(even Kamehameha Schools, a private school whose enrollment policy has a "preference" for Native Hawaiian student, has lots of mixed-race students, many of whom don't even look like someone who was living in Hawaii before the arrival of European explorers)
In that environment, people pick up cultural habits from multiple ethnicities!
We eat food from multiple ethnicities (especially poi, spam musubi, char siu, chicken abodo and more)
Contemporary Hawaiian music uses the "ukulele", which did NOT exist before the Portuguese laborers brought their mini-guitar instrument to Hawaii.
We use words from various languages to our everyday speech. For example, many of use Hawaiian words ("mahalo", "aloha" "auwe") or Japanese words ("bachi", "shibai") in our everyday language. Many of us also learn profanities from various languages -- every kid in Kalihi can name some Filipino & Samoan profanities!
This is not to say racial tensions aren't there -- not only is Hawaii traumatized by 1893 (when Euro-Americans overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy), not only does Hawaii have a problem with "haole bashing", but there are also deadly rivalries between Polynesian & Micronesian gangs in various public housing complexes. Plus, some local comedians specialize in ethnic jokes (though it's going out of style, as all those comedians are older than me, and I'm 35 about to be 36!)
But still, most of us in Hawaii live in such multi-cultural environments, had elementary classmates of various ethnicities, and work in multi-cultural workplaces, that doing things from other cultures is second nature to us!
Which is why I have an extremely hard time relating to racial activists complaining about "cultural appropriation"
I mean, sheesh, if I'm in an environment with a lot of Filipinos, Polynesians, Japanese, Portuguese and much, much more ........................ I'm going to adapt some of their cultural habits!
I mean, people adapt to their environments....... DUH!
It's hard for me to relate to activists offended by Anglos wearing sombreros! (yes, I'm part-Mexican)
But much of what I consider Phony Justice Warriors from the continental US did not benefit from growing up in a multi-cultural environment like I did!
Some of them are overly traumatized by their interactions with an European-American environment!
Did I say "overly traumatized"?
Yes!
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I mean, for veterans returning from a war-zone, it is common knowledge than any loud sounds might bring flashbacks of wartime explosions, even if they're no longer in a warzone!
A veteran who was deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan probably has experienced seeing friends being blown to pieces.
A veteran who was deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan probably has experienced being on the constant lookout for IEDs or snipers!
Spending months in such environments stays with you for a long time.
Bring that veteran back to a peaceful town back in the US, and any loud noises (ie. car accidents, balloons popping, fireworks on 4th of July) would trigger memories of hearing loud noises that symbolizes imminent death in their wartime experiences.
For many veterans, they have access to therapists who can help them overcome such paranoia!
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But what about other forms of PTSD!
What about children experiencing peer abuse?
What about children experiencing racialized peer abuse?
Indian-American writer Silpa Kovvali mentioned this
http://www.salon.com/2016/10/03/stuff-white-people-like-yoga-tacos-and-pretending-the-white-supremacy-that-fuels-cultural-appropriation-doesnt-exist/?source=newsletter
Indeed, part of the frustration stems from the fact that the same practices and traditions which white people enjoy to the benefit of their hip and tolerant brands are practices and traditions which young brown children were mocked for indulging in, which were used as evidence that they weren’t working sufficiently hard at assimilating.
It’s hard not to flinch when white acquaintances eagerly brag about having ordered Chicken Tikka Masala the other night, knowing that white classmates once refused to come over for playdates because they’d heard my house smelled like curry.
That right there is PTSD talking!
Just like how a veteran responds to loud noises as if he/she is still patrolling the streets of Fallujah.....................
................. Silpa Kowali (and other non-whites who complain about "cultural appropriation") respond to innocent actions of European-Americans as if she's still in middle school getting picked on by bullies!
But at least the veterans knows that a balloon pop IS NOT a deadly gunshot, even if that triggers memories of combat!
But Silpa Kowali is so dripping with PTSD that even appreciation of Indian food by European-Americans, brings up feelings of "you people picked on me when I was a kid, but now you like our food?"
That PTSD blocks her from realizing that
- those Euro-Americans expressing love of Indian food ARE PROBABLY NOT THE SAME INDIVIDUALS who picked on non-white kids during their school years
- Not every Euro-American have the same attitude or opinions
- People from multi-cultural environments pick up cultural habits from multiple ethnicities
- Even if a 24-year old Euro-American expressing love for Indian food was once a 12-year old bully who picked on Indian-Americans ...................................WHOAH! STOP THE PRESSES ......................... A 24-year old has a different attitude from when he/she was 12-years old..................WHAT SHOCKING NEWS!
It is this PTSD that motivates idiot activists like the following
- Chican@ activists who are upset when Anglos wear sombreros
- African-American bloggers upset that Macklemore & Iggy Azalea make hit records
- Arab-American writers upset at the sight of white belly dancers
People like them need to start controlling their PTSD!
At least veterans know when their PTSD is making them unreasonably paranoid, and many of them get help from the VA!
But those with racialized PTSD don't understand they have excessive paranoia!
Instead of getting mental health treatment to help them overcome the fear of well intentioned European-Americans, they get the following instead
- Politically Correct history lessons that only emphasizes European conquests of non-white lands
- Politically Correct history lessons that ignore massive atrocities by non-white conquerors (ie. Turks, Japanese, Aztecs, Zulus) all throughout history
- Politically Correct history that ignores that many European countries never conquered a single non-white land
- the lack of education about how much of the world's cultures influence each other NOT ONLY BY CONQUEST but also by trade, voluntary migration and inter-racial mixing
- wussy college admin's dripping with "white guilt"
- the lack of exposure to well written conservative/libertarian thought, giving students the false impression that all they need to know about non-liberal thought is what Donald Trump or Ann Coulter tweeted last night
With this type of educational negligence, those overly traumatized activists dripping with PTSD will contribute to the worsening of race relations in the US!
