General Discussion

Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts) Mon Dec 29, 2014, 12:45 PM Dec 2014

How big a problem is "cultural appropriation" in the United States? [View all]

Lots of complaints here in the last few days about hair, clothing and music styles being stolen from one culture by another (Katy Perry's cornrows being a case in point).

So how big a problem do you think "cultural appropriation" is in the United States?

32 votes, 1 pass \| Time left: Unlimited
	A huge problem
	0 (0%)
	A big problem
	2 (6%)
	Not a big problem, but definitely a problem
	0 (0%)
	I see "cultural appropriation" going on, but don't think it's a problem
	3 (9%)
	This whole debate is ridiculous
	27 (84%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

166 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

How big a problem is "cultural appropriation" in the United States? [View all] Nye Bevan Dec 2014 OP

It only seems to be a problem here notadmblnd Dec 2014 #1

Doesn't the fact that you have completely ignored/dismissed ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #34

I don't really understand your question notadmblnd Dec 2014 #48

No ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #57

When I posted, there was no one else who had posted in the thread notadmblnd Dec 2014 #70

Speaking of Elvis... the Nudie Suit. SMC22307 Dec 2014 #124

Dismissing concerns of the minority is a strong form of white privilege in America. randys1 Dec 2014 #2

"Dismissing concerns of the minority..." Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #6

Please define the concern Evergreen Emerald Dec 2014 #7

Dont ask me, I am not a Black person...ask a Black person, or read some of the threads here randys1 Dec 2014 #8

I see Evergreen Emerald Dec 2014 #11

"ask a Black person" Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #13

Dismissing me with cute pictures is OK, but very few would find this amusing I think randys1 Dec 2014 #20

I wasn't talking about whether or not it's appropriate to speak for others. Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #23

Curious that ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #40

Is there a point you wish to make? Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #42

Just making an observation that ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #45

I'm not African American Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #47

I apologize.n/t 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #51

Oh, so that is the reason for the facepalm, so you are as surprised as I am... randys1 Dec 2014 #74

No, I think I misread/misinterpreted the facepalm pic ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #85

Wow, really? Are they that clueless that they would laugh at the idea? wow randys1 Dec 2014 #107

My impression is that it is ludicrous to expect a single black person to represent the opinions Chemisse Dec 2014 #110

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #17

my brother in law nt arely staircase Dec 2014 #19

Now that is a cute "gotcha" comment randys1 Dec 2014 #22

Clarence Thomas? (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #25

You can always ask me. bravenak Dec 2014 #27

You tried to speak for all white people. Time to ditch the act. arcane1 Dec 2014 #101

Black people were left out of the 'melting pot'. bravenak Dec 2014 #44

Actually the Native Americans would probably quibble with you on this point... riderinthestorm Dec 2014 #65

You are right. bravenak Dec 2014 #66

"Being left out all the time leads you to make your own culture." SMC22307 Dec 2014 #138

It's you again. bravenak Dec 2014 #139

Ooh booy, have I made The List?! SMC22307 Dec 2014 #141

Those were not real questions. bravenak Dec 2014 #143

And I won't be frequenting your blog... SMC22307 Dec 2014 #146

So? bravenak Dec 2014 #149

Yeah, that approach won't work. SMC22307 Dec 2014 #150

For whom? bravenak Dec 2014 #151

Didn't know you had a blog. F4lconF16 Dec 2014 #152

I literally started it this week. bravenak Dec 2014 #153

Found it! F4lconF16 Dec 2014 #160

Awesome!!! bravenak Dec 2014 #166

Hip hop has been a global culture for the last 30+ years XemaSab Dec 2014 #3

"Saying that it "belongs" to one group of people but not others is questionable." Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #10

That's not what "cultural appropriation" is about. n/t 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #41

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #4

Wow, you've been here for 12 hours, and you think the issue can be put to rest? Sheldon Cooper Dec 2014 #15

lol Bobbie Jo Dec 2014 #29

heh uppityperson Dec 2014 #38

A bunch of white people who think cultural appropriation is a joke voted and agreed gollygee Dec 2014 #80

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #82

Because they're tone deaf gollygee Dec 2014 #83

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #89

Which equals tone deaf. gollygee Dec 2014 #90

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #92

It isn't a well understood concept gollygee Dec 2014 #94

Only Native Americans should be allowed to drink coffee; eat chocolate, tomatoes pepper, corn, etc.. 4139 Dec 2014 #5

Hmmmm -- that makes me wonder Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #14

Nope. bravenak Dec 2014 #28

what are you talking about? rbrnmw Dec 2014 #49

"insensitive"? Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #59

I FOUND one!!!! bravenak Dec 2014 #63

Good one... randys1 Dec 2014 #76

Thank you.. whathehell Dec 2014 #104

Assimilating v. segregating v. appropriating. SMC22307 Dec 2014 #147

Corn, as in 'corned beef'... Every look up the etymology? 4139 Dec 2014 #64

Wrong. Skidmore Dec 2014 #93

Grain/granular is corn. Corned in corned beef is from the grains of rocksalt 4139 Dec 2014 #97

Coffee originated in Africa. (Ethiopia). NutmegYankee Dec 2014 #161

It's just another argument 2naSalit Dec 2014 #9

I can't think of anything I give less of a shit about than Katy Perry's hairstyle nt arely staircase Dec 2014 #12

I don't understand that statement in terms of how you voted. Can you explain? stevenleser Dec 2014 #16

I voted sarcastically, Steve nt arely staircase Dec 2014 #18

Fair enough. nt stevenleser Dec 2014 #21

Katy Perry "appropriated" an ethinc hairstyle? VScott Dec 2014 #24

Does anyone else remember when it was RW bigots who were the ones complaining about... FrodosPet Dec 2014 #26

This whole thing where you guys sit around laughing about appropriation is hurtful and mean. bravenak Dec 2014 #30

This discussion originated (AFAIK) from a thread posted by Gollygee on Christmas Day Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #31

I do not care where it originated. bravenak Dec 2014 #35

I guess you could care less about anything that makes you a wee bit uncomfortable rbrnmw Dec 2014 #54

Sounds like a slippery slope: Quantess Dec 2014 #114

This message was self-deleted by its author rbrnmw Dec 2014 #121

I posted that in respose to a thread about Iggy Azelea gollygee Dec 2014 #79

+1 JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #33

Yep. bravenak Dec 2014 #37

This is awesome - JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #46

Randy always makes me smile. bravenak Dec 2014 #56

so do I... randys1 Dec 2014 #78

" What's wrong with a brown skinned natural hair wearing little girl playing Annie? Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #81

I think people who adopt the mannerisms of hip-hop are sincere in their appreciation of the artform. Throd Dec 2014 #36

I missed the whole blackface thing. bravenak Dec 2014 #39

Frankly and fundamentally, my hairstyle isn't your business. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2014 #50

I have no idea what you are talking about Jeff. bravenak Dec 2014 #53

I'm still uncertain ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #32

I get the issue of context. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2014 #61

It depends on who you are. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Dec 2014 #43

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #73

I don't know from Katy Perry. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Dec 2014 #75

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #84

The focus should be on Erich Bloodaxe BSN Dec 2014 #88

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #91

Who gets to judge the legitimacy of the grievances? Erich Bloodaxe BSN Dec 2014 #95

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #96

I'm not African-American so maybe I shouldn't say anything at all on this subject Blue_In_AK Dec 2014 #52

Um.. This is America... Our "culture" was to take all the other "cultures" SomethingFishy Dec 2014 #55

The fact that we've been doing it for a long time doesn't make it OK gollygee Dec 2014 #87

You know what? If fellow members if DU have a problem with it, I pay attention. Raine1967 Dec 2014 #58

If you had taken the time to educate yourself you wouldn't be making jokes about it. rbrnmw Dec 2014 #60

I've never gotten the impression that JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #62

yes makes sense rbrnmw Dec 2014 #77

If you think a post is indefensibly racist, you should alert on it. Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #67

The poll was done to mock the issue and concerns of certain people, clearly randys1 Dec 2014 #106

Not sure how a poll asking DUers how they feel about an issue is "mocking it" Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #108

Yeah, just me, I am the only one... randys1 Dec 2014 #109

That was my interpretation! etherealtruth Dec 2014 #134

I love this poll EOM Kurska Dec 2014 #68

White people vote on a minority concern. White people win. kwassa Dec 2014 #69

I call it ridiculous too. bravenak Dec 2014 #72

I agree. I think the OP is condescending in the extreme. kwassa Dec 2014 #105

Patting themselves on the back. janlyn Dec 2014 #122

+1 bravenak Dec 2014 #123

I must say, I still don't quite get the complaints about white people protesting police brutality. Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #127

It wasn't so much about whites attending protests, janlyn Dec 2014 #133

What else could you expect from DU? There was a post a few days ago from someone trying to tell Number23 Dec 2014 #116

To be fair, my OP was asking the community a question, Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #130

No, it was you in your inimitable way suggesting it was unimportant. kwassa Dec 2014 #136

It's great to see the jury system working to encourage civility (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #140

Such as it is. Civility does not, however, imply respect. kwassa Dec 2014 #142

Ditto you JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #163

Not only would I TRULY like to echo kwassa's sentiment expressed in post #142 Number23 Dec 2014 #155

I get that it doesn't feel great to see a member of a historically dominant culture take on aspects aikoaiko Dec 2014 #71

I actually think of it every time I read your username. kwassa Dec 2014 #112

aiko is an alternative, less common spelling for iko, so I've been told aikoaiko Dec 2014 #132

When people eat Weiners, Frankfurters, Hamburgers, or go to a Delicatessen, or kindergarden NutmegYankee Dec 2014 #86

Better example: John Lennon and the Beatles were evil because... 4139 Dec 2014 #100

My, you are just super INVESTED in this, aren't ya???? Putting up poll after poll about this Number23 Dec 2014 #98

What is your solution Blue_In_AK Dec 2014 #102

Appreciating and appropriating are not the same thing Number23 Dec 2014 #115

I understand what you're saying with regard to the music and fashion industries, Blue_In_AK Dec 2014 #135

For one thing, stop telling people of color that this issue (and others that we want to address) are Number23 Dec 2014 #156

I didn't vote in this poll Blue_In_AK Dec 2014 #157

I posted two polls, including this one, but the first was specifically on Katy Perry's cornrows. Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #103

We all wait with baited breath on your groundbreaking and no doubt culturally astute pronouncement Number23 Dec 2014 #117

It's actually "bated breath" (no "i") (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #119

No, when dealing with flame bait, it's exactly as I posted. Number23 Dec 2014 #120

Many in this thread are confusing education with disagreement LittleBlue Dec 2014 #99

Er, wait, what? abelenkpe Dec 2014 #111

Shave their heads, if you are really interested in speed. kwassa Dec 2014 #129

Yeah I know eventually abelenkpe Dec 2014 #137

How generally clueless and ignorant are you, exactly? Spider Jerusalem Dec 2014 #113

"I would have to say the answer seems to be "extremely"." Number23 Dec 2014 #118

Here's the original thread citing Katy Perry's cornrows: Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #125

That isn't the original thread about "cultural appropriation". Spider Jerusalem Dec 2014 #126

It was the first one I saw. Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #128

The article uses that as an example gollygee Dec 2014 #131

This poll is actually informative LittleBlue Dec 2014 #144

"Naturally be more receptive"? Spider Jerusalem Dec 2014 #145

Yeah, but we're still 95% Democrats LittleBlue Dec 2014 #148

Iggy Azalea apparently spent half her teen years in the south. U4ikLefty Dec 2014 #159

Cultural appropriation is what humans do. Yo_Mama Dec 2014 #154

We have a culture? WinkyDink Dec 2014 #158

I'm one of the proud 3% ileus Dec 2014 #162

How interesting the respondents to this JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #164

Ask the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. alarimer Dec 2014 #165