RE: The United States of inclusivity
December 7, 2020 at 7:03 pm
(This post was last modified: December 7, 2020 at 7:07 pm by Belacqua.)
(December 7, 2020 at 10:10 am)Apollo Wrote: So if some whites think the N word or blackfacing or confederate flags are artifacts of harmless cultural heritage, does it make them so?
No. Look at what I said: the meaning of a symbol is decided by the culture which uses it. Not outlying individuals.
Confederate flags represent a constellation of ideas. People who proudly display these flags may be aware to different degrees, but the meaning of the flag historically is closely associated with certain things, like pro-slavery and white supremacy, which are abhorrent. It is an artifact of a cultural heritage, but the heritage contains terrible things. Being proud of that flag means you are proud of those abhorrent facts, and anyone with the most minimal understanding of history knows that.
An individual can't decide that the confederate flag stands for something completely different from the meaning the culture gives it.
People who use the Pride flag, the rainbow flag, have decided that it stands for equality and inclusivity. You can't decide on your own that it stands for pedophilia, because the people who use it don't agree with you.
As for the hijab: you say it is a symbol of patriarchy and oppression. You yourself are not able to decide the meaning, just as you can't say the Pride flag means pedophilia. To understand the meaning of the hijab, you would have to talk to the people who wear it. How many would agree with your interpretation? Would Ilhan Omar? If to them it means something other than the meaning you give it, you are not allowed to declare what it "really" means.
To show that modern women who choose to wear the hijab are wrong and you are right, you'd have to show that it is still associated in their minds with the negative things you point to.
