Thread by @delong

Why not a thread about "cultural appropriation"?\

That there are dicks using the fact that they can now be dicks in a new way by attacking people for "cultural appropriation" does not mean that CA is not a problem. And at least from where I sit at the Strada Cafe in Berkeley 1/

at College and Bancroft, CA is a bigger problem than false-flag dickish attacks on people for being CAers...

With respect to when one is engaged in illegitimate "cultural appropriation", I propose a simple test: Is one being a dick? If the answer is "yes", one is so engaged. 2/

If the answer is "no", one is not.

Now for the subtleties...

As a descendant of one of the fewer-than-100 documented slaveholders in what was to become the state of Maine, I can speak with great authority on this: With respect to the genius and contributions of 3/

African-Americans, writing as someone whose ancestors were the direct creators, maintainers, and beneficiaries of slavery, and as their descendant who still receives some direct benefits from the wealth they stole and who benefits as well from some of the marks that slavery 4/

has left and continues to leave on the body of America, when it comes to properly recognizing and acknowledging African-American genius and contributions, we walk very carefully indeed. If we offend anyone, we apologize—not "sorry if you are offended" but "sorry that you were 5/

offended", with perhaps a little explanation that we are somewhat prone to put our feet in our mouths, and will try to do better in the future. The hard part, of course, is doing that without shying away from drawing on African-American genius and contributions—for failing to 6/

be influenced is worse than illegitimate cultural appropriation.

And, in fact, as not only a descendant of slaveholders, but as a fourteenth-generation pure-bred WASP (save for a Irish Catholic Gallagher line joining the scrum in the late nineteenth century, and perhaps a 7/

quadroon "servant girl" from Barbados joining the line in the late eighteenth century), I can speak _ex Cathedra_ on this: Contrary to what those morons from Tidewater and Piedmont Virginia think (that American nationalism is an escape from big government and its taxes so you 8/

can do your own thing without ties to others), and contrary to what those morons from Kentucky think (that American nationalism is a blood-and-soil nationalism of the descendants of those who could build a log cabin in 48 hours with no tools but their bare hands and shoot a 9/

squirrel at 300 yards), American nationalism is a nationalism of election—a nationalism of those who have come here and committed themselves to building a Godly and utopian society that will be a City Upon a Hill, so that people forever more will say "we wish that we could 10/

make it as it was in New-England". We are all in this together. And part of being in this together is that when you elect to become a member of the American nation committed to this collective utopian you also take on a share of its debts and burdens. 11/

Therefore I ordain and charge all of you to, as we do, because we all benefit from some of the marks that slavery has left and continues to leave on the body of America, when it comes to properly recognizing and acknowledging African-American genius and contributions, we walk 12/

very carefully indeed. If we offend anyone, we apologize—not "sorry if you are offended" but "sorry that you were offended", with perhaps a little explanation that we are somewhat prone to put our feet in our mouths, and will try to do better in the future. The hard part, 13/

of course, is doing that without shying away from drawing on African-American genius and contributions—for failing to be influenced is worse than illegitimate cultural appropriation. 14/END