Headdresses continued:
haudposterus:
Before you read this, know that I am not a racist. I’ve been labeled a racist by far too many people ignorant of my personal positions simply because of my stance on this issue. However, I believe that there should be only a single recognized race, that being the human race.
Also, please read this entire post before you decide to reply to it.
It seems strange to me how many white bloggers have ranted about “white privelage” playing a roll in cultural appropriation (and I reiterate, they are Caucasians themselves), and exactly how few (none) Native American bloggers have bothered to get into an emotional tiff about the “cultural appropriation” of Native American headdresses. It also never fails to amaze me how the “white race” as a whole is blamed (by the “white race” itself) for thieving land from and massacring the indigenous population of the Americas. However, is it even remotely historically accurate to blame the entire Caucasian race (or even their ancestors) for the travesty that took place over hundreds of years during the colonization of the Americas? The answer is no.
Let’s delve for a moment into the definition of “white”, or “Caucasian”, given that many people are ignorant of such. The dictionary definition of Caucasian is as follows: Of or being a human racial classification distinguished especially by very light to brown skin pigmentation and straight to wavy or curly hair, and including peoples indigenous to Europe, northern Africa, western Asia, and India. Think for just a moment about the broad categorization of these racial divisions. This would include Europeans (and there is no single race or creed of Europoid, there are several distinct racial lineages within the European continent), original Egyptians, Middle Easterners (there are many white races that are indigenous to the Middle East, Persia [modern day Iran] itself was originally an almost purely Caucasian empire), and many others. The simple difference in appearance between an individual of Greek descent and an individual of Germanic descent is easily observable. Now, would it be possible for someone to tell me specifically the descendents of which racial categories, nationalities, cultures or creeds were responsible for the tragic fate of those peoples indigenous to the Americas at the hands of European colonists? I doubt it.
Therefore, racial guilt and same-race racism surrounding this issue and many others is quite simply unfounded (or founded mainly upon ignorance). In order for a racially diverse world to move forward together we must remove these divisions, among other equally or more threatening racial boundaries.
That being said, I want to address an entirely separate issue: If you are not of Native American descent, you have absolutely no right to take offense to a white person appropriating Native American attire. This is for the same reason that middle aged, male, white politicians have almost no right to hold political sway in the topic of abortion. Middle class whites who live in suburban America with internet access have no possible way of relating to the emotions of culturally aware Native Americans concerning this issue. You (and by you, I’m referring to middle class whites) may think that they (Native Americans) would be offended, but in reality, you probably have no idea. Even if there was no doubt that they would be offended, you still have no right to crusade against it. It simply isn’t your place.
Are there individuals who are donning Native American attire who are entirely ignorant of Native American culture or the significance of the attire that they are in fact wearing? Absolutely. Would it be ideal for these individuals to educate themselves and to be respectful and knowledgeable regarding the aspects of the culture that they are incorporating into their attire? Definitely. Does that mean that it’s the responsibility of every other ignorant middle class white on the planet to verbally crucify Caucasians running around with dream catchers and moccasins? Hell no.
This week is the week of misinformed arguments.
For starters, I AM OF NATIVE DESCENT AND I HAVE PLENTY OF BEEF WITH HEADDRESSES-AS-FASHION. So do my family, friends, and white allies, who are welcome in the conversation over cultural appropriation while recognizing their own privilege.
I don’t understand why it is so hard for so many white Americans to sit down, think about their experience in contrast to that of people of color, and realize that, on the whole, they’re pretty fucking lucky. Were your ancestors beaten because of the color of their skin? Were your ancestors forcibly removed from their homes? Is your family targeted in airports due to religious garments and “looking like a terrorist”?
And don’t even get me started on the whole “we’re all one people” multicultural bullshit. We can live in a multicultural community that celebrates, but respects each others traditions when they are of spiritual significance. I can walk down the street to get tacos al pastor, but I don’t have to rock Day of the Dead make-up with my boobs hanging out for some bullshit photographer’s trendy photo shoot later that day.
It really astounds me how difficult it is for so-called liberal intellectual “hipsters” to draw context and simple logic from history. Like, “gee, headdresses were reserved for times of spiritual significance in a Native tribe - Native Americans have experienced forcible removal and genocide by the hand of White European “leaders” - I’m white - hmmm, MAYBE I SHOULDN’T WEAR THAT HEADDRESS.”
