bent like a diamond, it is at 0 degrees like a square. That is the difference from the Nazi symbol.

[Judean Zealot]

A religious swastika usually isn't bent like a diamond, it is at 0 degrees like a square. That is the difference from the Nazi symbol.

Of course the graffiti one sees doesn't realise that distinction - unless Hindu nationalists mysteriously choose to express their devotion on synagogue walls.

[Hyper]

Imitation is a form of flattery, or so they say.

I hate the term ''appropiation'' just makes me vomit a little thinking about SJWs in general... But cultures mixing, taking customs and what not from other cultures is a continuous process that has existed for as long as we've had distinct cultures.

There is nothing inherently wrong about it and the people who are making it out to be some kind of problem or issue are identity politic ideologues who need to go the F away.

[Flapjack]

Yes. The Swastika embraces peace. A friend of mine from India told me that it's even considered religious back there. Associated with a God.
Of all the terrible things Hitler done... Cultural Appropriation is pretty far down on the listXD

[Stronk Serb]

Of all the terrible things Hitler done... Cultural Appropriation is pretty far down on the listXD

Well, he made a beautiful Hindu and pagan religious symbol taboo in the west. There are many ancient churches built on top of pagan shrines which were adorned with swastikas.

[sqishy]

Yes and due to cultural appropriation by Hitler, that religious symbol is regarded with utmost disgust in the west because of what one country under his command did.

I agree here.