“Kim, it’s crazy how we live in our
own little bubble in the U.S. and we don’t realize that there is seriously a
problem. Like today at Karneval, it’s like celebrating Mardi Gras in Germany
and you like dress up and there were people in like head dresses and like
sombreros and ponchos and fake mustaches and they like didn’t know anything
about culture appropriation. Like they didn’t find anything wrong with it.” I
could hear Jacky’s frustration 5,773 miles away. Now I’ve known Jacky since we
were juniors in high school and she’s been my best friend ever since. It is
strange to say that we are best friends and that we are so close because we are
complete opposites in just about everything. She’s an art, and photography
major and I’m a political science and journalism major. I am very vocal when it
comes to political issues while she rather not have all her conversations be
about politics. Even though she tries not to talk about politics or society
with me she couldn’t help it this time.
She
continued to say “I even asked my host brother if he knew about why people in
Germany didn’t see a problem with people wearing headdresses’, or dressing up
in very stereotypical ways a problem.” He replied saying “I don’t think people
in Germany really know what culture appropriation is. Also people might think
that people in America are just too sensitive.” Jacky took a deep sigh and over
the phone I could hear her about to erupt. I tried to calm her down but this
was an issue that really bothered her. So instead of trying to not talk about
the issue I took a deep breath and began to tell her about how it is still a
huge problem in the U.S. I told her “I remember at the end of January I had to go
to a seminar since I had just joined a sorority. The lecture was about
fraternity and sorority life. They made us watch a video from MTV where it
explained perfectly what culture appropriation was and in the video, they gave
us a clear definition of culture appropriation being “dominant groups borrowing
marginalized groups cultures who face oppression or have been stigmatized for
their cultural practices throughout history.” The video went on to share
examples like when there are people wearing native American headdresses, and
how the Kardashian wear cornrows but black people still face stigma for wearing
them at work or school. I felt like I could hear Jackie’s heart beating through
the phone but I wasn’t done telling her everything. I told her that there were
two sophomores who raised their hands and asked what’s wrong with wearing a
headdress? One of the volunteers answered him by saying well for Native
Americans it is a form of honor and it is not a costume which is what is so
insulting since there are actual costumes which include headdresses. The
student went on and on trying to convince everyone that there was nothing wrong
with wearing a headdress and it was evident that everyone in the room had had
enough of him. So finally, another student raised her hand and asked him “How
would you feel if someone dressed up in an army uniform and completely got
wasted and just threw the outfit on the floor.” Everyone in the room could tell
that he was angry. His voice became louder as he said “It’s not the same thing
that’s actually really disrespectful they fight for our freedom.” That’s when
the girl replied saying “it’s the same way they feel. It is a form of honor to
them and by making it into a costume they are not being taken seriously.” I
couldn’t hear Jacky on the other line anymore. It was as if she had given up
like she lost hope knowing that there were people that didn’t understand this
issue on campus. I could hear her breathing heavily as if she was about to cry
or if she had already begun crying. For the first time, I was speechless I
didn’t know what to say to her because I knew that she was already having a
hard time studying abroad.
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