On most days, it is possible to get a laugh or two just by checking out the latest politically correct crapola at the Huffington Post. Here's a beaut:
Cultural appropriation refers to picking and choosing elements of a culture by a member of another culture without permission. This includes traditional knowledge, religious symbols, artifacts or any other unauthorized use of cultural practice or ideation.
[. . .]
The biggest issue with cultural appropriation is that it belittles the origin culture, in a way that trivializes an entire way of life, turning it into an accessory. If you are a sensitive and respectful individual, the only time it is OK, is with permission or authorization by the origin culture.
The writer was reacting to Katy Perry's admittedly silly AMA presentation, which seemed to mix together Chinese and Japanese influences into something that was really neither. But disrespectful? Get permission from another culture for appropriation?
Guess I'm not sensitive or respenctful, but this is just a crock. American culture is nothing more that a mixture of everything we've borrowed from other cultures, and that's what we do for our language and our food, too. That's what makes America one of the most interesting places on the planet, because wee have a little bit of everything from everywhere. That's what we do. That's who we are.
