"Cultural Appropriation"

[bennyboy]

Never before have I been in a thread where I was so totally opposed to someone's ideas, and so quickly back in agreement with them, and back out of agreement again-- and in this case with more than one party. Shell B and I were both going at it, and Khemical as well, and somehow the playing field has flipped at least once, and almost twice. That makes this thread a particularly interesting one to me.

I suspect that there IS in fact a bit of hidden bigotry or entitlement-of-power, behind some of the positions, much as Khemical claims, but then I've already said some of the exact same things that those people are saying. On the other hand, I suspect that there's a bit the SJW wind-up about some things, i.e. some self-validation through social masturbation, and I've ALSO said some of those same exact things already. Can I be extra cool if I change my political denomination to "SJW Bigot?"

I even find selective SUPPORT for a group to be racist, in that it's patronizing. Let's say I start going around and shitting on white chicks who have decorative dream catchers: try to rip them off their necks, tell them I have native friends, and their actions are deeply offensive and they should learn more about a culture before they use its spiritual symbols etc. Is she not right to ask me why I think it necessary to stand as the champion of a group of which I'm not part?

How about black people and black culture? Should I get pissed off at white kids with dreadlocks and Bob Marley t-shirts? Should I EVEN feel angry if I hear some old white fart make an explicitly racist joke? I've heard plenty of jokes where I think "Holy geeez, man, if I were black, I'd be seething right now!" But somehow, I can't really find it in my heart to get pissed off even then. I kind of think: "Oh. . . I've bumped into someone from THAT background. Ewww."