Cultural Appreciation vs. Cultural Appropriation?

[Wallace]

It's a non-issue, only a way to manufacture controversy for another hit from the crack-pipe of righteous indignation.

For a more verbose explanation, here you go.

 

[Positron]

Chris's "Cherokian" bullshit.

This is downright lying.

Rachel Dolezal.

This too.

 

[Polexia Aphrodisia]

I think "appropriation" is blatant misrepresentation of a culture (such as weeaboos acting like anime characters and thinking that represents all of Japan), or using aspects of a culture with deep religious/spiritual significance in a careless way (like those temporary tattoos of sacred words in Hebrew that are not supposed to even be said aloud).

If someone really loves part of a different culture and does their best to represent it accurately, I don't see a problem with that.

I also think that European/"white" cultures should be equally viewed in this. In my opinion, if you're going to get up in arms about a fake polyester kimono for Halloween, you better be bitching about "Beer Garden Girl" too.

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

There is no such thing as "cultural appropriation".

It's just another thing self-hating white people invented and pretended that special snowflake brown-skinned people care about it, until at some point a few actually-retarded brown-skinned people started caring about it. Kind of like how 4chan invented "free bleeding" and certain feminists actually rolled with it.

90% of people online talking about cultural appropriation are white people bitching at other white people for being insensitive to the poor nonexistent Mexicans who are getting triggered when a white person puts on a sombrero and eats a fucking taco. It's literally just another reason to bitch at someone and feel justified and like a crusader for social justice by doing so.

 

[Arse Biscuit]

A hot chick in a sari is a hot chick in a sari. Doesn't matter if they're Indian or not.

Cultural appropriation is bullshit, unless we're ready to condemn everyone outside of North America who wears blue jeans.

 

[Positron]

I think "appropriation" is blatant misrepresentation of a culture (such as weeaboos acting like anime characters and thinking that represents all of Japan),

This is just, well, misunderstanding of a culture and is not what people understood as "cultural appropriation".

or using aspects of a culture with deep religious/spiritual significance in a careless way (like those temporary tattoos of sacred words in Hebrew that are not supposed to even be said aloud)

I don't see a problem with that at all. My using sacred symbols for aesthetics does not subtract from their religious significance to those who hold such belief. One might as well argue that music written for the Catholic mass is not meant to be listened to in the concert hall, or at home on a streaming device. The same argument goes for that old chestnut of "cultural appropriation": the war bonnet of native chiefs. It is not "stolen valor" because it is plain that a model on a John Galliano runway is not pretending to be, and is never mistaken as, a warrior.

 

[Melkor]

Appreciation and Appropriation are two different things.

I think it's important to educate outsiders about a culture, and teach them the "dos and don'ts" so to speak.

Since it's a subject that's particularly important to me for obvious reasons, one example could be American Indian regalia, including war bonnets.

War bonnets are a very sacred piece of regalia in Native culture, because most of the time war veterans wear them, and the most sacred part of them are the eagle feathers attached to them. The eagle is a revered animal in the culture, and if one of the feathers of the bonnet falls off, they have to hold a ceremony for the feather and burn it.

It's why it's considered offensive when people wear it as a costume, and they don't take into account of how sacred they can be.

It's important to educate rather than berate. To say it isn't someone's job to educate someone else is an excuse and it's the lazy way out.

 

[Marvin]

What about when a younger generation fucks up culture from the older generation? Younger people don't necessarily have the same respect for traditions of the older generations, and they'll frequently indulge in it in ways that would be considered disrespectful if outsiders (particularly white people) were the offenders.. This bothers the older generation, but it rarely provokes the level of reeeing that you see when white people do it.

They're essentially culturally appropriating themselves.

A great example of this is people getting pissy over white people wearing bindis. But young people all over south asia (not even just India) wear them, without appropriate respect for the cultural origins, and no one gives a shit.

 

[AnOminous]

War bonnets are a very sacred piece of regalia in Native culture, because most of the time war veterans wear them, and the most sacred part of them are the eagle feathers attached to them. The eagle is a revered animal in the culture, and if one of the feathers of the bonnet falls off, they have to hold a ceremony for the feather and burn it.

It's why it's considered offensive when people wear it as a costume, and they don't take into account of how sacred they can be.

A good comparison to this is someone wearing a fake Purple Heart or other military regalia that they haven't earned.

About the only kind of "cultural appropriation" I really give a shit about is stuff like this, where something is literally sacred in one culture and then just used as a costume by another. That has nothing to do with being white, but everything to do with being an asshole. Or, at the very least, ignorant. If it's done without intention of causing offense, though, the solution is really just to point that out. Someone who isn't an asshole will stop doing it.

 

[ASoulMan]

If your argument for cultural appropriation boils down to "LOL WHITE PEOPLE" or anything to do with skin color, kindly fuck off please. Skin color is irrelevant to this topic.

 

[Joan Nyan]

About the only kind of "cultural appropriation" I really give a shit about is stuff like this, where something is literally sacred in one culture and then just used as a costume by another. That has nothing to do with being white, but everything to do with being an asshole.

No one gets pissed when anime uses sacred Christian symbolism for the sake of looking cool though. Even @Hat barely cares.

 

[Closet Sorcerer]

Appreciation and Appropriation are two different things.

I think it's important to educate outsiders about a culture, and teach them the "dos and don'ts" so to speak.

Since it's a subject that's particularly important to me for obvious reasons, one example could be American Indian regalia, including war bonnets.

War bonnets are a very sacred piece of regalia in Native culture, because most of the time war veterans wear them, and the most sacred part of them are the eagle feathers attached to them. The eagle is a revered animal in the culture, and if one of the feathers of the bonnet falls off, they have to hold a ceremony for the feather and burn it.

It's why it's considered offensive when people wear it as a costume, and they don't take into account of how sacred they can be.

It's important to educate rather than berate. To say it isn't someone's job to educate someone else is an excuse and it's the lazy way out.

Oddly enough, nobody batted an eyeleash when people in Europe started wearing keffiyehs as a simple clothing despite their use as a symbol for the Palestinian cause. It's getting more tense nowadays, but most people see and use it as an exotic scarf.

No one gets pissed when anime uses sacred Christian symbolism for the sake of looking cool though. Even @Hat barely cares.

Japan has a very tiny Christian population, so it's seen as a mysterious and cool religion (especially Catholicism due to it's iconic symbolism and imagery).

 

[AnOminous]

No one gets pissed when anime uses sacred Christian symbolism for the sake of looking cool though. Even @Hat barely cares.

But it's like, kawaii when Japanese people do anything at all.

 

[Positron]

Japan has a very tiny Christian population, so it's seen as a mysterious and cool religion (especially Catholicism due to it's iconic symbolism and imagery).

Nah when pee o'seas do this it is also white people's fault, for polluting their pristine, noble, as-one-with-nature souls with Cultural Imperialism.

 

[Bombshell]

Man, all this cultural approbriation stuff always seemed so ridicoules to me.

Also because well, I'm from Denmark, the origin place of Norse Mythology, I live here. Norse mythology is my ancient culture.
And well, I have come to accept there are two different kinds of norse mythology. The Historical kind, and the Hollywood kind which is mostly inspired by Stan Lees Thor and has JACKSHIT to do with historical norse mythology.

So by all means, I should be allowed to complaing about culturual approbriation! Incorrect Norse mythological and Viking mythology has been used to such an exstent that most people don't even know what's the original anymore.
So well, for the sake of it, if we go by SJW rules, I should have the right to call it "Approbriation."

But, njaah. My culture is white, and there is no such thing as white culture so nope.

In all seriousness though, please do use all the viking imagery and so forth you want. I love it, I think it's awesome that the interest in my countries old culture is being kept alive that way and even make some people interested in coming here and exploring it for themselves. I think that's amazing, everyone are welcome

 

[Polexia Aphrodisia]

A good comparison to this is someone wearing a fake Purple Heart or other military regalia that they haven't earned.

This reminds me of someone on my college campus. He's constantly dressed in what looks like some kind of military cosplay.
The other day it was cold out and he was wearing paratrooper boots, army green pants, a matching green coat that looked like a trenchcoat and had patches on it, and what I like to call a "comrade hat". One of those fold-up fur flap ones - you know the kind. It had some kind of emblem on the front but I couldn't make out what it was.
For some reason I find this very disrespectful. Even if he's one of those fake Communists that we get sometimes, wearing military garb seems out of line. Unfortunately my university is rotten to the core with SJWs but as far as I can tell nobody has called him on it. Even if he served in the military at some point, I sincerely doubt that was the uniform he wore and even then I don't think you're supposed to just go around wearing it as regular clothes (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

This reminds me of someone on my college campus. He's constantly dressed in what looks like some kind of military cosplay.
The other day it was cold out and he was wearing paratrooper boots, army green pants, a matching green coat that looked like a trenchcoat and had patches on it, and what I like to call a "comrade hat". One of those fold-up fur flap ones - you know the kind. It had some kind of emblem on the front but I couldn't make out what it was.
For some reason I find this very disrespectful. Even if he's one of those fake Communists that we get sometimes, wearing military garb seems out of line. Unfortunately my university is rotten to the core with SJWs but as far as I can tell nobody has called him on it. Even if he served in the military at some point, I sincerely doubt that was the uniform he wore and even then I don't think you're supposed to just go around wearing it as regular clothes (correct me if I'm wrong).

If it was dark green and made of wool then it was likely a Soviet army greatcoat.

The hat is called an "ushanka" (ear-hat, basically).

I can understand wearing 1 or 2 pieces of military gear as a civilian - I often wear BDU pants and combat boots around because they're just what I have, but you will never see me walking around town in a matching set of camo pants and jacket and hat + boots, kitted out like I'm walking around a military base.

This dude really does sound like he's just a militaria-fag or a Commie-fag and is basically cosplaying.

 

[Polexia Aphrodisia]

If it was dark green and made of wool then it was likely a Soviet army greatcoat.

The hat is called an "ushanka" (ear-hat, basically).

I can understand wearing 1 or 2 pieces of military gear as a civilian - I often wear BDU pants and combat boots around because they're just what I have, but you will never see me walking around town in a matching set of camo pants and jacket and hat + boots, kitted out like I'm walking around a military base.

This dude really does sound like he's just a militaria-fag or a Commie-fag and is basically cosplaying.

Googled it - that's exactly what it is.
So he is one of those fake Commies! We have a club of them too. Sorry, bruh, you're a pretty shitty communist if you go to this university...
I guess better to be a fake Communist than a hardcore Hetalia cosplayer or something.

 

[Bombshell]

If it was dark green and made of wool then it was likely a Soviet army greatcoat.

The hat is called an "ushanka" (ear-hat, basically).

I can understand wearing 1 or 2 pieces of military gear as a civilian - I often wear BDU pants and combat boots around because they're just what I have, but you will never see me walking around town in a matching set of camo pants and jacket and hat + boots, kitted out like I'm walking around a military base.

This dude really does sound like he's just a militaria-fag or a Commie-fag and is basically cosplaying.

That's not really "Cultural." approbriation though is it? For it to be cultural you have to dress like a certain ethnic group or culture.

That there is more like dressing like a specific kind of official... Which is fucking stupid.
It's like dressing up as a doctor even though you're a potato farmer, it's just stupid at the best of times and highly confusing for a lot of people at the worst of times.

Because well, uniforms exsist for a reason. Police officers wear their uniforms so we can tell that they are indeed with the police. Firefighters wear their uniforms so we can tell they are with the fire department.

If someone else were to wear their uniforms even though they are not part of the force it would lead to deep confusion and sometimes even be outright dangerous.
Also kind of disrespectful towards the people whom earned that uniform through hard work and dedication.

So yeah.. Don't wear other peoples official uniforms. That's just dumb.

But if you want to wear a Kimono or what ever, I see nothing wrong with that. Kimonos are kind of pretty.

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

That's not really "Cultural." approbriation though is it? For it to be cultural you have to dress like a certain ethnic group or culture.

That there is more like dressing like a specific kind of official... Which is fucking stupid.

I'm not necessarily calling it "cultural appropriation" because that shit doesn't exist, but:

1. The national/ethnic aspect IMHO is more important than the military (or at least as important).

They're not dressing like any military official. They're dressing like a SOVIET military official. It's a specific look that has a specific appeal and it's tied to a specific country.

Because well, uniforms exsist for a reason. Police officers wear their uniforms so we can tell that they are indeed with the police. Firefighters wear their uniforms so we can tell they are with the fire department.

If someone else were to wear their uniforms even though they are not part of the force it would lead to deep confusion and sometimes even be outright dangerous.
Also kind of disrespectful towards the people whom earned that uniform through hard work and dedication.

So yeah.. Don't wear other peoples official uniforms. That's just dumb.

This is about 1 step away from going to Renaissance Faires or HEMA events and saying "you shouldn't wear armor if you're not an actual knight"

The Soviet Union doesn't exist and even if it still did, living in Massachusetts or whatever, my first thought wouldn't be "oh that's a Soviet military officer" if I were to see this fucktard.