I FINALLY UNDERSTAND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!

Ok so you may be quick to call me an ignorant privileged white girl but hear me out. I used to be so annoyed hearing people complain about girls dressing up as Native Americans for Halloween, or as Indians wearing beautiful traditional clothes like saris. Or wearing traditional Chinese and Japanese outfits. And there’s a lot of other examples too that I can’t remember right now. Anyway, I used to think, “Omg get over it, they can wear whatever they want, as long as they’re not saying disrespectful things, they actually like the culture so much that they’re wearing those styles. But then I thought of something. I’m Jewish, so I started to think about how I would feel if somebody dressed up as a Rabbi for Halloween, or as a Jewish person complete with the kippah/yarmulke on their head. I would feel so offended and angry, because that person has no idea how disrespectful that it and they don’t understand the Jewish culture or significance of what they’re wearing. So I get it now. It’s really not just harmless fun. Sure, sometimes people call out “cultural appropriation” about things that are not that serious, like a girl wearing African hairstyles because she thinks they’re beautiful and wants to try them out, but now I really understand why people get so mad about people dressing up as Native Americans or other examples. It’s very offensive and I hope other people start to understand. Also I get now why some people really never get it. It’s hard for them to imagine how it feels. They don’t mean to be offensive and ignorant, they just can’t out themselves in your shoes. So don’t be so quick to hate on them and give long paragraphs explaining how what they’re doing is wrong. It probably won’t work. I was just like that, but I’m glad that I imagined the situation from my Jewish perspective.