The Fine Line Between Appreciation And Racism

The Fine Line Between Appreciation And Racism image via http://www.cnn.com I hear you, somewhat politically and culturally aware person. You arent all like that. You arent all belittling other peoples cultures and traditions. I hear ya. What about when you participate in that fun event that has come to be known as the Color Run? Well, thats a bit iffy. People will say that its got nothing to do with Hinduism or traditionally Indian spring festivals, but the thing is that it has been commodified and stripped of all meaning. Religious, cultural and historical significance  were just erased to make it a carefree, palatable event for American tweens. Its even gained popularity in some South American countries. No harm done, right? You might be a little wrong there. When you wash a holiday so important to Hinduism, you rob the people who practice it as well as their history so that you can feel unique and have a laugh. Days of such importance should keep their original intent and origins. Its not Halloween. You cannot steal something from someone else and say you made it up. That is cultural plagiarism. Its called Holi: remember that. image via http://keepingupwiththecyperts.blogspot.com/2013/02/color-run.html Another example of cultural plagiarism is black culture. Their music, slang and manner of dress is passed off as cheap, insulting and just plain vulgar. But when a rich white girl like Miley Cyrus adopts twerking, all of white America wants to do it too. They want to be gh*tto and r*tchet because its in. You know, because before it wasnt, and thanks to Cyrus, its the latest fad. Like it didnt exist before, but it was made trendy by someone who does not understand the history of twerking, or its African roots. Kind of like when Columbus claimed to discover the Americas. In a sense, appropriating cultural traits and stripping them of their history is a form of Columbusing. Claiming that twerking didnt exist before Cyrus, or that rap has only existed since white rappers like Eminem or Macklemore is just plain disrespectful. There is indeed a thin line between homage and racism. By taking only certain elements of a culture that one regards as trendy, one is reducing an entire culture to a fashion statement. Wearing a bindi or a headdress for sheer fun, or getting dreads and forgetting the religious implications of all of the above isnt just having fun. Its taking what you want and making it into a caricature of that group of people. Take a look at some Coachella fashion, and look how this uber-Hipster festival seems to give leeway for just about anyone to sport whatever they see fit.  A headdress is earned, not just bought at a souvenir shop for you and your racist hipster friends.  Coachella is also guilty of renting out tipis to give people the full native experience. How nice of them. image via http://scissor-fingers.com Hold up, you say. They really dont mean anything by it. Theyre just cool and edgy kids who want to look cool and edgy. Yeah, thats the problem. In their attempt at uniqueness, they are mocking and openly belittling something that is very important to some peoplesomething that to some is not only sacred, but to see it used in such a manner is almost akin to sacrilege. When you dress up as a native for Halloween, youre again reducing people to a costume and to a romanticized version of what you think that group of people are. Theres a reason why you dont do blackface or yellow-face anymore without getting called on it, and why many colleges are cracking down on such blatantly racist behavior. But as long as you do it under the guise of Halloween and dressing up for that awesome costume party your friend Mike is throwing, who could say anything about it, right? If they do, theyre being oversensitive and PC and youre just going to laugh at them. Look at how awesome you look. image via http://bossip.com Why, you ask, do people care about how other cultures and minorities are represented and perceived as by the public at large? Because it says a lot about how said group will be treated in societythat their culture is disrespected and they are made into jokes or costumes tells us that they are not being taken seriously. As long as cultural theft and appropriation and ridicule are glossed over, racism and ethnic bias arent likely to end.  When you have Japanese culture reduced to Anime/Manga and people claiming to know the culture as long as they read about a very narrow aspect of it is plain ignorance. And that is where it stems from: ignorance and white entitlement. image via http://funny-pictures.picphotos.net I ask you to understand, then, why non-whites and natives will get upset and demand that others stop turning that which defines their rich history into something to make a profit from: festivals and celebrations that are white-washed, musical and dance genres that are completely and utterly re-made and only pushed into the spotlight by white artists and an entire society reduced to cartoonish depictions of its people and its customs. When they ask that you dont call natives the r-word, they mean it. When Rroma cringe at the sound of the word g*psy its because those are slurs used against them for centuries. They arent asking the impossible. They are simply asking respect and recognition. Not erasure. Not being bought or sold. Cultural appropriation isnt appreciation. If you like a particular culture, group of people or ethnic minority, learn about them, dont just try to pass yourself off as one of them or dress in their traditional clothing for your own amusement. Let actors of that group play roles that require actors from that group. Dont cast Johnny Depp as Tonto, an already cartoonish depiction of natives to begin with. Its not that difficult.