TGIF

Many of us are hearing a new term, a new concept, called "cultural appropriation."  I've been confused about what it really means, and after some research, I am learning that appropriation v. appreciation can be an extremely nuanced thing.  I have some learning to do, and the first thing to learn is to get over my own defensiveness.  For instance, when black women complained that white women wearing hoop earrings was cultural appropriation and we should stop it I reacted defensively.  Wait.  I wore hoops back in the seventies.  After doing my research on that, I discovered hoops have been around for generations.  In 2,500 BC Sumerian women wore them.  Even cats in ancient Eygpt wore hoop earrings. 

Trying to learn here.  Interesting that, if I wear a piece of jewelry with cultural significance, my INTENTION is everything.  If I got to know the artist, heard her story, etc. that is appreciation.  But how does anyone else know my intention behind wearing the piece?  They could assume I'm appropriating instead of appreciating. Oy.  Oh, wait.  Is that appropriating?  I'm not Jewish but I speak some Yiddish (more than my Jewish husband).

Also, being of Irish ancestry, I've always taken offense at the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in our country.  What a farce.  An excuse for people to get drunk and act inappropriately.  But have I ever stated this?  No.  People would tell me I'm a party pooper.  I can hear them now, "Lighten up."  "We're only having fun."  "Get a life!"  I can also afford not to make an issue of it because, hey, we Irish are not exactly discriminated against in America -- at least not any more.  Plenty of signage, back in the day, "Irish need not apply."  Along with Germans, Italians, etc. etc.  We're always playing catch-up and learning that people are just people.

For people who grow up in small towns of 100 percent whites and don't get out much, I can imagine that all of this is even more confusing.  If I, a college educated, advocate for equality, urban Californian get confused, then anyone can.  Do I get sick of all the fighting?  Sure I do.  But I'm not sick of the people who ask to be seen and heard -- I'm sick of all the people who make it necessary for the disenfranchised to continue the fight. 

Despite our troubles, we are the most diverse population on the earth.  We are the melting pot, the land where people risk their lives (still) to come to.  We are the beacon of hope for many, and it's been this way since our founding.  This is where lives begin again.  I would do well to remember this when the tumult overwhelms me.

Baba Ram Dass: "The question we need to ask ourselves is whether there is any place we can stand in ourselves, where we can look at all that is happening around us without freaking out, where we can be quiet enough to hear our predicament, and where we can begin to find ways of acting that are at least not contributing to further destabilization."

I've had a pretty good week, and saw my doctor today and it was a great visit.  She is ON it!

Have a happy weekend.