Advice

On a white person with dreadlocks

I’m white and having my dreadlocks properly rolled/crocheted into my hair today. No this isn’t some pathetic “I’m worried I’m offending people because of race” post. FUCK THAT. I work in the marijuana industry, am proud of my line of work and am in upper management at one.

So I’ve got a list of things to throw back at people, basically along the lines of if MY dreads are cultural appropriation then so is your nose ring and tattoos so apologize to the people of India for lifting their traditions because you think it looks cute. Any other good ones you’ve got hiding?

Nah. Do what you want with the hair on your own stupid head, but I’m not gonna give you any verbal ammunition to use against people who call you out for cultural appropriation. That might be interpreted as tacit approval of your poor aesthetic choices. Instead, I’ll give you some friendly advice:

Shut the fuck up.

If someone calls you out for appropriating black culture, simply acknowledge the fact that yes, you are. Don’t get defensive, and don’t counterattack, especially over things like nose rings and tattoos. Nose rings aren’t appropriative of Indian culture. You’re thinking of Bindis, and unless you can name the specific tribe associated with someone’s tribal tattoo, you’re only going to look like more of an asshole when trying to accuse someone of also being culturally appropriative.

Please just shut the fuck up. Seriously, there’s no way you can win this kind of argument. You *are* being culturally appropriative, so accept it, thank the person for pointing it out to you, and then smile. That’s your only move.

You’re already an asshole. Don’t be a gaping one.

Standard

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *