@Thump and Khemical
Let me say that for me, the term cultural appropriation is pretty new. I've only ever really heard the words used over the past year or so in the context I was complaining about. It seems to be one of those pop-culture terms that just take off suddenly, and whatever it meant when nobody was really using it that much doesn't matter.
It seems to me that the term is a battleground word-- i.e. that people are pushing to redefine it to strengthen their own positions. Type "cultural appropriation" into Youtube, for example, and you'll get a huge range of uses, rants, and moderate discussion. Interestingly, the division does NOT seem to be along race. There seem to be as many black posters who think crying about cultural appropriation is dumb as white people.
I can say that as a middle-aged white man with a pretty tough background, I haven't taken anything from anyone, and I don't associate enough with any aspect of Canadian or American culture to feel guilty about what has happened before me. However, I recognize the problem in all of us just shaking the dust off our hands and saying "That was in the past, and we're a whole new generation of people now, living whole new lives." But the truth is that there are a million issues, and the top of the list for me is feeding the kids and relaxing after work.
Let me say that for me, the term cultural appropriation is pretty new. I've only ever really heard the words used over the past year or so in the context I was complaining about. It seems to be one of those pop-culture terms that just take off suddenly, and whatever it meant when nobody was really using it that much doesn't matter.
It seems to me that the term is a battleground word-- i.e. that people are pushing to redefine it to strengthen their own positions. Type "cultural appropriation" into Youtube, for example, and you'll get a huge range of uses, rants, and moderate discussion. Interestingly, the division does NOT seem to be along race. There seem to be as many black posters who think crying about cultural appropriation is dumb as white people.
I can say that as a middle-aged white man with a pretty tough background, I haven't taken anything from anyone, and I don't associate enough with any aspect of Canadian or American culture to feel guilty about what has happened before me. However, I recognize the problem in all of us just shaking the dust off our hands and saying "That was in the past, and we're a whole new generation of people now, living whole new lives." But the truth is that there are a million issues, and the top of the list for me is feeding the kids and relaxing after work.
