The theory being that we're benefiting from that oppression today, I think. Which makes sense- we do live on stolen land, have an easier time finding employment than minorities, etc. Personally I just feel like I should err on the side of respecting cultures more than "I am a bad white person, I shouldn't enjoy this". I know that I shouldn't use things meaningful to other cultures unless I'm completely aware of their meanings and if it's appropriate to do so in that case (wearing Lolita, a Japanese street fashion with very little cultural significance, vs. just wearing a kimono, a traditional garment with tradition and meaning attached to it "because it looks cool" for example), and I do my best to respect those cultures.
It's okay for a Japanese-American to take part in Japanese traditions because that's their heritage. And if the Japanese American invites his non Japanese friends to join and share in those cultures, that's cool too. The problem comes in when you have some white kid saying "I'm going to recreate a Japanese tea ceremony in my room because it's cool and it'll be JUST LIKE JAPAN DOES IT." That's basically taking something from a culture you aren't from and trying to make it "yours" when it really isn't.
I really hope I'm not coming off as rude here. I'm just trying to give my understanding of the issue, because it was tricky for me to grasp as well for a while.
But what if it's not "your" culture? I have no connections to Russian or Romanian culture other than happening to have ancestors from there. I wasn't raised in anything that I would identify as either. Why would it be suddenly ok for me to partake of those and not those of other races, even though they're equally foreign to me?
They're your heritage, and knowing/appreciating your heritage is great and something that needs to happen more these days as culture becomes greatly homogenized. And I think your statement hit on what the crux of the appropriation discussion seems to be, from my understanding- white people think they have no culture, so they need to take from other cultures, but the truth is they do, and there's plenty in their own cultures to embrace or celebrate rather than needing to dip into others' to feel complete.
But that's not it at all. There's a difference between homogenizing and compartmentalizing, and saying that people from compartment A can't celebrate compartment B is irrational.
And I never said that I think I have no culture. I said that my culture has nothing at all to do with my ancestors. And why would it? I never met them, and they left those countries a long time ago. Why would my culture come from people I never met and places I've never been to?
The same is true for everyone. Our culture is our place, not our bloodline. Why would it be our bloodline? If it was, wouldn't we ALL be related?
It's okay for a Japanese-American to take part in Japanese traditions because that's their heritage. And if the Japanese American invites his non Japanese friends to join and share in those cultures, that's cool too. The problem comes in when you have some white kid saying "I'm going to recreate a Japanese tea ceremony in my room because it's cool and it'll be JUST LIKE JAPAN DOES IT." That's basically taking something from a culture you aren't from and trying to make it "yours" when it really isn't.
I really hope I'm not coming off as rude here. I'm just trying to give my understanding of the issue, because it was tricky for me to grasp as well for a while.
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And I never said that I think I have no culture. I said that my culture has nothing at all to do with my ancestors. And why would it? I never met them, and they left those countries a long time ago. Why would my culture come from people I never met and places I've never been to?
The same is true for everyone. Our culture is our place, not our bloodline. Why would it be our bloodline? If it was, wouldn't we ALL be related?
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