Fake dreadlocks and native headdresses banned during frosh week for cultural appropriation.

Thank goodness you said that. It drives me nuts how people don't get that.

Things can be held sacred in two different ways by two different people or for one person as sacred and the other is profane.

I've seen an extreme manifestation of the "sacred-means-you-no-touchey" argument in the Neopagan community. Wiccans often like to adopt ancient pantheons (especially Celtic, Germanic and Classical ones) into their framework and adapt the lessons taught by the myths into something more relevant to modern life while giving them what they feel as a connection to their past and (if they live in Europe), the land itself. Ásatrú and other reconstructionists often invade Wiccan spaces to claim that they, because they are closer to the historical sources, and because they believe themselves to be members of a legitimate ancient Norse/whatever culture, are the only ones that have legitimate right to adopt the Norse/Celtic/Germanic gods and Wiccans are culture thieves/rapists spitting on the ancestors and supposedly immorally hurting the feelings of the Ásatrúar/etc. by disrespecting "their" religion.

I've even seen claims that it is wrong to wear a Thor's Hammer pendant if not Ásatrú because it's theft, even though it's been a popular design in Scandinavia before Ásatrú was created.

In this way, the stupid "cultural appropriation" line-of-argument actually enables, if not characterizes, a sectarian conflict of sorts. Bizzarely, even though Ásatrúar etc. admit they are new religion, about the same age as Neopaganism, not a direct continuation of Norse etc. culture, they still claim a more legitimate Wiccans over the old Paganisms even though they've done exactly the same thing, which is appropriate, recontextualize, and modify the old traditions. I doubt that either religion would be very recognizable to the ancient worshippers of those gods.

This is why I'll never believe that "cultural appropriation" of sacred objects is immoral. It's too often crocodile tears trying to conceal religious bigotry or fundamentalism.

/r/TumblrInAction Thread Parent Link - news.nationalpost.com