Cultural appopriation and cultural integration (part2)

Yesterday, I had a blog post about "cultural appropriation" which is a code word for "how dare those white folks use cultural practices from non-white cultures"
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/03/cultural-appopriation-and-cultural.html


Well, lo and behold, Randa Jarrar the same racist punk who didn't like "white belly dancers" is back at it again.
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/18/i_still_cant_stand_white_belly_dancers/

Here is her sorry excuse for "logic"

“So black women can’t be ballerinas?” If black women were part of a dominant culture that had colonized Europe starting at the Italian renaissance, and later colonized France and Russia, and if, after all that, black ballerinas danced in bikini tops, then yes, this argument would work. But it doesn’t.
“I’m Egyptian and I love white belly dancers!” Good for you. Come live in America for 23 years, have people throw lit cigarettes at you and make fun of your mother’s accent and sneer at your muhajjaba aunt and try to deport your brother, see a white woman be applauded in a bar while dancing to “Walk Like an Egyptian” in a “Nefertiti hat,” and if, after that, you still feel the same way, cool, write your own opinion piece about it.
“You’re an idiot! America is a melting pot!” Yes, America pretends to be a melting pot, but this means everyone has to adhere to a cultural norm, and in the process, minorities are negated and further made invisible.
“It’s appreciation, not appropriation!” No. Please read this for more about appreciation vs. appropriation.
“But Korean tacos! Mixing cultures is delicious!” Again, if the person making and serving those tacos is from a dominant culture that, for centuries, colonized Korea and Mexico, and then served those tacos to you in a conical Asian hat and a mariachi outfit, with a bikini top underneath, then, yeah, this argument would work. Again, it doesn’t.
”You’re a racist!” Please, save us both time, watch this, and learn how that’s not possible.
“You’re appropriating white culture by using a computer right now!” I can’t even honor this level of idiocy and entitlement with a response.

In other words, Randa Jarrar is saying "how dare you ask me to be consistent. How dare you ask me to stop using double standards?"


Randa Jarrar is a racist punk who stereotypes all European-Americans, as if they are all the same. She thinks that just because a few "white" kids who teased during childhood, she assumes all "white people" are out to humiliate "her people".

This so goes against Martin Luther King's plea to judge people based not on the color of their skin, but by the content of their character!

But to Randa Jarrar, all Europeans are out to conquer and oppress, nevermind that countries like Lativa, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Slovenia and Ireland HAVE NEVER CONQUERED A SINGLE NON-WHITE LAND!

But if any of their descendants do anything non-European, Randa Jarrar will accuse them of "cultural appropriation" all because a bunch of British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Germans were conquering large land masses before our generation were even born?

That's as stupid as saying "the Koreans bombed Pearl Harbor". That's as stupid as Floyd Mayweather telling Manny Pacquaio to "make sushi". 

Meanwhile, the Arabs (Randa Jarrar's people), the Aztecs, the Zulus, and so many other ethnic tribes have been conquering and oppressing other tribes for years until the Europeans did the same exact thing to them! 

But all that reality gets ignored in this politically correct world, in which "white people" are made to feel unearned guilt in participating in "non-white" activities.

Nevermind that Macklemore won an award in a genre that borrowed HEAVILY from Kraftwerk (a German EDM pioneering group that inspired Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaata, and Dr. Dre...........ask them if you dont believe me) 

Randa Jarrar calls any arguments against her "whitesplaining" (even though in my case, my German last name came from my mom, and my dad is not only from Mexico, but is a dark brown native Mexican!)


Just like I mentioned in a previous blog post..................... just like how NFL star Richard Sherman feels that calling him a "thug" is just another way of calling him the N-word.................................

................................words like  "cultural appropriation" and "whitesplaining" is just another way to call someone a "f------ haole" or a "white cracker m-----f-----"

Again, this goes against the spirit of Martin Luther King's dream of having people judged NOT on the color of the skin, but by the content of their character!

Sadly, towards the end of King's life, he was seen as an "Uncle Tom" by militant activists because of  his nonviolent tactics, and his refusal to hate European-Americans!  Nevermind that his ways saved our country from a bloody race war!

But people like Randa Jarrar, Brittney Cooper, Veronica Bayetti Flores and other scumbags don't want a post-racial society, they want racial conflict!

They pick easy targets like "white belly dancers", Macklemore, Miley Cyrus, Lorde .........all of whom would never be defended by the white nationalists nor the Fox News crowd. 

They are afraid to pick fights with someone like Eminem who is great at the art of the  insults, and has D-12,  Dr Dre and 50 Cent to back him up! 

But their bullying ways will come back to haunt them!  

However, just dont take my word for it.

Here are some classic comments to Randa Jarrar's latest piece of trash.

 

lincolncat

Notice how she ignores all the reasonable arguments against her first piece and responds only to the ridiculous, irrational reactions.  Arabs have also enslaved and colonized and appropriated, as people point out.  Some white women who 'belly dance' study the culture and music and don't confuse gauzy pants and blue eye shadow with genuine Middle Eastern dance attire.  But never mind.  Jarrar is determined to be the victim while all white belly dancers are the oblivious cultural  appropriators.  So let her.

Khawer

A few questions. Do you see a difference between appropriation and cultural exchange? The latter has been happening for as long as us humans have had cultures to exchanged.

Also, some context would be nice. Belly Dancing is originally an art form of the Dom people. The Dom people are "gyspys" related to the Roma people in Europe. Both are originally South Asian.

Any qualms about Arabs "appropriating" a cultural tradition that is not theirs? Or is that cultural exchange?

What about the Arab appropriation of the Indian numeral system? I can't tell you how many times I've heard Arabs boast of inventing the zero. Well no, you didn't. You borrowed it from the Indians. Which is normal, and its how knowledge works. But would you consider that appropriation?

 Quite seriously, there are more important things to worry about for us people of color than white women wearing Saris and Bindis and performing Belly Dance.

You've given plenty of examples of actually racist behavior in this essay too. And I'm 100% in agreement with your analysis that PoC participating in the dominant white culture is not the same as appropriation. I just don't agree that Belly Dancing or wearing Saris is appropriation. If it is, so was Belly Dancing when it was adopted by Arabs from the Dom people.

Randy Hauser

@Khawer  That was one of the responses from the original article that she neglected to respond to.  The author is, in effect, a troll.

camthought

Dear Mrs. Jarrar,

I only have one complaint to the responses you've included in your defense of your previous article. I am dismayed by the way you refused to consider the notion that you are being racist.

You liked to a video on "reverse racism" which is a BS term in itself, something I feel you and I could agree on. Racism is racism, it doesn't change the fact if it is a white man hating a black man for the color of his skin, or a black woman hating a hispanic woman for the color of her skin, or arabic peoples hating jewish peoples, or Ukrainians hating Russians. If you look at another human being and you say, "how dare you do that, you're not the same race as me" you are indeed being racist.

There's no "reverse" to the matter, it is racism. And the fact that you took criticism of your own racism, and said that it is not possible because- I assume since you didn't personally address the issue- you have darker skin then the people you are attacking, proves that the crux of your argument hinges on the notion that race defines culture.

You, several times in this article, explain why you can't stand a certain race doing a cultural dance, due to the fact that individuals of that race have, in turn, treated you cruelly due to your ancestry. This is textbook stereotyping of race, and the fact that you couldn't brave addressing this notion in a rational way taints your entire argument with the racial divisiveness that your title promises.

I am not addressing an issue of privilege. I am not addressing the appropriation of cultures. I am addressing the most fundamental definition of racism. You judge other's in a way that you have yourself been judged, by the color of their skin and the history of your ancestors. I am sorry if you refuse to see the fact, but you are a racist.

AMEN to all that!

Just don't expect the Randa Jarrars or the Brittney Coopers of the world to respond with real logic.  Just more abuse of sarcasms, race cards and double standards!

Some say "don't feed the trolls"  I say "feed the trolls with a taste of their own medicine"  The more people who do that, the less people who want to start trolling!