Say yes to the culturally appropriated dress
May 8, 2018 08:05:45 #
Say yes to the culturally appropriated dress
Ben Crystal ~ Personal Liberty Digest
As if Americans needed another reason to square off with their neighbors, a kid posting a picture of her prom dress spurred the usual social justice warriors to lace up their gloves and start throwing haymakers. A senior at a high school in Utah tweeted a photo of herself wearing a Chinese-style "cheongsam" dress, with the caption "PROM!" And then all hell broke loose.
Some self-appointed culture police officers saw the image and were unable to contain their rage. "Was the theme of your prom casual r****m?" queried one. "My culture is not your goddamn prom dress!" shrieked another. Across the media, a teenage girl who bought a dress at a thrift shop became the face of cultural appropriation and, of course, its even more twisted twin, r****m. It didn't occur to the trolls nuking her Twitter feed that any cultural message she might be sending was one of genuine appreciation rather than crass exploitation. She didn't choose the dress because she thought going to the prom dressed as Madame Chiang would be good for some lulz; she chose it because she liked it. Nonetheless, everyone, it seemed, had an opinion on whether the second most important dress she'll likely ever own is "problematic." Far fewer had opinions on whether we should be allowing our cultural debates to be led by the kind of people who troll social media looking for insufficiently "woke" ball gowns.
To be sure, her dress is absolutely a case of cultural appropriation, but equating all cultural appropriation with r****t mockery is silly. Nearly everything Americans eat, drink and wear involves some level of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is kind of our thing. We even say so on our business cards: "e pluribus unum." The American tendency to not only accept, but welcome, other cultures is the single greatest reason why so people from so many different cultures continue to try to make America home.
We took Mexican food and came up with Taco Bell. We borrowed Asian martial arts to make the Karate Kid movie series. Visit the Jersey shore over July 4th weekend and count how many times you hear Bob Marley through someone's speakers. Visit Rodeo Drive and count how many stores hawk Italian clothing. We gleefully, proudly appropriate other cultures every moment of every day. Every time a black woman eats a slice of pizza, every time a white guy gets a shawarma from a food truck, we're appropriating.
Do we screw it up? Of course. Witness Taco Bell and all but the first Karate Kid. But we get it right more often than we get it wrong. Witness pizza and food truck shawarma. If we stop trying, we're denying different cultures the opportunity to appreciate one another, a cultural Tower of Babel. Believing a white girl is r****t for wearing a cheongsam requires believing other cultures are r****t for their appreciation of American culture. By the standards of those who think her dress is "problematic," the Japanese and Latinos are finished with baseball, the Europeans have seen their last Beyonce' tour and the Beijing McDonald's will have to close its doors, all because of a prom dress.
Ben Crystal ~ Personal Liberty Digest
As if Americans needed another reason to square off with their neighbors, a kid posting a picture of her prom dress spurred the usual social justice warriors to lace up their gloves and start throwing haymakers. A senior at a high school in Utah tweeted a photo of herself wearing a Chinese-style "cheongsam" dress, with the caption "PROM!" And then all hell broke loose.
Some self-appointed culture police officers saw the image and were unable to contain their rage. "Was the theme of your prom casual r****m?" queried one. "My culture is not your goddamn prom dress!" shrieked another. Across the media, a teenage girl who bought a dress at a thrift shop became the face of cultural appropriation and, of course, its even more twisted twin, r****m. It didn't occur to the trolls nuking her Twitter feed that any cultural message she might be sending was one of genuine appreciation rather than crass exploitation. She didn't choose the dress because she thought going to the prom dressed as Madame Chiang would be good for some lulz; she chose it because she liked it. Nonetheless, everyone, it seemed, had an opinion on whether the second most important dress she'll likely ever own is "problematic." Far fewer had opinions on whether we should be allowing our cultural debates to be led by the kind of people who troll social media looking for insufficiently "woke" ball gowns.
To be sure, her dress is absolutely a case of cultural appropriation, but equating all cultural appropriation with r****t mockery is silly. Nearly everything Americans eat, drink and wear involves some level of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is kind of our thing. We even say so on our business cards: "e pluribus unum." The American tendency to not only accept, but welcome, other cultures is the single greatest reason why so people from so many different cultures continue to try to make America home.
We took Mexican food and came up with Taco Bell. We borrowed Asian martial arts to make the Karate Kid movie series. Visit the Jersey shore over July 4th weekend and count how many times you hear Bob Marley through someone's speakers. Visit Rodeo Drive and count how many stores hawk Italian clothing. We gleefully, proudly appropriate other cultures every moment of every day. Every time a black woman eats a slice of pizza, every time a white guy gets a shawarma from a food truck, we're appropriating.
Do we screw it up? Of course. Witness Taco Bell and all but the first Karate Kid. But we get it right more often than we get it wrong. Witness pizza and food truck shawarma. If we stop trying, we're denying different cultures the opportunity to appreciate one another, a cultural Tower of Babel. Believing a white girl is r****t for wearing a cheongsam requires believing other cultures are r****t for their appreciation of American culture. By the standards of those who think her dress is "problematic," the Japanese and Latinos are finished with baseball, the Europeans have seen their last Beyonce' tour and the Beijing McDonald's will have to close its doors, all because of a prom dress.
May 9, 2018 10:05:29 #
mwdegutis wrote:
b Say yes to the culturally appropriated dress /b... (show quote)
I thought that it was a beautiful dress and she was very beautiful in it. She has style and class as well loved it.
May 9, 2018 12:25:15 #
She looks absolutely beautiful in that dress. In my day I would have been proud to have her on my arm going to the Prom. Mike
mwdegutis wrote:
b Say yes to the culturally appropriated dress /b... (show quote)
May 9, 2018 12:26:13 #
Don't forget flip flops. Mike
mwdegutis wrote:
b Say yes to the culturally appropriated dress /b... (show quote)
May 10, 2018 16:33:49 #
king hall
Loc: Tucson,AZ.
[quote=mwdegutis]Say yes to the culturally appropriated dress
Ben Crystal ~ Personal Liberty Digest
As if Americans needed another reason to square off with their neighbors, a kid posting a picture of her prom dress spurred the usual social justice warriors to lace up their gloves and start throwing haymakers. A senior at a high school in Utah tweeted a photo of herself wearing a Chinese-style "cheongsam" dress, with the caption "PROM!" And then all hell broke loose.
Some self-appointed culture police officers saw the image and were unable to contain their rage. "Was the theme of your prom casual r****m?" queried one. "My culture is not your goddamn prom dress!" shrieked another. Across the media, a teenage girl who bought a dress at a thrift shop became the face of cultural appropriation and, of course, its even more twisted twin, r****m. It didn't occur to the trolls nuking her Twitter feed that any cultural message she might be sending was one of genuine appreciation rather than crass exploitation. She didn't choose the dress because she thought going to the prom dressed as Madame Chiang would be good for some lulz; she chose it because she liked it. Nonetheless, everyone, it seemed, had an opinion on whether the second most important dress she'll likely ever own is "problematic." Far fewer had opinions on whether we should be allowing our cultural debates to be led by the kind of people who troll social media looking for insufficiently "woke" ball gowns.
To be sure, her dress is absolutely a case of cultural appropriation, but equating all cultural appropriation with r****t mockery is silly. Nearly everything Americans eat, drink and wear involves some level of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is kind of our thing. We even say so on our business cards: "e pluribus unum." The American tendency to not only accept, but welcome, other cultures is the single greatest reason why so people from so many different cultures continue to try to make America home.
We took Mexican food and came up with Taco Bell. We borrowed Asian martial arts to make the Karate Kid movie series. Visit the Jersey shore over July 4th weekend and count how many times you hear Bob Marley through someone's speakers. Visit Rodeo Drive and count how many stores hawk Italian clothing. We gleefully, proudly appropriate other cultures every moment of every day. Every time a black woman eats a slice of pizza, every time a white guy gets a shawarma from a food truck, we're appropriating.
Do we screw it up? Of course. Witness Taco Bell and all but the first Karate Kid. But we get it right more often than we get it wrong. Witness pizza and food truck shawarma. If we stop trying, we're denying different cultures the opportunity to appreciate one another, a cultural Tower of Babel. Believing a white girl is r****t for wearing a cheongsam requires believing other cultures are r****t for their appreciation of American culture. By the standards of those who think her dress is "problematic," the Japanese and Latinos are finished with baseball, the Europeans have seen their last Beyonce' tour and the Beijing McDonald's will have to close its doors, all because of a prom dress.[/quotesucc
Mr. Crystal makes a viable point, but I doubt he was able to sway the thinking of any of those ill-mannered pin-heads who thought it best to ignore a young woman's self-p***e and label her a r****t.
Ben Crystal ~ Personal Liberty Digest
As if Americans needed another reason to square off with their neighbors, a kid posting a picture of her prom dress spurred the usual social justice warriors to lace up their gloves and start throwing haymakers. A senior at a high school in Utah tweeted a photo of herself wearing a Chinese-style "cheongsam" dress, with the caption "PROM!" And then all hell broke loose.
Some self-appointed culture police officers saw the image and were unable to contain their rage. "Was the theme of your prom casual r****m?" queried one. "My culture is not your goddamn prom dress!" shrieked another. Across the media, a teenage girl who bought a dress at a thrift shop became the face of cultural appropriation and, of course, its even more twisted twin, r****m. It didn't occur to the trolls nuking her Twitter feed that any cultural message she might be sending was one of genuine appreciation rather than crass exploitation. She didn't choose the dress because she thought going to the prom dressed as Madame Chiang would be good for some lulz; she chose it because she liked it. Nonetheless, everyone, it seemed, had an opinion on whether the second most important dress she'll likely ever own is "problematic." Far fewer had opinions on whether we should be allowing our cultural debates to be led by the kind of people who troll social media looking for insufficiently "woke" ball gowns.
To be sure, her dress is absolutely a case of cultural appropriation, but equating all cultural appropriation with r****t mockery is silly. Nearly everything Americans eat, drink and wear involves some level of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is kind of our thing. We even say so on our business cards: "e pluribus unum." The American tendency to not only accept, but welcome, other cultures is the single greatest reason why so people from so many different cultures continue to try to make America home.
We took Mexican food and came up with Taco Bell. We borrowed Asian martial arts to make the Karate Kid movie series. Visit the Jersey shore over July 4th weekend and count how many times you hear Bob Marley through someone's speakers. Visit Rodeo Drive and count how many stores hawk Italian clothing. We gleefully, proudly appropriate other cultures every moment of every day. Every time a black woman eats a slice of pizza, every time a white guy gets a shawarma from a food truck, we're appropriating.
Do we screw it up? Of course. Witness Taco Bell and all but the first Karate Kid. But we get it right more often than we get it wrong. Witness pizza and food truck shawarma. If we stop trying, we're denying different cultures the opportunity to appreciate one another, a cultural Tower of Babel. Believing a white girl is r****t for wearing a cheongsam requires believing other cultures are r****t for their appreciation of American culture. By the standards of those who think her dress is "problematic," the Japanese and Latinos are finished with baseball, the Europeans have seen their last Beyonce' tour and the Beijing McDonald's will have to close its doors, all because of a prom dress.[/quotesucc
Mr. Crystal makes a viable point, but I doubt he was able to sway the thinking of any of those ill-mannered pin-heads who thought it best to ignore a young woman's self-p***e and label her a r****t.
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