Claiming Cultural Appropriation Is Dreadfully Inappropriate

A couple of months ago, my granddaughter mentioned to her friends that she was thinking about getting dreadlocks. Some of them vilified her for it.  They said she was appropriating a culture that was not her own. Apparently that's racist. But it's always been my understanding that people should be free to express themselves any way they choose. 

I didn't realize how much of a thing cultural appropriation was until a few days ago. I was listening to public radio and they were interviewing an authority on the subject. This person raved on and on about the white power base and how cultural appropriation was just another method they use to keep minorities from being able to control their own destinies. She went on to say that white people who borrow from the cultures of others are racist. 

Then yesterday on the news, they were talking about the organizers of the Meow Wolf festival in Taos, New Mexico. The Meow Wolf organizers announced on social media that you can "Dance and be VIP in our teepees!" Protectors of the unrepresented minority base came out to complain about the insensitivity of Meow Wolf. How dare they! Didn't they know that teepees are a holy part of the Native American race? They should. Rock graffiti, peyote, mountains, eagles, headdresses, teepees, corn, beans and squash are all holy sacraments of the Native American religion. A religion that claims everything is sacred and doesn't allow other races to join. 

I always try to keep an open mind. So I went to Wikipedia to see what they have to say about cultural appropriation. They do have a lot to say, and are relatively balanced. I kept an open mind and read the whole article.

According to what I read on Wikipedia, even wanting to join Native American religions is taboo and racist if your skin color is white. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that concept. It seem to me like whites are being excluded. Sounds racist, doesn't it? 

Before I continue, I want to see how the term is defined. The best way to do that is to look up both words and try to merge the two definitions. Here's what I came up with: Cultural appropriation would be taking the ideas, customs, behaviors and intellectual achievements and art, without permission, from the owner of those intangibles and devoting them to a special purpose. Is that what's happening here? 

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. My question is, is that wrong? More importantly, if one does that, is that person racist?  Sorry, but you're going to have to make a case for that.

Here's my case against it: Jazz and blues came from some really talented negro artists who took the music of their parents and made it their own. It didn't take long before white people (and other blacks) heard that great music and created rock and roll. And made country music better. Other people, some white and some not, created other styles like disco, freely borrowing from Spanish and Mexican styles. In the '80s, Cuban-Americans added their own culture to the white disco culture and made new, exciting musical styles. I came up in the 80s and can remember dancing in nightclubs to this music. To me, it was just American music. Music has continued to evolve. Today, I listen to all kinds of music. Blues, several flavors of rock from classic to angry metal, bluegrass, hip-hop.  I have favorites in all these genres and more. Isn't it a shame that this appreciation makes me a racist?  

Let's go back to the teepee at Meow Wolf. Native American reservations are all over New Mexico. Yet the only teepees I've seen in New Mexico are large concrete structures designed around gas stations and casinos owned by Native Americans. Because most Native Americans don't even live in teepees anymore. They live in houses of European architecture.  That's right -- architecture appropriated from the white European culture.

I'm saying that there's no such thing as cultural appropriation. It's just a label. Like "breeder," "fag," "LGBT," "racist" and "niggardly." When someone compliments another culture by borrowing from their dress, their religion, their cuisine, their architectural styles, it's because they like those things. If they were racist, they would hate those things. So I will never miss an opportunity to educate people who complain about cultural appropriation. And this is the last time I will ever use the phrase. 

So, back to my granddaughter making fashion decisions....

My daughter sent her DNA to 23andMe, and you'll never guess what happened.  That's right! She has, and passed on to both of my granddaughters, African DNA. So I guess my granddaughter has a right to express herself now? 

Just a thought.