STOP BEING STUPID WHITE PEOPLE!!!

The inevitable argument each Halloween; "social justice warriors" getting outraged over little things, people of various ethnic backgrounds complaining about "cultural appropriation" thus making the "social justice warriors" feel validated, and "normal white people" getting angry about being pushed around from seemingly every angle... 

And I'm just sitting here wishing everyone would study more and argue less...

So, here's a thread from social media where it all went down. The names of the others have been removed for their protection and privacy.

see, I do respect other people, because... 

"Liberty means defending other people's rights to do things that piss you off!"

OP; I better not see any zombies this Halloween... As a person who has dead relatives... I find Zombies offensive...

Ray Hess Actually, if you understood the cultural context behind it, you might not...

You see, the word "zombie" derives from a... not really a "god" but more of a concepts given name and form... nZambi is the culmination of all your ancestors back to the beginning. It's like all of them distilled into one perfect being tied to you by blood...

Now, later on, bokor (that's a Vodou doctor who works bad juju) would make "zombie powder" which is a potent neurotoxin that puts the body in a deathlike state and causes severe brain damage. The victims "come back" with only gross motor skills and all speech gone. Because they seem like the "living dead" the name "zombie" is what got associated with them.

In truth, the stuff is called "kufwa" from the word meaning "to kill" -it's not "zombie powder" it's killing powder. Folks on the outside just didn't know any better.

Respondee 1; I think she was using sarcasm

Ray Hess Practically everyone I cared about is dead too. For that reason, nZambi is all the more precious to me.

OP; This post was more or less a joke.... 

I actually read an article stating why your white daughter should not dress as Moana this year, no matter how bad she wants, because it could be offensive.... 
I dressed as a male character for four years... and no-one gave it a second thought.....

Ray Hess And women doing male characters, wearing masculine clothes, or doing traditionally masculine things has been "brave" and "empowering" for decades now... but turn the tables and switch the genders and all hell breaks loose. 

Our society is fraught with double standards like that, and that's kind of the point. White people from various nations have been roaming the earth taking anything they want for centuries. It is not so wrong for people to want to keep some things sacred, or at least have others genuinely care about and understand those things.

(comment missing, poster blocked me before I could copy)

Ray Hess Yeah, well, again, cultural context...

You see, people are getting all messed up about "cultural appropriation" not really understanding the term anthropologically.

Cultural appropriation happens naturally when peoples mix. Ceviche, the national dish of Peru, is actually the result of cultural appropriation from Japanese fishermen showing Peruvians that fish can be cured with citrus juices. "Weinerschnitzel" while very "German" sounding, literally means "Viennese schnitzel" it's cultural appropriation from the Italians...

The real issue is cultural MIS-appropriation. That's when one culture hijacks something from another and acts like it was theirs to begin with, usually coupled with insult and defamation of the mother culture.

See my little album of memes titled "appropriate THIS" for examples, and feel free to share ;)

Ray Hess Bottom line, it's all in how it's done. I saw a video once that was supposed to display native American culture and their music... thing is, they were playing Andean instruments, dressed like the fake plains Indians from old western movies... thus it was offensive to at least two cultures because it accurately represented neither.

White people celebrating Dia de Los Muertos with sugar skulls and pán is not offensive... white people who hate Mexicans and blame them for our failing economy and job crisis painting their faces up like sugar skulls IS offensive. Get it?

Sorry, but white people are the first to claim "it's not a big deal" when no one has ever robbed them of their culture, or spit in their faces while claiming something that belonged to them. There is no "white culture" but you can be Irish and take issue with the term "paddy wagon" or Swedish and take issue with the "Swedish chef" character from the Muppets. 

You can't, however, complain about people from other cultures getting a little upset by their icons and traditions being taken out of context and in a disrespectful way...

Just as you can't get "offended" on behalf of another culture which you do not fully understand yourself... that's the sin of the "social justice warriors" they act as though they are fighting for equality and sympathy for other cultures, when in reality they are only "whitewashing" everything until no one gets represented and everyone forgets cultures ever existed.

Represent respectfully and educate while entertaining. That's all you have to do. That, and show love for the culture by actually understanding it yourself.

If that's too much work, stay home and watch the Peanuts gang awkwardly wedge Christianity into the most endearing and sweet Pagan holiday there is, while robbing it's Celtic mother culture of all it's icons, just like they did with Christmas... misappropriating them, one might say.

Respondee 2; It's like some people have no respect for other people.

Ray Hess Yes, exactly like that. For instance, black people have the right to say Jesus was black based on that "skin of bronze, hair of wool" bit... but they would still be wrong, and others, particularly those of Jewish descent, have the right to say "well, that's what Jewish people looked like then, and many still do... here's a picture"

If the black person still insists Jesus was black and starts saying Jews are just trying to control everything... THAT'S misappropriation.

Equating Jesus with "the great pumpkin" is the same thing. Halloween started as Samhain (pronounced SOW-WIN) and it was a time to honor the dead as well as give thanks for the harvest. Nothing evil or "satanic" about it, yet every_single_year churches put out tracts defaming this honorable tradition while keeping the costumes and candy bits so they can draw in the children and feed them lies about other cultures they know nothing about... then do it all again in a couple months with "Christmas" trees, boughs of Holly, and all manner of pagan symbols...

I'm saying, celebrate Jesus all you want, but RESPECT_OTHER_PEOPLE and particularly those cultures and religions from which those traditions originate, and be willing to learn if you don't know yet.

It really isn't asking much. Every day "witnesses" go door to door with tracts about Jesus, but a couple times a year we can't maybe take a moment to shed light on other cultures?

...talk about "no respect for other people" ...it's as if some people think "respect" means "shut up and be like me"