Diversity Office at Western Carolina University Reminds Students About Cultural Appropriation at Halloween
“My culture is not a costume… It’s more! Its my culture, my heritage, my identity, my religion”
Right on schedule. Higher education having a problem with Halloween is a tradition that goes back a decade or more.
Campus Reform reports:
With Halloween near, diversity office promotes ‘My Culture is Not a Costume’ messaging
Students at Western Carolina University were given a card Wednesday as part of an official school-sponsored campaign to end “cultural appropriation” on Halloween.
The “My Culture is Not a Costume CAMPAIGN,” co-sponsored by the North Carolina university’s Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity Programs, printed messages on the card including “think before you dress up” and “culture is not a costume.”
The card in its entirety states:
“My culture is not a costume… It’s more! Its my culture, my heritage, my identity, my religion,” and This is Halloween – Think before you dress up: At WCU we do not mimic culture, racial or ethnic groups. Trust me, it matters! Thank you for understanding.”
This campaign comes as a part of the university’s effort to run a series of events through the school’s Cherokee Center, Native Student Org, Cherokee Studies Program, in addition to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs.
These events include things like the “Cherokee Word for Queer Webinar” and the “Native American Heritage Festival.”
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Comments
If drag queen culture is not a costume, what is left?
Appropriation is theft. When you appropriate something, the previous owner no longer has it.
The “crime” of cultural appropriation is nothing more than imitation, which sane people would view as a compliment (though there’s often an element of parody, which the humorless left will never accept or understand).
When activists complain about cultural appropriation, they are coming out against the way normal human beings learn from each other. This is disgusting and must never be accepted.
The best response to accusations of cultural appropriation, is to laugh, point at the fools making the accusation, and then do more of it.
WHY is it necessary to point out that all successful cultures have “appropriated” from those around them- usually by adopting useful practices of that culture, yet adopting them to fit their own?
Is there any exception to this? The only cultures that don’t “appropriate” from others are the ones that are dead or dying.
They generally appropriated from other successful cultures though. This is allowed.
What it says about those cultures you’re not allowed to appropriate from though, we’d better not go there!
Dear Diversity Office
Drop dead.
-signed-
T F Grizzly
Non-athlete non-scholarship student with a STEM major.
dear diversity office
will be attending a halloween party and wanted to go as a “diversity officer”
doesn’t walmart sell those particular costumes? also, my mom and sister will accompany me to the party and they are size 8XXXX and 9XXXX–will walmart have their size as well?
waiting on your reply
cashitta
No, it’s not allowed. As noted in the original communication, “diversity officer” is their religion, and you may not make light of it in any way. Please be careful to ask respectful questions, as the one you asked could be seen as a microaggression.
Going as a diversity officer requires blackface and lots of padding. Not nice, you know.
And a couple of mid-line lobotomy scars.
I identify as a ghost and my friend identifies as a goblin. We have been offended by Halloween costumes in recent years (in fact forever) and want the widespread appropriation of our identities to stop!