Dear Person that decided to dress up as an Indian for Halloween,
I was going to write you an eloquent and well-reasoned post today about all the reasons why it's not ok to dress up as a Native person for Halloween--talk about the history of "playing Indian" in our country, point to the dangers of stereotyping and placing of Native peoples as mythical, historical creatures, give you some articles to read, hope that I could change your mind by dazzling you with my wit and reason--but I can't. I can't, because I know you won't listen, and I'm getting so tired of trying to get through to you.
I just read the comments on this post at Bitch Magazine, a conversation replicated all over the internet when people of color are trying to make a plea to not dress up as racist characters on Halloween. I felt my chest tighten and tears well up in my eyes, because even with Kjerstin's well researched and well cited post, people like you are so caught up in their own privilege, they can't see how much this affects and hurts their classmates, neighbors and friends.
I already know how our conversation would go. I'll ask you to please not dress up as a bastardized version of my culture for Halloween, and you'll reply that it's "just for fun" and I should "get over it." You'll tell me that you "weren't doing it to be offensive" and that "everyone knows real Native Americans don't dress like this." You'll say that you have a "right" to dress up as "whatever you damn well please." You'll remind me about how you're "Irish" and the "Irish we're oppressed too." Or you'll say you're "German", and you "don't get offended by people in Lederhosen."
But you don't understand what it feels like to be me. I am a Native person. You are (most likely) a white person. You walk through life everyday never having the fear of someone mis-representing your people and your culture. You don't have to worry about the vast majority of your people living in poverty, struggling with alcoholism, domestic violence, hunger, and unemployment caused by 500+ years of colonialism and federal policies aimed at erasing your existence. You don't walk through life everyday feeling invisible, because the only images the public sees of you are fictionalized stereotypes that don't represent who you are at all. You don't know what it's like to care about something so deeply and know at your core that it's so wrong, and have others in positions of power dismiss you like you're some sort of over-sensitive freak.
You are in a position of power. You might not know it, but you are. Simply because of the color of your skin, you have been afforded opportunities and privilege, because our country was built on a foundation of white supremacy. That's probably a concept that's too much for you to handle right now, when all you wanted to do was dress up as a PocaHottie for Halloween, but it's true.
I am not in a position of power. Native people are not in positions of power. By dressing up as a fake Indian, you are asserting your power over us, and continuing to oppress us. That should worry you.
But don't tell me that you're oppressed too, or don't you dare come back and tell me your "great grandmother was a Cherokee Princess" and that somehow makes it ok. Do you live in a system that is actively taking your children away without just cause? Do you have to look at the TV on weekends and see sports teams with mascots named after racial slurs of your people? I doubt it.
Last night I sat with a group of Native undergraduates to discuss their thoughts and ideas about the costume issue, and hearing the comments they face on a daily basis broke my heart. They take the time each year to send out an email called "We are not a costume" to the undergraduate student body--an email that has become known as the "whiny newsletter" to their entitled classmates. They take the time to educate and put themselves out there, only to be shot down by those that refuse to think critically about their choices.Your choices are adversely affecting their college experiences, and that's hard for me to take without a fight.
The most frustrating part to me is, there are so many other things you can dress up as for Halloween. You can be a freaking sexy scrabble board for goodness sake. But why does your fun have to come at the expense of my well-being? Is your night of drunken revelry really worth subjugating an entire group of people? I just can't understand, how after hearing, first-hand, that your choice is hurtful to another human being, you're able to continue to celebrate with your braids and plastic tomahawk.
So I know you probably didn't even read this letter, I know you've probably already bought and paid for your Indian costume, and that this weekend you'll be sucking down jungle juice from a red solo cup as your feathers wilt and warpaint runs. I know you're going to scoff at my over-sensitivity. But I'm telling you, from the bottom of my heart, that you're hurting me. And I would hope that would be enough.
Wado,
Adrienne K.
PS- I wonder if you saw these posters? Because I think they illustrate my point really well.
UPDATE 10/27: Have a look at some of the costumes I'm talking about. I think it makes my arguments a lot clearer.
Earlier:
But Why Can't I Wear a Hipster Headdress?
Nudie Neon Indians and the Sexualiztion of Indian Women
A Cowboys and Indians Party is just as bad as a Blackface Party
Paris Hilton as a Sexy Indian: The Halloween Fallout Begins (includes lots of links about the costume issue)
Mid-Week Motivation: I am not your costume
Readers, if you want to send over an "I am not a costume" picture, I'll put together a big post--power in numbers!
Thank you 100 times over for this post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this post. May people hear and act accordingly
ReplyDeleteHalloween: This video also....Notice when the Traditional Women dancers come in the women are covered...Just sayin... When general public see's this...Is it any wonder people think its OK to still like this??
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/jYxKmW4JvXA
Great post, Adrienne! Congratulations!!!!
ReplyDeleteReposting everywhere I can think of. Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteI think that you have correctly identified the key problems affecting the Indian community:
ReplyDelete"the vast majority [of] people living in poverty, struggling with alcoholism, domestic violence, hunger, and unemployment"
I think spending too much time looking for ways to be offended by the behavior of non-Indians diverts energy away from fixing these problems.
Unfortunately this will fall on deaf ears. Look at the typical comments on the website with the posters on it. They dont care and they make up tired lame excuses every time.
ReplyDeleteThis is an absolutely fantastic post. I have been having a conflict with my father over these issues and he just doesn't get it. I wish I could make him understand that dressing up as a race is just not okay. I don't know why people find it so hard to just not dress up as a race. Like you said there are a million other things to be. It is not that hard to just put down that fake war bonnet and go dress up a pirate or fairy or Chewbacca.
ReplyDeleteSo, because in America whites are a majority, they have to pay unreciprocated respect to minority cultures that believe every pinpoint in their cultural makeup is exclusive to them? Being French and living in America, it's really disrespecting to me to have my country constantly being portrayed as being wimps and always surrendering at the first sign of trouble. Without my country's help, America would not be a country! But I take it in stride because I know, it's a point of humour and no one thinks any less of me as a person because my family comes from France.
ReplyDeleteBut to think that "sexualising" your culture's image leads to the problems and hardships those aligning with it face (as is said/suggested in many other articles here) is ludicrous. It's because you consider yourself so exclusive and so wronged that you are wronged. Look at your culture's influence on Americans and other people too as a blessing: your ancestors brought around significant change to the spiritualities and fashion of people even today. When you are mad that "white" people wear such-and-such a thing, you are being just as racist as anyone else. Most whites in America have Native American ancestors. You cannot claim to know the reasons that anyone wears a certain jewelry, or a headdress. At which point does a feathered hair decoration become a "headdress"? When does jewelry made with turquoise become something off-limits? You can't claim every material and idea just because someone within your history used it or had it.
Don't get me wrong, I am very against the idea of being racist, but people will be people. Are you against people dressing up as witches for Halloween? That probably offends some Wiccans and/or Pagans. Can we dress up as anything for Halloween without offending someone? Let's just cancel the holiday.
Face it. The point of Halloween is to dress up as something you're not, and it's just play. I know that it offends you. Everyone gets offended at some point. Either give people a reason not to offend you, or live with it. Don't sit on your ass and complain that no one gives you a chance, that people offend you. And certainly don't claim that your culture is or was any more oppressed than many other cultures before and after it.
Everyone's culture is stereotyped beyond reason. If Americans can't wear headdresses, then how dare you eat apple pie? I demand that you never wear stars or stripes again, in any color or combination, because that is definitive of MY COUNTRY. Seriously, this is how retarded you sound.
Not all of it falls on deaf ears, Mpensmoke. I'm white, and have, for most of my life, been brought up with complete unawareness of my privilege. It's been only recently that I have learned to shift my awareness outside of my narrow reality, and it disturbs me deeply. Posts like these, from actual people with actual experiences, are important - it helps to enlighten some of my ignorance. I wish there weren't so many people willing to write off these concerns, but there are some of us out there who truly want to be better people - and are trying to be aware of our own racist tendencies. Without awareness, there is no way to even recognize it, as my own privilege has shown. So, thank you for your post, and please don't think it's all for nothing.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I happen to be Pagan, and I don't care for the green faced evil witch portrayal. But that has little to do with this post. It is so ridiculous that this even has to be discussed. Most intelligent people will agree that black face is incredibly stupid and offensive. If someone painted themselves yellow and "played Chinese," guess what? There would be an outcry. However, Native Americans are one of the last groups that it seems to be okay to be racist about. Look at the mascots for crying out loud! People think it's "cute" to be Pocahontas or whatever with their fake feathers and face paint, but it's just black face in another shade.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of sexualizing as a cause of sexual violence: read a study sometime! The popular over-sexualization of specific groups leads to a mentality that deems it okay to treat that group as inferior and "fair game." Women's Studies departments have been talking about this for ages; where have you been?
Ending your post by saying the author "sounds retarded," pretty much solidifies what kind of morals you have, in case we all didn't get it from your ignorant response.
ReplyDeleteMore people need to read some race theory to understand how their actions affect people of different cultures and races. You wouldn't imagine on dressing up in blackface and going around trick-or-tricking so why would you think it is ok to dress as a Native American which is known as redface? White people think to themselves "I am German and I don't mind if people wear Lederhosen, so why do they care if I dress in a Native costume?"-here's the thing though, whites have optional ethnicity. They can chose whether or not to identify with their ethnicity. They can just be white if they want to, which puts them in a privileged position. If you don't think white privilege exist, think about this as this is what stuck with me from an article by Peggy McIntosh: white women, when is the last time you walked in a store and they didn't have your shade or a similar shade of foundation but had only shades that were too dark for your skin color? (generally, stores carry shades of foundation for white people at least and imagine if you were a person of color)
ReplyDeleteTrivializing micro-aggressions reinforces the racism. Spending any time discussing racism, marginalization, and oppression is valuable.
ReplyDelete"White Privilege"----Learn about it!!! http://nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf
ReplyDeleteI've been having a life, doing things worth doing and not crying about it every time some hipster wears a beret. I've been cooking and going to school.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really doubt there would be a giant outcry about people "playing" whatever for Halloween. Because it's play. Don't Native Americans have play in their culture? And just because you are offended does not make you right. It makes you mad, and then you feel entitled.
Leave your reservation if you want some respect. Jesus. Native Americans oppress themselves by excluding themselves from modern society. People everywhere have all sorts of violence pushed against them, for various reasons. I am positive that Native Americans are not the only ones being abused for their culture or any other defining demographic. Don't blame the people who "sexualised" your culture by dressing it up for a dress-up party, blame the people who actually were violent towards you. Because no matter how many costumes I wear, I've never hurt anyone based on their ethnicity. Can't pin this to me, homes.
You totally miss the point, because you're caught up in your own issue which has no relevance to this issue. You take some huge illogical leaps and slide quickly down slippery slopes. I don't believe anyone said this was a contest in whose oppression is worse. You mistakenly make this a game and miss the point. If you think critically about what you do, and if you are educated you should think critically at least once a day, you would see the things that make sense and those that do not. Those who chose to think about their actions, in particular when making fun of another culture entirely, usually get it. You get a feeling in your gut that maybe, this isn't such a good idea Johnny and maybe wearing this headdress that in Native cultures is meant for special ceremonial occasions is wrong, as you take a drink from your damn hipster can of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sorry to say but you coming from France and telling me as a Native to get over it rings hollow. You are in the United States, this is still Indian country. I hear that French people want Americans to speak French when in France; well if this is true by the same token you should learn a bit about the history of this country's first inhabitants before you speak about us in such a simplistic manner.
As for the great strides humanity has learned from us in regards to "fashion" and spirituality, you clearly show you have no background in what you are speaking about and are kind of superficial? Right now we are fighting Urban Outfitters and other retailers who are usurping tribal names, and breaking laws in doing so, in the name of "fashion". And don't get me started on the ways that outsiders attempt to appropriate our religons for personal and financial gain. Really you're just talking about superficial concepts and interests, not really any substance, kind of like the tone of your letter here.
Your last paragraph makes even less sense than any of the drivel you've written. You equate a sacred object, a headdress with apple pie, seemingly something that the country of America created? If that is possible? Not to mention apple pie is a phrase and has nothing, no relation, nada, to anything we are talking about? Talk about retarded, your aimless writing is retarded, espouses ignorance, and pretty I pretty much just wasted my time reading the nonsense that you call an "opinion".
"leave your reservation if you want some respect" Are you kidding me, homes?
ReplyDeleteSo are you French or American? Again, you don't understand your own white privilege to identify as French ethnicity because you don't have to -you can identify as American which means white American, but if you were a person of color you would be African American or Native American or Asian American. When American is used alone it means white American. So do you realize how stupid you sound? But of course racism is as American as Apple pie (just look at American History-really look at it). And it is not that I don't love my country, I just want it to be better, a lot more democratic than it is.
ReplyDeleteWhite Americans should pay members of every culture respect. That's pretty standard. How to be a good person 101: be respectful.
ReplyDeleteIt might be difficult for you not to offend anyone, LeRequin, but I urge you to think carefully about who you are offending, and why. If you choose to offend privileged folk, they have the ability to walk away and laugh it off, with no real harm done. When you choose to offend those with less privilege and power, then you are are harming them. As individuals, as Adrienne explained, and as a group, for reasons she has explained elsewhere in her blog.
In your post, you are affirming the kind of thoughtless actions that reinforce the racist structure of America today.
Your ableist language and dismissal of sexual violence is also offensive. I wish you would choose to act, speak, and live with greater awareness and kindness than you have displayed in the post above.
THANK YOU for saying this.
ReplyDeleteDear LeRequin- please go read some White Privilege 101 before you open your mouth? Don't identify as white? Read it anyway because you sure are pulling the white privilege card all over the place. Clearly you're able to dress up as any racist, misogynistic, homophobic "play thing" you want. Just don't be surprised if you get called out on it or if people consider you an asshole. That's the privilege I get from MY country- I get to point out how ridiculously undereducated and bigoted people look and sound when they perpetuate antiquated stereotypes on Halloween.
ReplyDeleteI used to read Bitch religiously, I'm pretty ashamed that I belonged to the same reader-base as some of those commenters.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just want to let you know, that posts like these DO help- I only recently discovered the idea of cultural appropriation (obviously being a feminist is not always a guarantee that you will be progressive in other areas as well, as evidenced by those comments). So, you have at least one girl who won't be dressing up as any racist caricatures for Halloween! :D
...salt meat
ReplyDeletemeat salt
salted meat
meaty salt?
Wow. When it comes to being shameless announcements of entitlement to privilege, you just literally lowered the bar.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see what you're saying, even though I'm not Native. The last thing I would ever do is argue with you because you're obviously totally right. What I would like is to just share that I think some white peoples' ignorance does go hundreds of years deeper - and I share this NOT to excuse it, but to promote understanding, because that's how we progress: by trying to understand each other, and our selves. Back in the day in Europe, right about when Columbus was leaving to colonize and terrorize America, back in the (white peoples') old country, anybody who displayed any 'kinship with nature' was tortured in the Inquisition. Women who 'eased the pain of childbirth', or 'picked or cultivated plants' were burned at the stake - even people who had simply been observed taking "too many" walks out of doors. My belief is that, somewhere in our collective unconscious, we remember this. Because of inaccurate stereotypes, white people tend to associate this lost kinship with native peoples. This is why little white children all want to be 'indians' in their very misguided kindergarten 'thanksgiving day' celebrations. They don't understand why. It is said that the colonizers always victimize those whose medicine could save them. I think that many white people feel that they have no culture, and no connection with their own cultural roots, and this is actually what's behind a lot of the atrocious and offensive clumsy attempts on white peoples' part to connect with some aspect of this lost heritige. I'm NOT trying to be all, wah wah, we've suffered too, because there is absolutely no possible comparison AT ALL - please don't misunderstand. Because I really respect your patience and honesty in sharing your perspective, which people really need to listen to, I think it's helpful for people to think about all different angles. Not so much you guys, more us guys - the ones who need to be conducting ourselves differently. Anyway, thank you for sharing your words. May they have all their intended effect, creating a myriad ripple effects, and blessed be :)
ReplyDeleteMan you really are an idiot. Who says Indians live on reservations? Plus equating a beret, a freaking piece of clothing with no significance other than superficial fashion to a headress is asinine and shows your lack of education and/or intelligence.
ReplyDeleteI don't "oppress" myself from modern society. Get a clue man. Have you ever even met a Native? Homes? haha.
Your entitled demeanor and self induced ignorance is really sad.
Learn about the country you live in and have respect LeRequin. Travel a bit, learn about other cultures and then maybe you will grow up a bit and learn to respect things that don't have to do with clothes.
LeRequin?
ReplyDeleteRequin?
jerk
face?
beret?
lacking the ability to think critically?
No, obsessing about racism all of the time has made taking umbrage part of the Indian identity.
ReplyDelete“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs – partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
- Booker T. Washington
I just want to second Mellie, a few years ago I probably would've thought stuff like this was O.K, or at least I wouldn't feel as uncomfortable around it as I do now. Now I don't, and it's becuase of posts like this that have made me think, really think, Confront my privilege and realise I need to change my attitude on stuff. So thanks.
ReplyDeleteI read Bitch as well, and was disgusted by the comments. Other posts on racial issues on the site haven't had such negative or racist comments--so I think (hope) it's not reflective of the usual readers, and that it's because it's gotten some trolls from being linked somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's just strange to me that "being offended" is the problem here.
ReplyDeleteBecause I would think that "surviving as an individual and surviving as a member of a culture when the government was actively pursuing genocide within living memory" would be pretty heroic, and "dismissing another person's really reasonable request to not be mocked, while trying to change to topic to more 'legitimate' concerns about death and disease" is a pretty cruel action.
Also, who defines an indigenous group's identity? Members of the group. Not weirdly used Booker T. quotes.
Sorry to hear you have to put up with behaviours like these. I agree it's pretty damn insulting to treat someone's entire culture as a Halloween gimmick. I'd be annoyed too if members of other races thought it was funny to dress up as a white person!!
ReplyDeleteSome native people live on reservations. Some non-native people live on reservations. And... and... brace yourself... some native and non-native folks live off reservations!
ReplyDeleteYou could consider respecting everyone. Probably wouldn't hurt you any. And it wouldn't hurt to listen to what Adrienne's asking for here, which is to not wear a costume she finds disrespectful.
What do you have to lose by treating her with respect?
Natives oppress themselves? Wow you are full of crap.
ReplyDeleteWow. What unmitigated nonsense.
ReplyDeleteYou could argue that Indians haven't actually survived European conquest, given the state of their communities. Whether they recover or not is yet to be seen.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a "weirdly used" quote. I'm sure you're familiar with the likes of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and their numerous corrupt counterparts on reservations everywhere who shake down the government while neglecting their communities.
A group's identity is defined by their common experience. Many Indians share a bond of feeling perpetually oppressed by white people. If this perceived oppression were to end, so would the sense of community it generates.
So if i dress up as a dinosaur i'm doing them a dishonour? this article is bullshit.. if i dress up as a clown am i disrespecting people who are clowns. or if i dress up as a white person "trailer trash" you would be opposed to that? stop ruining halloween and let people have fun. gosh i don't understand why people need to turn everything into a goddamn issue. if i dress up a a drunken sailor will that offend sailors? if i dress up as a bollywood actress would that offend the indian population? if i dress up as hello kitty will that offend asians.. I refuse to put up with people who take the fun out of life. i feel bad for people are first nations and the struggles they have faced but if you honestly don't want to be singled out then stop taking advantage of tax breaks, stop living on reserves! if you want to so badly be a part of mainstream society stop singling yourself out! i can dress up as anything i want and that is why i live in canada and that is why it is called halloween! get over it already!!
ReplyDeleteYoure wrong. and take life way too out of context. im irish and i couldnt give a fuck about opression or anything we've been through.WHY? because this is 2011. this is the world. and white people have all the same problems you do, alcoholism,domestic violence,poverty etc. so dont act like because youre indian that you need special qualities. are you really that ignorant. white people are made fun of even more than youd think because we are infact not the smartest people and im not ashamed to say that. but we act as we please through a sense of pride. make fun of us all you want we couldnt care. neither should you. you are 1 person out of the 10 billion plus and should just take life as it is. im actually dearly sorry if this is offensive to you but i just dont understand your logic. Halloween is a holiday. dress up as larry the cable guy or some shit like that. you ever think to just say fuck the world and do what you want? I'm sick of this new day and age where everyone feels if somethngs wrong to them they have to speak up and make a huge deal. womens rights, black hispanic native american, any cultural difference you have to go and make it a big deal. we're all suffering. and im nothing near racist, people of other race or culture are welcome in my life. youre just being a hipster.
ReplyDeleteI'm dressing up as trailer trash! can't wait :)
ReplyDeleteAm I never allowed to dress my child as Pocahontas then? Because that's her favorite Disney character. I'll try to explain to her that she is offending an oppressed society and let you know how well that goes over.
ReplyDeleteyes.
ReplyDeletelerequin, you may be french, but you are still white and that is what people see. and you are showing an embarrassing amount of white privilege and ignorance.
ReplyDelete(sorry, brita, i posted in the wrong spot)
ReplyDeleteI think we should sue Disney for making Pocahontas! they have been oppressing the first nations community.. shut up already. Pocahontas was probably the best portrayal of first nations people in a long time. they show children that the white people invaded their land and all that jazz. I'm going to call up Disney and tell them that they should take it back... stop wasting internet space and use your energy to help first nations people in a different way. how about joining a group and going downtown and asking other first nations people from shooting up crack.I suggest that would be a better way to spend your time!
ReplyDeleteAmen. This site should change it's name to Sanctimonious BS. I wasn't going to do Halloween this year, but now I'm hitting the streets dressed like Tonto. I really hope nobody is offended by this egregious act of white privilege.
ReplyDeleteThank you ! for your courageous statement! I agree with you & am aligned with your blog, your research, and your unwavering point of view with native appropriations, which needs to be addressed, every day!
ReplyDeleteDo you even know what you are saying? You have to be the stupidest idiot alive. Get a brain!
ReplyDeleteSomething I have to share. I've been in Washington DC for a conference on health policy for the past three days. Yesterday, one of the speakers had a graphic of "Snake Oil Elixir" with a picture of a stereotypical Indian. Very respectfully, one of my colleagues told the speaker that the graphic was harmful and that he should take it out of his presentation. The speaker responded with, "let more on to a more substantive question" and ignored the comment completely. As a Native person, I felt invalidated and brought up all the many experiences in my life that I was treated as less than a human. I want to thank you for all that you do and for even educating me. Until I started reading your blog, I never really understood the implications of these images. I am still upset about the graphic and about the dismissal of my colleague's comment and thus my being.
ReplyDeleteOpps, I didn't check my spelling, the speaker said, "Lets move on to something more substantial. Next question."
ReplyDeleteyou should just chill out and have fun this halloween yo.
ReplyDeleteLOL, actually come to think of it, white people jokes have never offended me. Because as a Caucasian I don't have to deal with discrimination as my everyday reality. It should tell you something that I've never even heard any racist words for whites...
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. Whether or not I agree with the sensitivity of the person I've offended, I am usually embarrassed that I've done so and try to not repeat the behavior because I'd like them to extend the same courtesy to me.
ReplyDeleteCultural appropriation is kind of a new ideological exploration for the main stream folk (or at least I've just started hearing about it) and the argument seems to boil down to this: cartoony versions of cultures are created to illustrate the "weirdness" of the target to the intended audience, whether for amusement or to portray the exotic allure (fetishization). This goes likewise for the culturally specific goods that are being replicated and sold into the generic American marketplace without regard to the origins or purpose the item held in the culture it came from.
Most white Americans hold very little sacred, so it tends to be difficult for some people to understand that having their values, traditions, and holy items used for fashion accessories and punch lines frustrates, shames, and/or devalues the people they are appropriating from.
I don't think any of the above is a stretch in logic or reason, and for those who are so adamant about their Halloween costume rights, please remember that just because something doesn't matter to you doesn't mean it doesn't matter.
Yes, amazingly, parenting sometimes involves telling your kids they can't do things they want to do. Explaining to them is good, but sometimes you will have to hold your ground when they're too young to understand.
ReplyDeletePS- Ask yourself- would you let her apply blackface if Tiana happened to be her favorite princess?
Yes, please do start those conversations early. She will be a better person for it.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of white derogatory words for white, people have just been polite enough not to say them to you lol. But you're right, the only discrimination white people have to deal with on a daily basis would be socio-economic and if you put them next to a poor (enter ethnicity here) they are suddenly the cream of the poverty crop.
ReplyDeleteWow, really? If you stop being oppressed, you'll stop having a community/culture? Really?
ReplyDeleteSo how did they have a community before the White Man showed up?
HINT: The real answer is the being oppressed does often create a sense of solidarity among the oppressed, but there's plenty of oppression in the world to go around- no one has to make it up. People who say that various minorities are "playing victim" usually just lack the insight to (or the willingness) to SEE that oppression. And then, because of their privilege, they assume that because they can't see it, it must not be real.
*Any of the blog, not the above comments. Very important distinction.
ReplyDeletei'm not going to go into some rant. and i'm not going to feel bad about being white. HOWEVER, when i was a child, my mother let me dress up as an Indian for halloween. she let me do it for a few years, complete with a baby doll strapped to my back in a sling. i can't hold her responsible for hurting an entire race; back then it wasn't an issue that was talked about. as i got older, my eyes opened for themselves. i grew aware of the privileges i had based on being white, and i was aware of the ones i didn't really have because of my gender. with that said, i will not let my children dress like Indians for halloween. they'll obviously be raised in a household and, hopefully, a culture that is more sensitive to race and gender. they won't pull the "i'm german/irish/african/mexican/whatever so when you celebrate st patrick's day/cinco de mayo/whatever it offends me" card. i want my children to be taught sensitivity and to be open minded.
ReplyDeletei can't change what i was for halloween when i was 6 years old, but at least i have the knowledge and the power to change my own future, as well as have some impact on my family's.
Brilliant post. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi, I fully agree with you, and this is a brilliant article! Fuck all these comments driven by self-absorbed people who are tired of not feeling sorry for themselves. It's not about you, so get over it and respect it.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my cover band is playing a halloween gig and we are all dressing up as the village people. Complete parody of the band, but unfortunately including a stereotypical first nations person. What's the fine line here? If it's a clear case of mocking the usage of the stereotype is that ok?
Last year for Halloween (before I had even heard of the concept of cultural appropriation), I'm ashamed to say I did in fact dress up as a Native American. I've learned a lot in the last year about racial stratification, cultural appropriation, institutional discrimination, etc. I know now that, as a white woman, it was completely unacceptable for me to fetishize Native women and Native culture in such a way. I apologize for my prior ignorance, and I think it's great that blogs like this exist!
ReplyDeleteI'm a Navajo. I'm a girl. I'm dressing up as sexy Pocahontas for Halloween. So there.
ReplyDeleteit's actually 7 billion and not even quite there. how could you not understand the logic? i am white and ashamed of people that backlash as you are right now without ANY personal experience to people of color or any other people besides the superior majority. her argument was NOT implying that white people don't experience the same problems. obviously that is not true nor is it possible statistically speaking. she is talking about the concentration amongst her people according to population size and percent. especially considering most of it if not all of it is a direct result of hundreds years of oppression from people like you and me, white people. i dressed up as pocahontas as a little girl, unaware as a seven year old of the history and it's implications, BUT as a responsible knowledgeable adult why would i not respect somebody's feelings and wishes?
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. As a white male, it is helpful to know how others experience the world and it enhances my life too. You are making a difference, though seeing some of these comments is frustrating. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteIs it only okay for Native Americans to wear those traditional clothes? That isn't a loaded question, I want to know your opinion. Is it okay for a caucasians to wear them in admiration of the culture, even if it is overly simplified or sexed-up? Is it wrong that I own a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch moccasin-style shoes purely for fashion and comfort? Should those shoes be sacred and exclusive for Native Americans?
ReplyDeleteAny time you decide your culture is off limits to humor and parody, you show insecurity in that identity. It is saying that what you come from isn't strong enough to handle the joke.
Instead, why not roll with it? There are parodies of all backgrounds and cultures and we should enjoy these with mirth and laughter! The more we can laugh with AND at eachother, the more comfort and ease of integration America will experience. There will always be haters and racists, and we aren't going to change them by complaining about asinine costumes. Some of those people may be racists mocking your heritage, but please do not jump to that conclusion, merely because they are a different color from you. It is a form of racism in and of itself.
When male friends make "Get back in the kitchen, woman!" jokes, I laugh and tease back. Why? Because laughing at something proves it has no power over me. I am woman enough to laugh about the sexism of the past and never look back at that hateful past as a shackle on my ankle. A black friend of mine was Black Dynamite for halloween. That's the pinnacle of racist stereotypes, and you know what? He was mocking it. And he would have laughed if any of our white friends wore the same costume because he has confidence in his color.
Walking on eggshells is not going to help anyone respect a different ethnicity. The only thing it does is further separate the races. It draws lines in the sand that a majority race cannot cross for fear of being considered a bully.
I have attended Native American sweat lodges and respect their plight caused by white Americans of the past. Your ancestors had a lot taken away from them. My heritage is a mixture of protestant racists and labor-slave Irish. But we should rise above that and stop separating ourselves with arbitrary lines. Costumes do not matter. Laugh and move on. Pointing fingers and playing victim are not going to help your cause...instead, write to your state representatives about social issues and legislation that is persecuting your people. There IS real racism going on toward your people. Get involved in social movements and do some community service in the name of integrity.
The best way to change society is to be a shining example of the best of your people. I believe from the way you wrote this that you absolutely have that potential..but this essay will piss off as many people as it will persuade. Do not talk, do. Dress up as a white conservative fundamentalist for Halloween and poke fun at them!
I hope you don't feel offended or misunderstood. While I can't understand your exact position, I can relate from similar ones.
I'd really like to thank you for this post. Just to look at this one thread, the 60-ish comments on it, and the conversations within it... there are a lot of people who are trying to teach, a lot of people who are trying to learn, and a lot of people who aren't into listening right now. It's frustrating to read the whole thread. I imagine it's exhausting to have as a part of your daily life, just walking to work, grabbing a snack with friends, whatever. And then have these moments pop up. Thank you for talking about it here.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your blog, for this entry in particular, and for giving us another chance to reconsider when our privileges crash into another person's rights. It's not anyone else's responsibility to teach me to act with compassion and respect, but I appreciate it when people do!
Fantastic post, and I'm seconding Mellie below - I also grew up without any ideas about privilege until my best friend laid it all out on the table for me one day. Some of us are really, truly trying, and thank you so much for writing this article. Please don't give up and don't feel so disheartened - people like you are pushing for change and even though it is painfully, torturously slow, there are people like Mellie and me that are willing to open our eyes, take a step back, and realize that what we've been taught to believe is okay really isn't. We're trying, and not so we can be buzzword hipsters, but because we really fucking care about you, your people, and all oppressed peoples. Keep up the good fight. Things are changing. I'll FB post, tweet, and blog about your article.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't let my daughter apply blackface, but I would let her wear her dress/tiara/whatever else a Tiana costume would be.
ReplyDeleteWe were just talking about this specific issue in class today, and though I'm completely against dressing as "an Indian", dressing as a specific character/individual is much different than dressing as a stereotype on an entire race. I guess the difference is that Tiana's outfit isn't specific to her race while Pocahontas' is.
Reading this blog, I often find myself appalled, intrigued, and discomforted; and I think it does me good. I would like, therefore, to offer my apologies (absolutely sincerely, to discourage any sarcastic misreadings) on behalf of my race. We need to sort our shit out.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
White girl, Wellington, New Zealand.
White privilege? Seriously?? Someone studying for their PhD in Boston has more privilege than I'll ever have. Please refrain from making assumptions about an entire ethnic group...as I recall this is the very definition of racism.
ReplyDeleteYou do not know the struggles of my ancestors or their persecution or how they were driven off their land. Sound familiar?
I'm not waiting around for my entitlement...I'm grabbing this life with a strangle-hold and making the best of what I have been given. I suggest you do the same.
This world does not give a flying crap about ANYONE!
I hate how having white skin makes people automatically assume I'm lying when I say that I'm Native. It makes me wish I blended better with my people SIGH anyway I agree completely with this and I've seen both sides: people complaining that they should get to wear w/e they want and its not hurting anyone, and people saying its rude and racist. I don't think theres anything wrong with costumes - what I think is wrong is the stereotypes that culture!costumes push. Mexicans on donkeys, Middle Easterns as terrorists, and Natives in warpaint. Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteyou are awesome! no, really. 100 points for being you. know what those 100 points get you?!
ReplyDeleteyou can trade them in for a discount on your ticket to hell.
thank you so much for this, your writing always says what i'm too angry to convey on my own.
ReplyDeleteShe says she's not being whiny and oversensitive, but then she make egregious statements like, "Is your night of drunken revelry really worth subjugating an entire group of people?". Really? I am subjugating an entire race with a costume?
ReplyDeleteBesides, people aren't dressing up as Indians (first nation, native americans, whatever is socially acceptable these days), they dress up as the fictitious movie characters like Pocahontas or some invention from Dances With Wolves. If I wanted to dress like an indian, I'd wear a t-shirt, some jeans, some work boots, and carry a beer with me at all times.
I know you have to walk a line between cultures, and I know it's difficult being a marginalized misunderstood minority, but I really believe this is a weak argument. I hope you reconsider your position OR come up a better argument. Cynicism and name-calling with blatant hyperbole isn't going to convince anyone, it will just get the people that already agree to pat your back.
You should GO to a Reservation instead of mockingly urging people to leave them. Punks like you don't last a day in places like that, for all your wannabe tough attitudes.
ReplyDeleteGood for you!
ReplyDeleteYes! This post says exactly what I couldn't put into words!
ReplyDeleteAdrienne K.
ReplyDeleteI've been tracing the arguments, the privilege defending, the rage exploding in the comment threads connected to the many articles asking people to consider the impact of their costumes. And I just want to say I'm sorry. So many of the comments are painful. Your post really articulates that pain, and the frustration at those oft-repeated responses: "get over it" or "you're being too sensitive" or "why do some people choose to get offended at everything." I want to give you a hug. I want to give everyone a hug. I want my biracial self to somehow be a bridge, and help people understand how and why these "everyday traumas" hurt so badly...but as you noted, being forced into the position of "teacher" is exhausting. Having to constantly defend the idea that you should be respected, and that your pain should be recognized as significant, is exhausting. When will it be enough to say "you're hurting me," as you have done, and be honored?
Since when is racism parody? It's illegitimate, as is your argument. To extend your rationale, using the n-word at African Americans in the context of what you consider to be a parody would be ok, and reactions against it would be "sensitive" or "insecure." No. It is still racist and unacceptable. Costumed mockery and chauvinism is no different just because it's nonverbal. Mockery is mockery, racism is racism. Have the moral courage to call a duck a duck, and show respect to cultures that your culture has attempted to destroy for hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteComments like yours make it worth to read through all the other sludge telling us to just get over it........good for you and thanks for sharing-it's hard to talk about our mistakes!!
ReplyDeleteFunny I don't "carry a beer with me at all times" and neither do any of my relatives on and off the rez. I guess thats how you see ALL Natives? Sounds so ignorant....
ReplyDelete"Dress up as a white conservative fundamentalist for Halloween and poke fun at them! " Replace white conservative fundamentalist with "Indian brave/sexy Native maiden" and you got a good example of why a lot of Natives, well not just Natives, but Asians, Mexicans, Inuits, etc, find the whole Halloween costume mockery offensive.
ReplyDeleteNo need to, Republicans do that for us every day!
ReplyDeletesorry, but I think you are incredibly insensitive to what this person had to say. how about you quit focusing on yourself for one minute, and look at it from her perspective?
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am from the Shuswap nation on my mother's side and French on my dad's side of the family. I am really disgusted at what "LeRequin" has to say. Being from blended cultures I have had a wonderful opportunity to have first hand knowledge of both of my cultures. I have a great respect for all people and love learning about other people and places. I am sad that others can not be interested in exploring how others feel or think. To understand someone, all you need to do is listen with an open mind and a compassionate heart. I believe that perhaps LeRequin needs further education, or some open minded companions to help him in his life's journey.
ReplyDeleteSomeone studying for their PhD in Boston had to work their ass off to get there as WELL as deal with a society made up of a white majority whose government is STILL working to relegate Natives to the past and destroy their modern presence.
ReplyDeleteIf you can walk past a cop in the evening knowing that your skin color isn't going to play a part in they they stop you to talk (if at all) then you enjoy white-privilege.
It is true that most of us, no matter what race, must fight to find happiness. But it's a longer road to start on for some compared to others.
...It's really not that different when the 'character' you're referring to is a super-sexualized version of a 12 yr old girl who was stolen and brainwashed, a historical figure warped for the sake of making a pretty onscreen fiction for children raised in a culture that makes it a point to keep them from learning about the horrors done to Native cultures as well as ongoing issues faced by Natives everywhere.
ReplyDeleteHey.
ReplyDeleteI have a 3 yr old son. Last year he dressed as a cowboy and this year as a pirate.
Suppose next year he asks to dress up as a character from Pocahontas. Do I talk him out of it? Is there some way for him to dress up w/o being offensive?
I do not mean to be contrarian - I am legitimately interested in your input on this.
LeRequin's response in a short nutshell....:
ReplyDeleteIMMA DO WHAT I WANT AND GET OVER IT!!11!!!11oneoneBBQ!!!!
"So, because in America whites are a majority, they have to pay unreciprocated respect to minority cultures ..."
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes, exactly. Just because you think people shouldn't be offended by something, doesn't mean they aren't offended and hurt.
This isn't some game where someone does something innocent and people are happy because they have something to be offended about - this is about real people feeling hurt about your disregard of their culture. What you are essentially saying is: "I don't care if it hurts you, I want to have fun."
Also, just because you have accepted to be made fun of because of your heritage, doesn't mean everybody is okay with being the laughing stock of ignorant people.
"because I know, it's a point of humour and no one thinks any less of me as a person because my family comes from France."
I assure you, there are people that think lesser of you because you are French, but that is not even the point - the point is that there are a lot of people, especially Americans, who think of Native Americans as either spiritual healers or drunks and poors. Do you think that's not hurtful and harmful?
"When you are mad that "white" people wear such-and-such a thing, you are being just as racist as anyone else."
Excuse me? Just because the majority of people who do something that is disrespectful and hurtful has a certain skin colour doesn't mean it's racism to point out that behaviour.
"You cannot claim to know the reasons that anyone wears a certain jewelry, or a headdress. At which point does a feathered hair decoration become a "headdress"? When does jewelry made with turquoise become something off-limits? You can't claim every material and idea just because someone within your history used it or had it."
Fortunately, many people go to great lengths to point out they are plagiarizing and stealing and ridiculing Native American fashion and art. I don't think people would get offended if you wore a turquoise ring or a hat with a feather in it, but if you *say* you are dressing up as a Native American, it's pretty clear that you have crossed that line you are drawing.
"And certainly don't claim that your culture is or was any more oppressed than many other cultures before and after it."
I don't think Native Americans claim they are oppressed more than other people of color, for instance, but what is your point? That oppression is normal and they (and everybody who thinks it's wrong, too) shouldn't complain about it? Funny, it seems you are saying that from a position of power that allows you to wave away those complains. I wonder what you would be saying if you were the one being disenfranchised and marginalized.
"Seriously, this is how retarded you sound."
And the topping on the cake: Ableism! Yay!
Seriously, stop acting like how you feel about something is how everybody should feel about something and maybe take the time to try to see their point of view.
Do the people that are responding with "stop being offended" and the likes actually realize what they are saying? It all comes down to:
ReplyDelete"I don't care if this hurts you(, I want to have fun.)"
It is just blatant disregard for the feelings of other people.
a cowboy is an occupation. a pirate (ok its an illegal one) is an occupation too. Being an indigenous is not an occupation.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably true at some level. Some people are offended when I wear leather, but I'm not going to throw out my belt and boots.
ReplyDeleteAs a general rule I don't want to hurt or offend people. But there's a limit. Personally I think wearing Halloween costumes straddles that limit. For instance, I wouldn't be surprised if you could dig up an German person who really was offended by folks wearing Lederhosen, but I honestly wouldn't care. I don't want to hurt people, but I'm not going to be bound by the sensibilities of the most sensitive people out there.
One of the STARS posters shows an Asian woman holding a picture of someone dressed as a geisha. If geisha is offensive I'd expect that ninja, samurai, matador, mariachi etc etc would also be beyond the pale. Do you think they should be?
Once in highschool I went as a priest - nothing racy, just a black suit jacket and a roman collar. I'm not Catholic and that may well have offended some Catholics. I'd probably wouldn't dress like that again.
I understand that, but dressing as a specific individual isn't the same as dressing as "an indigenous". Is there no way to pull it off?
ReplyDeleteI know there's no clear analogy to be drawn, but I can picture a Bill Cosby costume, sans blackface of course, that I would *think* ought to be okay. What do you think?
Wow. The last time I saw racism and the defense of white privilege so blatant I was having to research Aryan Nation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying, and not defending racist asshats in any way, but white poverty in Appalachia is really freaking scary ... and as endemic and systematic as the stuff happening to minorities. So not all white poverty is the same.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree with you more. What puzzles me is no-one speaks up against male appropriation of female culture. Except this woman:
ReplyDeletehttp://radicalfeministcrafts.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/helpful-sensitive-liberal-bro-hints-for-this-halloween-season/
Excellent post!! I will repost on my blog if thats ok.
ReplyDeleteBill Cosby, a wacky sweater which HE is known for and a Jello pudding pop which HE was a spokes person for would be a Cosby costume.
ReplyDeleteHowever, how would you do a pochantas costume? are you going to go disney? that is based on stereotypes, stereotypes that are completely racist. And Disney pochantas is problematic. If you go with non disney are ...
Are you familiar with pohatawan dress? Do you know what is regalia (no you cant wear) and what is every day wear (yes you can wear)? Do you realize that she was 12 and probably before her meneses, and more than likely naked in the summer? Or are you going to dress like Rebecca Rolfe... as she was known after her marriage? because then the person would only look like a victorian lady.
I note most, if not all, of the defenders of racist and sexist cultural appropriation are MEN. They just won't take NO for an answer.
ReplyDeleteYour point about wanting seemingly 'entitled' to just realize how offensive they are being sounds awfully entitled to me.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see how statistics on how people dressing as Native Americans on Halloween is contributing directly to the problems you cite with Native American communities. Or how it is even negatively affecting perceptions of Native Americans. You have provided no such statistics. In fact, on your point about the Washington Redskins, a quick Wikipedia search pointed me to an Annenberg Center poll from the University of Maryland that shows 91% of Native Americans find nothing to complain about in regard to their name.
So until I see real statistics I am forced to conclude that your complaints are not "well reasoned" as you claim they are. They are simply a long, emotional diatribe, albeit a well written one.
By the way, I am Indian. Like, from India. Should I be offended that the word 'Indian' has been appropriated to describe native or indigenous people of all stripes?
And if I am, so what?
Hurrrr. I was having a conversation this week about blackface, intentional or unintentional as an artform and whether or not it was ok. I really had this conversation, just this week, here in 2011. Really.
ReplyDeleteSo this post is right on time. Thank you.
What about people dressing like hillbillies? That's not an occupation.
ReplyDeleteOr the homeless?
And cowboys are more a culture than an occupation. I can only assume you have never been to Texas.
“Ignorance? It thrives on the incestuous mating of indifference and bigotry and in turn breeds more of the same.” - Harold Cardinal, Cree author of “The Unjust Society”
ReplyDeleteOh and here's a link to the poll I cited:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Political_Communication/naes/2004_03_redskins_09-24_pr.pdf
Pssst.... your racism is showing....
ReplyDeleteHa! this reminds me of the Halloween some of my friends(girls) decided to dress up like AIM and ended up pissing off a bunch of Chicana girls who misunderstood the costumes. After a lot of discussion about who was more oppressed we all reconciled, had a laugh and later more drinks over the misunderstanding. I was, however, disappointed that the passionate discussion didn't end in any open mouthed kisses.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this still needs to be addressed is ridiculous. And the sheer number of racist, apologist, and blatantly ignorant comments floating around the internet is incredibly depressing. I cannot for the life of me see how this can be construed as anything but wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't Native Americans just "get over it?" Because the Indian Wars never ended. The horrors of the US government's genocidal/assimilation policies are still fresh. Why? Because they are ongoing. NPR just did an investigation on Native kids in South Dakota being taken away from their families in huge numbers and placed in foster care, all for the sake of more government funding: www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141672992/native-foster-care-lost-children-shattered-families. Diane Sawyer's crew spent 18 months filming on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439#.TpRwMXWGwYl.facebook), and it wasn't because life for Native Americans today is a barrel of laughs. The fact that a place like Pine Ridge exists in this country should throw these faux-headdress apologists for a loop, and yet I am told that I should "move on," to "take a joke," or worst of all, to be "flattered" by it.
I am the great-granddaughter of a woman who survived the Wounded Knee Massacre by crawling along a creek bed with her little sisters as her parents were shot and killed. She later died of tuberculosis. My grandfather was raised in a missionary orphanage and enlisted in World War II so that he could support his siblings. My father also went to a missionary school and was told in kindergarten that he was not allowed to speak Lakota and would have to cut his long hair. Those that refused to assimilate were punished, humiliated. During my father's childhood, a Native American man was beaten to death in a border town and his murderer's sentence was a day in jail. His cousin was unknowingly sterilized by Indian Health Services when she went in for a simple operation. A Lakota man was sent to prison for holding a traditional Sundance. This was the norm. There are a thousand other stories like these.
So, yes, why can't I move on? Because what happened to my parents and grandparents affected the way that I was raised, the community that I was raised in. Why can't I move on? Because I grew up in horrible poverty on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, lost more friends and relatives to suicide than seems plausible, and was raped and left to die in a field when I was 20. My rapist was sentenced to 3 years in a low-security prison (thank you, US Department of Justice). Do I believe his sentence would have been harsher had it happened to a white woman? Hell yes. Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped than other ethnic groups. This means that 1 in 3 Native American women will be sexually assaulted/abused in her lifetime. Why can't I laugh along with the hipsters? Because what has kept me going, what has kept my father going, is the strength found in our family, our spirituality, and in our culture.
Native Americans have fought hard to be allowed to have cultural identity -- a basic right that was outlawed by the government until relatively recently. So yes, seeing a spray-tan sexy Pocahontas raising her hand in "hau" is more than an annoyance. It trivializes the fight that my parents and grandparents devoted their lives to. It trivializes my life and my sense of self. And I refuse to believe that any decent person would tell me to move on, to get over it, or to be flattered by it. My great-grandmother is not a Halloween costume. This shouldn't be so hard to understand.
I don't like being called "Indian" and I know a lot of Natives that don't like being called or labeled as "Indian" either. When people ask me what ethnicity/race I am, I say "Osage, White Mountain Apache, Pani, Euchee", not Indian. I know the vast majority of the U.S. and the world still call us "Indians". I never understood why, even in school- SCHOOL of all places- I never understood why? Why should we still be victims of a sociopaths mistake? Thats why when people ask, "What are you?" I don't tell them I'm "Indian", I reply with the respective tribes that I am descended from.
ReplyDeleteYour comment inspired me to speak up about a similar issue that I had been avoiding for a long time. I was hesitant to approach this person, but I knew I had to given my roles. Last night, I finally hit "send" on an email I had been avoiding for months. Within minutes, the sender acknowledged that she should have known better and would be removing the offensive language from the presentation. Thank you for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteWow, there are some really stupid and racist people posting comments here.
ReplyDeleteWow, so subversive.
ReplyDeleteA sober, thoughtful, open-minded and generous person would read this article and at least think about it. They wouldn't need to agree with everything the author is saying, necessarily, but they would at least consider it. An angry, close-minded, bigoted, reactionary kind of person, someone who is frustrated with their life and who blames others for that, would read this woman's article and respond to it by telling her to "leave the reserve" and letting her know that she's "retarded". It's too bad, LeRequin, that you've chosen to be the latter kind of person.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like bullshit! I highly doubt "91% of the Native American population" polled in on that. You really believe in these stupid polls? You can't base facts off of polls because a lot of them are corporate sponsored, govt sponsored, or they're done to show a misleading figure.
ReplyDeleteHill Billys, white trash, homeless costumes are not racist, but classist and tacky. Oh yay! Lets make fun of poor people!
ReplyDeleteAnd there is an occupation called a cowboy. And I lived in texas.
WTH? How long did it take you to write this? Kinda reminds me of Hunter S. Thompson...
ReplyDeleteNot that I 100% agree, but, coming off the reservation to the University of Wisconsin I was amazed how "oppressed" I was. Until then I really didn't even know about all the issues that were supposed be eating away at my self esteem and hindering my success. And, as a Native from a reservation, i am not offended by these articles, but do feel in trivializes some of the real issues i had growing up like decent jobs being available, good teachers and having access to decent doctors and dentists.
ReplyDeleteI think what one has to keep in mind is that most of the Natives that write these posts are usually English/Native American Studies grad students. Its kinda their thing to write about these issues. Sort of goes to that "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail" analogy. I don't fault them for doing their job and being vigilant in protecting our image and exploring these issues. However, I just wish the Ivy League and higher education in general was turning out more MD's, CFO, COO, CEO and Entrepreneurial types. Our economies are changing for the better and we need a more diverse talent pool so that we can truly assert control the businesses and industries that our forefathers/mothers fought for us to have.
I wholeheartedly agree!
ReplyDeleteThey have given us the polling methodology. If you find something to criticize there, by all means do so. But do so based on fact. Not just because you happen to doubt it. Polls are a perfectly scientific way of gathering statistical data. The accuracy of polling can only be in doubt if the methodology is faulty. So again, if you think the poll is wrong I invite you to question it based on fact.
ReplyDeleteHowever, until then it seems that the majority of Native American peoples do not care about issues such as Halloween costumes and the Washington Redskins. There are real problems out there, as RondellWatson pointed out. I will fight alongside you for your right to a better life. However, I will not fight for you to not be offended, since that is not a right.
Carry a beer with me? Am I missing my beer? OH RIGHT, Im mohawk so I MUST BE AN ALCOHOLIC. Bite me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument, but please don't assume that just because someone is "white" they aren't faced with the same issues you are faced with. Poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence, etc are problems that every person within this country faces, no matter what their socially constructed "race" is. I also think your argument would be a LOT stronger if you were to personalize it instead of pushing white people out, therefore Othering yourself. Yes, we might have different cultures, but instead of saying "I face these things, you do not", maybe open your mind up a little and see that every "race" has fictionalized stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteI just thought of an example of dressing liking a specific person who happens to be indigenous that shouldnt piss anyone off: Ira Hayes. WW2 usmc fatigues and an american flag with a name tag "HAYES".
ReplyDeleteI lean Dont put any feathers, or spray tan, or anything else stereotypical that he wouldn't be wearing for the reasons he became famous...
That would be cool.
So start a blog complaining about that then. Jeez. You do not have a right to not be offended!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I like how you are campaigning against supposedly offensive Halloween costumes, but have no problem saying the phrase "white trash".
I recommend a good look in the mirror.
> You are (most likely) a white person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%, but you undermine your argument against stereotyping by stereotyping your audience.
And if I was A) a white person and B) remotely concerned that I would be offending somebody with my possibly racist Halloween costume, I would have stopped reading after you presumed to know everything about my life.
That said, I'm totally going as the sexy scrabble board.
I was incorporating my responds to you with another poster who used the term white trash. And I said that dressing in thoses "costumes" are a BAD IDEA. Incase you didn't understand the sarcasm of "yay! let's make fun of poor people."
ReplyDeleteYou lack critical reading skills.
"Pocahontas was probably the best portrayal of first nations people in a long time"
ReplyDeleteLol wat
"If geisha is offensive I'd expect that ninja, samurai, matador, mariachi etc etc would also be beyond the pale. Do you think they should be? "
ReplyDeleteIf they're caricatures, like that shitty "geisha" costume example? I think that is pretty gross.
I feel the same about the term "white man". I decended from Swedish, Welsh, and German and find the term "white man" to be ignorant. Sadly, stereotypes are here to stay, on both sides of the fence.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: I'm planning on going as Frida Kahlo, basically just colorful clothes, lots of flowers and jewelery, paintbrushes, and enhanced eyebrows. It's not hyper-sexualized or exaggerated in any way. Racist?
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you make the assumption that anyone who disagrees with you cannot be a critical thinker. Nobody owes your undergrads a good 'college experience', especially if your definition of what that is requires people to limit their choices based on what you choose to interpret their action to mean. Your choice of interpretations, that is, your refusal to discern harmless actions from oppressive ones, is what is dangerous about your opinion, and trivialises what your people, as well as other colonised people over the world experienced, more than any white girl wearing a dress.
ReplyDeleteAnd by writing this letter, you managed to piss off everyone wearing an Indian costume. Shock and Dismay!
ReplyDeleteThe fact is, other people are going to (again, shock) live their lives in a way you disapprove of. If you really care about your suffering native community so much, why don't you do something for them besides writing a racist blog?
I completely support what is being asked for here. I also know that in writing an open letter saying, essentially, you've already proven yourselves too ignorant and insensitive to understand my message but I'm going to write it anyway if only to show you how angry I am" should prove to be a failure of diplomacy. "You have the luxury of ignorance from your position of deluded white supremacy" isn't much better. May I suggest another tactic? A call for respect and sensitivity always works better from an open hand rather than a fist.
ReplyDeleteWow, there is a lot of sludge here. I felt the need to respond to balance some of that out.
ReplyDeleteBesides what should be obvious (the powerful majority, in this country, White Americans, are not aware and cannot be aware of how our actions affect others without listening to them and taking a moment to understand what they're saying and why they are saying it), I noticed at least one, maybe two people dismiss your post because of your education.
This is exactly what Ethnic Studies, Women's Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology (especially sociocultural anthropology focused on issues in our own country), etc. is meant to do! Question the status quo, look for the deep and not-so-deep causes of social inequality and racism (overt or otherwise), develop answers to problems, and so on. Carry on! We need as many strong Native voices as possible to combat anti-indigenous bias here!
I honestly was not allowed to celebrate Halloween growing up, so didn't even start dressing up until college. When I got to college, there were just SO MANY costume ideas that I steered clear of any that seemed iffy purely because there are so many options, can't you just be a decent person about it? You can be a pirate, vampire, robot, etc.... And if you really want to do something "historical," then choose a figure from your own genetic past or a historic figure you respect and admire. It sucks that people can't put two seconds of thought into their fun to make sure they don't ruin everyone else's fun.*hugs*
ReplyDelete"Writing a racist blog?" Seriously? Have you actually read the blog?
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight. My grandfathers mother was Blackfoot and his father was half Blackfoot. So I am supposed to be offended if somebody dresses up like Tonto?
ReplyDeleteLets look at the bigger picture. My grandmother's family is Irish. So I am supposed to be offended and outraged over the Boston Celtics?
Yes I understand the realities of unfair racial behavior in the past. ...But White is not a "race" White is a color. Generations off Irish folk were told , when they got off the boat, 'workers needed, blacks accepted, Irish need not apply."
I suppose I could wallow in the unfairness of it all. I suppose I could let the stupidity and venality of people in the past wound me. But were I to do so,I would be giving those words and those images power over me that they do not have.
A big percentage of North America is Scots-Irish. Should they feel offended when somebody wears a Utilikilt???
I take it logic does not enter into the picture.....
I have a son so I was anticipating Kocoum more than Pochantas but you never know.
ReplyDeleteA more appealing scenario - to me, anyway - would be if he requested to dress as a specific historical figure, not some character he encountered in a movie. And then - yeah, I'd research the appropriate costume with him and so forth.
In all honesty, while I've been aware of asshole college students for some time this is the first season I've ever given this issue any thought at all as it relates to my son's costumes.
Thank you for your input on this. I've read through the comments on this thread and there's obviously a great deal of emotion and a whole bunch of assholes weighing in. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. I really liked your Ira Hayes idea.
Tell me, please - how do you caricature a ninja? A matador? A mariachi?
ReplyDeleteI cannot hurt you. Believe it or not, your feelings are you own. You choose to evoke emotional responses as all stimulation can, but we elect to respond. I can hear your sentiment and empathize with you about the degradation of the Native peoples', and all oppressed people and individuals from certain walks of life whereas grief and sadness weave one's history and soul, however I had to say something because I felt you may be able to benefit from my point of view. I know all about the foster-care and dependency court systems, so that point is more of a problem that really needs National attention, I do commend this comment. But empathy is not a demand one can make on another. The desire to facilitate the learning process that curtails the seeming degradation of any culture by the 'main-stream' culture is a form of intolerance. Emerson once said that 'To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, —that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost,— and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment.' So my advise, dear Bard on whom many revel in your comforts and efforts, endure. Your heart is your sacred canvas that on which all our hopes are painted. Lest not of our own accord, but onto which we can accept your truth as our own, as election, through auspicious demonstration of human dignity and fullness of spirit.
ReplyDeleteI am a vampire and I find it highly insulting that you would suggest a "decent" person could dress as me.
ReplyDeleteI think we natives have a lot in common with the Irish.. We are both Tribal cultures that love to drink, sing, dance and fight (usually in that order). On a serious note I have always had a difficulty understanding why some take so much offense to this stuff. That is not to say i don't doubt it, its just that it seems like a lot of work. If some girl wants to wear a short faux buckskin skirt, bra and wear a head band with a feather in it while she gets loaded at a Halloween Party its none of my concern if she wants to look like an idiot. This is America and with freedom we have to have thick skin because more likely than not there is going to be someone out there who will offend us. My only hope is they at least look hott while they do it!
ReplyDeleteStick to your "own genetic past" and someone "you respect and admire"? To me this just further pushes the idea that we have to be the skin color we were born and idolize thinking from the past that in turn reflect that race. Is it truly impossible to think of halloween as a day when we can dress up as anyone we want to be? I do not support racism of any sort, and am probably not educated enough in areas of oppression (so please do not attack me), but I find native american women to be beautiful. Their hair, complexion, and eyes are gorgeous to me and if there is one day a year where I can try to look Native American, I find myself to be very lucky.
ReplyDelete:-)
ReplyDeleteHey, Mohnish.. If you have ever been "outdoors" for any extended period of time you'd find it is an occupation. I mean there are a lot of logistical and sanitary issues to deal with along with safety and securing of whatever property you do have to protect. Although, i would have to agree that there is an element of a culture to it.. definite do's and don'ts. I reluctantly beat an old man with a car antennae while panhandling on the I-10 in downtown Phoenix. I did not want to, but had to since he took my spot in the rotation. If i didn't i risked losing my spot to anyone who wanted it. Its the way of the streets. I have since incorporated that hard lesson into the corporate environs i now find myself in.
ReplyDeleteI dressed my daughter up this year as an Ewok in SRPMIC.. People kept mistaking her for a Hopi medicine man.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with you about the general inability of stop being native being very important, I can’t say I agree with the white people have the optional ethnicity in the States bit.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I am not sure that I have the optional ethnicity, as you put it. I have an accent you see. While in normal situations I do sound vaguely British (which already puts me on “Oh, a Foreigner” list in the States), I really go into the foreigner mode when I am feeling uncomfortable. I can’t pretend I am you average “Standard-God-bless-America” American.
I am afraid of “Where are you from” questions because I feel like I am being moved from being a person to being a foreigner, a stereotype, a subject to stupid questions (The thing I suppose any person from any minority have felt at least ones).
It’s kind of sad that people don’t understand that those things hurt, just like sexist jokes and you can’t “lighten up” and dismiss them forever, no matter how much you try.
Do it with Defiance and Grace!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post for me. All of my ancestors were European, but I'm not attached to, say, German or Norwegian culture the way Indian people grow up with theirs. I don't care if you want to be a Viking for Halloween - I'm not one.
ReplyDeleteIf somebody dressed up in a callous way as the shy girl who always reads, I'd be offended and feel mocked - because that is who I am. (I can't imagine anybody doing that, as it would be a stupid costume, but you get my point).
That being said, if a girl of any race admired Pocohontas and wanted to dress like her because she admired her so much, I don't think it would be any different than dressing like Freida Kahlo or Audrey Hepburn. As long as the costume is meant respectfully and admiringly, I don't think it would be fair to be offended. Just don't dress up as a tacky Indian - have respect for the culture.
Totally wished I had a copy of this with me this weekend. Some girl was dressed like an "Indian" at a Halloween event....although I was totally annoyed by it, I didn't say anything to her. I told my sister-in-law, who was not so annoyed, it's like someone was dressing up like a "Mexican", she got it after that.
ReplyDeleteGiven the behaviour of priests to little children at least in Ireland...I'd say dressing as one to be scary is spot on!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you and those you care about went through all this.
ReplyDeleteA day in jail for beating a man to death? What in the name of....?
It is lucky that you are not impacted by the hypersexualization of Native American women. Hooray for you, proceed with you racism and privalege, after all, no one you care about is going to be raped and/or mistreated because of your actions.
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with you? Don't you know true genious when you see it? If you're having trouble, let me translate:"Bla bla bla if it's racist for me to shit on your stupid culture then every man, woman and child is racist by default. There, happy now?"
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post the voice in my head is whiny.
ReplyDeleteAre you freaking kidding me? WTF is wrong with you? What are you even talking about? Seriously. Are you trolling? Are you mentally ill? She's not turning me off AND I'M WHITE. I stand with every single thing that she is saying and the only thing that is fueling my anger is the total idiocy of the ignorant dismissive racist trolls that have insulted the REAL CURRENT DAY PEOPLE WHO ARE TELLING YOU ABOUT THEIR ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, not pontificating on some family tree from 200 years ago or making disgusting assumptions about shit you know nothing about.
ReplyDeleteI am not white, I am part native. I believe anyone is going to be offended if their culture is ridiculed. But all cultures are represented on this crazy holiday because most of us are intrigued by other cultures and Halloween gives us the opportunity to play. What about those that feel it is an honor to dress up as a person of another culture, respectfully connecting to their roots by representing another. Peace and Blessings.
ReplyDeleteHey Mina, please take a look at Adrienne's more recent post and let me know if you still feel like your position is defensible.
ReplyDeleteShe is talking about HER family tree from 200 years ago and further by invoking her cultural experience. She is a part of a cultural loop. That is my point. Your ancestors have been apart of this cultural loop but more readily assimilated, or faded away as she and her ancestors will. The human historical cycle in a nutshell is: bondage to power to bondage. This is pretty much every culture that has ever existed. You or your progeny will eventually be in bondage again, as you were before you gained "power." White people have not "ruled the earth" since the dawn of time. They have been ruled by other cultures. Egyptians who are now mistakenly slurred as "towel heads" had white slaves. Romans who would later be considered "wops" or "Without Papers" had "white" slaves. Babylonians had "white" slaves. Even Greeks had "white" slaves. It's not a white trait to oppress. It is a human trait. Even native cultures subjugated each other, and they certainly sold each other out to "white culture." For Halloween, don't dress up at all, or dress up as whatever the hell you want. Native Americans are not an exception to the rule of cultural offense. This only causes division. What I'm trying to say is their is no profit in being offended by cultural stereotypes. We are all human and we should unite under the fact that we all share common pain and triumph. I deplore racism, but through my study of history I understand it is a HUMAN trait. Our culture will fall too. One day we will be subjugated as we once were. That's the cultural cycle. We will assimilate or we will perish.
ReplyDeleteEntitlement = the official right to have or do something.
ReplyDeleteAs a person Indigenous descent (from this continent) I believe Adrienne has the RIGHT to speak her mind about the offensive "Indian" costumes individuals wear on Halloween. She is entitled to stand up against and obviously acknowledges her own privilege.
As from your “poll” from wikipidia (which was probably written by a nonnative person), I find to be inaccurate. There have been RECENT studies done by Indigenous scholars about the negative influences of mascots. Please look over Stephanie A. Fryberg articles titled “Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots” that clearly states these mascots ARE negative. Now, it's not exactly Halloween costumes, but it's practically the same thing.
http://psych.stanford.edu/~mcslab/PublicationPDFs/Of%20warrior%20chiefs%20and%20Indian%20princesses.pdf
She is not talking about her ancestors from 200 years ago. She is talking about how the actions of people TODAY interact with her experience in the world TODAY. Again, I would like to see if you still find that your position is defensible after reading the most recent post.
ReplyDeleteGross.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I don't like that term either, its so corny....
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I don't understand the last part of your comment - 'I will not fight for you not to be offended, since that is not a right'. Do you mean that Whoatheboo and others do not have a 'right' to be hurt by this issue and/or your (and others') reactions to it? Please do clarify - but this portion is incidental to your overall argument, which is that objective statistics are somehow prerequisites of objection to racial caricatures in Halloween costumes.
ReplyDeleteThe argument that hurt must be backed up by facts or logic is, frankly, horrifying. When a member of an oppressed community makes a claim that a practice like this hurts them, the response should never be 'prove it'.
Talking about your current cultural struggle relates to all human history which in turn relates to her ancestors. Without all of the human history and her ancestral struggles she has no struggle. I find it quite relatable. I act today how I act because I am a product of thousands of years of culture leading up to this point. I have a big picture view because I study big picture trends. Allow me to be more succinct with my stance:
ReplyDeleteRacism: BAD
Subjugation: BAD
"Sexy Indian Costume": BAD (and not just because of racial significance but gender roles as well).
All Halloween costumes based on stereotype: YES
A product of "white culture": No
A product of human culture: Yes
A solvable problem: No
Are their problems this culture faces like poverty and alcoholism and civil rights that deserve more attention than halloween costumes: YES
Are there problems the entire human race faces that deserve more attention than halloween costumes: YES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q58nTiZrJ0 " Help, help, I'm being repressed!!!"
ReplyDeleteI didn't need help in understanding Milemanners comment.... I pretty much summed it up by reading the first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteYou said and wrote all the things that I couldn't.... You conveyed a message that I could not find the words nor patience to express about this issue and to the people that write the stupid "GET OVER IT!!" comments.
ReplyDeleteThis severely affects me. It shouldn't be that hard to understand. Halloween is so entirely misunderstood (thanks, consumerism) as the holiday it is supposed to represent, never mind what egotistical, vain, or horrific atrocities people want to don on themselves. It is supposed to be an anniversary to honor those that have passed on; to honor the spirit of life which brings about death and rebirth. I forget what it must be like for other cultures... even cultures I happen to be related to by blood. I am mostly Irish, descended from an Irish king who followed (pre-christian/pagan rituals)..... But, I am also descended from the Iroquois nation, by six generations. My great-great-great-great-great grandmother was of full native descent. That is something I am extremely proud of (I wish I weren't so far away in the family tree), though I have been trying to trace that part of my family for a few years now and have had no luck. Regardless, there is too much ignorance when it comes to what is portrayed through our actions. People easily get too caught up in the hype of what seems to be the thing to do, not realizing the detriment of their actions on other people or groups of people. Your great-grandmother is certainly not a Halloween costume, neither should any one race or stereo-type of any particular kind of person. Unfortunately, these humans we find ourselves living with are still naive and ignorant in their understanding. None of us are really truly exempt. Forgiving mankind in their shortcomings is hard, especially when every which way you look there is narrow-mindedness, but remembering the roots that have made each one of us unique keeps that vitality alive. I'm not trying to discount what you are saying in any way. It is completely valid, I'm just relating it to the pile of things that "should be" easily understood. Even though I want to know every hardship the native side of my family endured in the scheme of this country's political and money-hungry rise to control, I know I can't ever know what it was like truly for any of the many of them. But, the roots are there within me... they always will be. Those are things that the spirit can't forget...my spirit can't forget. Roots dig deep for a reason.... Someday, people will understand one another again.... and we will all wake up and remember to be kind to each other.
ReplyDeletePlease join the 21st century and assimilate, just like every other conquered peoples on earth
ReplyDeletePlease fall down the stairs, just like every other mindless idiot.
ReplyDeleteIf someone punches you in the face and blames your pain on the fact that you chose to have a nervous system, it will be poetic justice and absolutely hilarious.
ReplyDeleteTLDR
ReplyDeleteYou flatter yourself to think your perspective on history is more valid than thousands of other peoples' who have actually lived it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I guarantee your "perspective" would fly out the window if you spent a year in the life of basically anyone who grew up in a "subjugated" group.
You're just another person trying to sound tough (who probably isn't) and no-nonsense, when in fact your entire argument is that no one should ever fight injustice or people should just learn to accept millions dead, raped, or crushingly poor.
There's part of humanness your perspective seems to have ignored, which serves us more ably as a species than your malfunctioning amydala and faux-logical disenchanted arguments: Compassion, decency, and empathy.
And even logically, if you want to ignore the moral outrages as you have so psychopathically done, then ponder this: Native Cultures survived for at least 12000 years in a multitude of environments and lifestyles. You think all cultures fade? Native cultures, it seems to my Middle Eastern eyes, have particularly potent staying power.
I am half Japanese, and while I am coming from a different cultural background, I know I share the same offence when I see all the 'geishas' in the bars and parties... This tradition is a beautiful part of Japanese culture, a cultural history I am proud to be a part of. in my mind, costumes are for halloween. If these people understood what they were wearing, the meaning behind the things they make mockery of, perhaps they would realize that these are not costumes, my culture is not a costume, and that maybe they should go and get an actual costume. Do your research people, i'm sure if you learn about what your portraying, you will se that it should be portrayed in a respectful and decent manner.
ReplyDeleteHi thx to Krista Wise posting your article on facebook, I just read it. And to be honest I have never thought about it this way, so thank you very much for such an eye opener. And I happen to be German (not American fake- German, but truely German) and I do get offended by super drunk Americans wearing Lederhosen contemplating that they know everything about Germany. I hate being stereotyped, if it is so unreflected. But anyway my point is, if I get somewhat annoyed by those people, I can at least begin to understand what you must feel like. I will post (hopefully with your consent) your article on my facebook wall as well and I will try and raise this issue in my Native American literature class.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, I truly learned something today.
Just a guess... under 25? I make no assumptions my perspective on history is more valid, but I would wager it has a broader scope than yours. I base this on averages and I would be tickled to find you were an exception. What history did you live? Also, I'm going to assume you just got bored and stopped reading. Oh wait, look at your comment, you did. You formed an entire opinion based on half the information. Subjugated group? what color am I? Did you automatically assume I was white? How very general of you. (When I write "WE stole your land" I refer to Americans, not a race). What moral outrages do I ignore? What part of my post states that one should accept injustice? I speak of picking battles. I do not condone Allowing atrocities of any sort to happen. I do not condone knowingly offending someone. I believe the two not equal offenses. I have very passionately invested a multitude of time in studying this country and her native peoples. This began when as a boy I read bury my heart at wounded knee. I have a great deal of respect for native culture, but no more than any other culture. I see far reaching trends across the entire spectrum of the human experience. The hurt is real. I understand and lament it. The author is talking about being offended because an entire culture is not thinking about how she feels when they caricature a part of her heritage, a heritage she was born into and cannot change and I assume does not want to change. I don't like it. I believe her experience is just like anybody else who is human. We all have parts about us which make us unique and are made fun of or exploited by the majority. Perhaps we have "inferior genetics." Perhaps we are fat. Perhaps we were raised in an extremely religious household and have trouble relating to a secular world. Perhaps we were born into a country that destroyed our birthright and murdered our ancestors (ie Jews, Palestinians, Romas, Native Americans, ect). The point I have attempted to make and have apparently failed at may be better suited by other peoples words, namely Plato's: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." I just feel like anger over the way somebody dresses is unproductive. The same amount of energy it would take to convince a grown adult how wrong their garb is could be better spent on an issue that has a more direct impact on one's immediate happiness.
ReplyDeleteAnd about your absurd assertion that native cultures survived for 12,000 years... Name a native culture that lasted unchanged for 12,000 years. Name one. Name any culture from 12,000 years ago that still exists unchanged. Name even a language that a native speaker today could use to speak to a native speaker 12000 years ago. Hell, I'd give you a medal if you could accurately translate middle English without a reference book. It's only 800 years old. I hope people stop wearing "indian" costumes for this woman's sake, but I find that ridiculously unlikely. I'd rather hear her elegant writing voice used for something bigger.
So let me get this straight. You ain't payin attention to anything, are you? No one is saying you must be offended, yet there are those of us who legitimately are and what such bullshit to go noticed and be stopped.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't find a problem with something Natives or some Irish would feel offended by (and yes there are those that get offended by the Boston Celtics and the mockery they see/feel on St. Patrick's Day) then you don't have too.
By the by Native American experience =/= Irish experience =/= Scottish experience.
With respect, I am speaking about the cultivation of sentiment rather than a response to violence. Violence begot violence. Wherefore is there a claim in which to justify that which is unjustifiable. Further, insofar as to construct the dialectics which are necessary to aim of cultural awareness, how then, is your artfully worded criticism pertinent?
ReplyDeleteWell if you want statistics as proof then you can, I dun know, use something called the internet and look it up for yourself rather than have someone do it for ya. And while you're at it maybe try something a little harder than ONE wikipedia link that you neither supplied a source to and somehow applies to all Natives, mr. evidence.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. If that is what he means then that's some seriously heinous bullshitery right there.
ReplyDeleteLet me clarify the reply I posted earlier: Nobody should do polls like that unless they go around and interview every single Native or whatever issue or ethnicity/race you are. You should never publish a poll like that unless you take the general consensus of the entire group of whatever race/issue, because otherwise it taints the results and they aren't correct whatsoever. Just because joe blow decides to pull a ballpark figure out of his asshole doesn't mean we need to take that as gold.
ReplyDelete"There are real problems out there, as RondellWatson pointed out.I will fight alongside you for your right to a better life. However, I will not fight for you to not be offended, since that is not a right."
I know "there are real problems out there" what this article talks about happens to be a REAL PROBLEM. The fact that the vast majority of the American population thinks that this type of crap is "FUN" and acceptable is a real problem. An the fact that you're telling me that I don't have a right to be offended or that someone needs to provide a link to a poll, to make that persons opinion/eye-witnessed experiences accurate, believable or true, is just wrong. An I just realized that I'm wasting my time replying to someone who doesn't and probably won't understand what I or anybody else is trying to say or convey.... But if it was conducted in a poll you'd believe it. How dumb.
Really not seeing much here beyond some abstract.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the Roma. Being racist against them is still a political position, and the 'exotic gypsy' image isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteUgh. PocaHotties and sexy gypsies...they both turn my stomach.
Hey dumbass, many of us Natives don't have a "feeling" of being oppressed when we actually ARE being oppressed.
ReplyDeleteThere is no sort of "perceived" mass hallucination when its often there in front of us. The Halloween costume mockery we have to put up with every year is also part of the problems we deal with along with poverty, struggling with alcoholism, domestic violence, hunger, and unemployment. Even the little things add up on the scale.
And perhaps you're aware of the non-natives who also shake down our communities with and without government string pulling? And I'm not just talking about past history.
I call bullshit wannabe poet who can't realize that's its possible to chew gum and walk at the same time. It's more a matter of holding someone down and forcing them to hit themselves with their own hands.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't give a damn about us then just say so instead of hiding behind impotent purple prose.
The sad part is this cycle gets repeated EVERY YEAR around the same time. Fuckin decade into the 21st century and white folk still dun know how to act! Even after you tell them or explain it to them, again.
ReplyDeleteReally makes me wonder where the heck the sewage swell of comments suddenly came from on this blog. Amazing how it often happens when a bunch of (mainly white) people feel threatened or offended by something you posted. Keep up the good work. =)
It is concise, to say the least.
ReplyDeletenice troll, strawman.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, what I meant to say is IT IS IGNORANT!
ReplyDeleteDid you hear that wooshing sound? That was the sound of the point going right over your head.
ReplyDeleteI said the part of Indian culture that is derived from feeling perpetually oppressed, not Indian culture in it's entirety. Read before you rant.
ReplyDelete"being oppressed does often create a sense of solidarity among the oppressed..."
I know, that's what I said.
Listen, dumbass. When you tell me that I can't dress up as a famous historical character just because of the colour my skin, I feel hurt and offended. Do you want to know why? Because it's racist!
ReplyNow that you know that I feel offended and oppressed by your racist demands, I demand that you cease and desist. If you refuse, you will be causing me great emotional distress which will exacerbate ALL of the other problems in my life.
Once you have stopped oppressing me in this manner, the crime rate in my community will drop as a result. In the meantime, I will be busy taking liberal arts courses, watching TV, and inventing new and creative ways to browbeat Indians.