Cultural Appropriation and NPR's 2021 Tiny Desk Contest
I love singing around the house. I make up songs and sing them all the time and especially when people are being grouchy. I made up this one a couple of years ago, when my family was in Costa Rica:
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Story behind the song:
While at a beach in Costa Rica where many local residents were soliciting business, I suggested to my teenage daughter that she get her hair beaded. She'd done it once when she was little, and we both loved it. We'd support local business, and it'd be fun.
My daughter promptly told me that I was being racist and educated me about cultural appropriation. The song above popped into my head; and I began to sing it whenever we saw an example of "cultural appropriation" - white people with hair beads, dreads, wearing Costa Rica soccer jerseys… At first the song annoyed her, but then she and the rest of our family couldn’t get it out of their heads. The ten-year-old and I still sing it from time to time ♥️.
All chuckles aside, I understand the resistance to dominant races (Ancient Rome, for instance) adopting conquered cultures' practices for the purpose of usurping and rendering them meaningless. But I think it's important that we differentiate the concept of cultural appropriation from that of cultural appreciation, including adopting the fashion, art, aesthetics, beliefs and mores of other cultures. I believe that sincere cultural appreciation is a unifying thing that only brings us closer together; and that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness” (Oscar Wilde).
A system where members of the public can only appreciate and adopt an aspect of a particular culture or race if they are members of that culture or race only fuels the division that initiates the insult to begin with. It keeps the members of different cultures apart by deliberately sustaining their differences - in appearance, beliefs, priorities, and understanding.
Intention is important. We are losing that part of the plot.
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On the sunnier side of the street (or shadier if you try to avoid intense sunlight like I do)...
NPR’s 2021 Tiny Desk Contest is open (for anyone 18 or older)! The deadline for video submissions is June 7. The video below, posted last week, features the winners of the last 5 years. The last 10 min are Linda Diaz, the 2020 Tiny Desk Concert winner. She won with “Green Tea Ice Cream,” but I like “Blessed” (her first song on the video below) even better (can't seem to find it for free anywhere else online).
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Thanks, as always, for checking in. I appreciate you taking part in the discussion by leaving comments, and I appreciate everyone who subscribes to my blog. I only post about twice a week, and my # of dedicated followers is an asset when it comes to finding publishers.
P.S. The thumbnail image for this post is a photo I took of robin fledglings at eye level in a neighbor's tree. Nature is not subjective :-) .
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Robin fledglings in a neighbor's tree :-)
