We're a culture, not a costume.

I'm still really on the fence about all of this cultural appropriation shit, but I actually asked one of my Indian friends to help me understand it, and his response was probably the most straight forward one. He didn't beat around the bush with talks of "power structures" or "oppression," just straight up explained why he gets kind of pissed when people wear bindies or whatever.

"Imagine growing up Hindu. For most of your life, you've been made fun of at school for wearing a turban, bringing "strange smelling" food to school, speaking with an accent, having a "funny name." You hear kids making fun of you behind your back, imitating your accent. When you start applying for jobs, employers prefer the white guy named "Tim" with the friendly voice over Gursimerjit Singh with the turban and the accent. You feel out of place and at some times a little depressed, but you suck it up, realise everyone has problems and try to get on with your life.

Then all of a sudden, a white girl wears a bindi to a music festival. Starts doing yoga. Wears a Sari. Meditates. Quotes Ghandi. Buys tapestries with elephants and Sanskrit script, and hangs it on her wall, takes Instagram photos. a And they're praised for it.

Everyone loves the whole Indian culture now, it's suddenly "spiritual" and "unique." But only some bits of it, and only when white people do it.

You'll put on bindies at musical festivals, you'll paint your hands with henna, you'll get a cool nose ring but at the same time you'll hate having to interact with Gupreet at the grocery store because his weird food always makes the store smell like shit and he speaks like a freak. You'll groan and actively abuse the Indian staff when you're forced to call your tech company. You're sick of them outsourcing and would much talk with Michelle from Delaware, or any of the other white people you see working at the call centre on the ads. You and your friend will giggle hearing the guy in the turban become expressive and speak loudly in his Hindi, and talk about how it's such a funny dumb language.

And you just start to think: Fuck you. Fuck you for putting me down all of my life because of my culture, and then getting to pick the parts you like from it. I had to, and still do experience so much shame and discrimination because of it, and you get to reap the cool things from it while experiencing none of that. It's almost like twisting the knife in further and laughing in my face.

So no, it shouldn't be offensive to you if I wear a Viking hat or Lederhosen. Because when the fuck did you ever get bullied for being Norse or German? I'm certainly not mad at sharing cultures, I'm just mad at the hypocrisy."

/r/ImGoingToHellForThis Thread Parent Link - imgur.com