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cultural appropriation 101

Seriously guys, wearing a war bonnet without having to suffer blood, sweat and tears for it is so disrespectful to all the servicemen who have sacrificed their lives for this country.

Finally someone stands up for my people and puts it into words that i couldn’t. Thank you!!!

I love the smell of cultural sensitivity education in the morning.

Those pics are so sweet. <3

I genuinely didn’t know this thank you for educating me

so wearing war bonnets is equivalent to stolen valor?

Effectively yes.

See, this is a good post because it actually explains why you shouldn’t wear it, not just “because cultural appropriation”

While you’re talking about respect and not appropriating stuff, it’d be nice to then credit the photographer and newspaper that originally published these pictures of Marine Cpl. Ivan Wilson being welcomed home by friends and family after a 7 month tour of Iraq.

When it comes to cultural appropriation, I call bullshit. It’s bullshit and insulting, most don’t give a fuck, and things like saying the West is appropriating Japanese culture by American Animation taking on more anime-like styles is laughable.

But when it comes to things like this, things earned though honor, suffering, blood, sweat, and tears, through battle and gauntlets. I don’t like people taking it and using it, devaluing it, mocking it. I do not like people that impersonate veterans to get breaks, to get extra money, to get cuts in line during black Friday.

And I don’t appreciate people that use the war bonnet as a joke, but I am a bit more forgiving of that because as a country we are often kept ignorant of Native America culture, of Native America plights and how even into the 70′s they where oppressed, and are in fact a very real oppressed minority.

Frankly I don’t see the problem as long as no disrepect is done.

Person A being offended by something is not the same as person B disrespecting it. And if it is an honor thing, children wanting to emulate that should be a compliment. Same goes for military awards. As long as no ill-intent or identity theft/impersonation is at work, then there is zero harm.

Also the courts have ruled “Stolen Valor” is bullshit and the whole argument infringes on freedom of speech (in part because of the effect banning wearing of unearned medals would have on the arts, especially war dramas).

I don’t think that it’s up to the person who’s doing the offending to say whether or not something is offensive

Nowdays, it can be. After all, this is the same society that had people getting offended Harry Potter promoted Devil Worship (even though it was blatantly not true).

If you are offended on dubious grounds, then anybody, including those who have done the offending, can tell you you were offended on dubious grounds.

Being offended is nothing special. It affords you no rights, no protections, nothing. You can be offended all you want, but it doesn’t mean a thing.

As far as being offended at cultural appropriation, I could go on and on and on and on about how every culture has stolen from every surrounding culture. I could point out you’re using a stolen alphabet and words ripped from the language of a tribe of early Iron Age central Italians, as well as words ripped from Central European tribes and ancient residents of the British Isles. And yet you’re probably not related to any of those people. Cultures take things from each other. It’s a fact. Being offended by it is like being offended the sky is blue.

But, wearing something that’s supposed to prove your valour when you haven’t earned it is quite disrespectful. That kids might wear it as a costume, or actors for movies etc. I can totally understand, but casually wearing something like that as a grown person just as a “style” is highly disrespectful IMO.

I’m having trouble grasping why it’s disrespectful. “They use it to honor their warriors” is no reason someone else can’t use it because it looks cool. Those two things have nothing to do with each other and one shouldn’t impede or detract from the other.

Seriously, is everyone’s sense of value just warped? It’s like we’re still stuck believing the evil eye can kill and burning someone in effigy actually curses them or something.

I mean yeah if someone is using it to IMPERSONATE or promote racist bullshit, it’s an issue. But if they aren’t doing anything bad and are just going trick-or-treating or watching a football game, then where is the disrespect?

Cultural appropriation IS doing something that has a lot of meaning behind it without earning it because you think it looks cool.