I once heard someone say something along the lines of:
If you need government to protect your culture, then your culture is already dead
These cultural appropriation-ists should consider this within a broader context.
Whether or not cultural appropriation is true, for me, is a side issue. The real issue is how did it get to the point where others felt comfortable enough to insult a culture without any fear of consequence? Relying on the respect of others is obviously a foolhardy exercise, but the moment you bend and sway in what you do or don’t practise in your own culture, you automatically end up taking from other cultures, or at best, contaminate your own culture to the point where it makes it fair game for others to do the same.
Cultures have evolved and absorbed external influences for eons before the advent of the Internet, and as can be seen, the more connected we are, the greater the chances of cultural cross-contamination, if that is even a fair term to use. The surprising thing for me is how people are happy to cry foul when they see others ‘usurping’ their cultural heritage without due consideration for its roots and meanings, while they themselves openly embellish their lives with items or aspects from the culture of those they’re taking exception to.
This is all starting to feel too adult for me. I prefer playing with kids. They usually have no hidden agendas, political motives, or underhanded suspicions. If I imitate them, they’re happy, and if they imitate me, I’m happy, and we give and take without keeping score. All adults know is to be territorial as if puberty makes it compulsory for them to mark their territory. These adult games are ridiculous. Adults need to learn from children again, before the current template of adult role models all but eliminates any traces of the innocence of childhood.