Asking whether cultural appropriation matters or not is like asking if a fat kid loves cake… Of course!
But it’s such a taboo subject to talk about that people usually keep quiet about it.
Let’s start with a definition of cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation is the exploitation or oppressive cooption of elements of one culture by members of another culture without permission.
Now that we got a working definition, let’s ask this question again: does cultural appropriation matter?
Yes, and especially in America.
This question sparked an interesting debate with my sorority sisters and me.
Some of them actually believed that cultural appropriation shouldn’t matter since everyone takes from everyone to make their culture unique.
However, the rest us believed it to be a bad characteristic of society that needs to be addressed.
We live in a country that was built on the backs of the oppressed.
Because of this, the melting pot that we are said to live in comes with double standards.
Many of these ‘new’ trends that appear in mainstream come from someone else’s culture.
Let’s talk hair.
Braids have been a part of the African American culture as a protective style to protect our natural hair from harsh weather conditions.
When worn by us, we are negatively stereotyped and ostracized by society.
Photo Credit: Alvaro Sasaki/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Yet if someone like Kim Kardashian wears it, then it is accepted by those same people that called it ugly and ghetto.
For anything to be magically accepted by mainstream America, you have to be of a fair complexion.
Let’s talk dances.
Breaking out of her Disney barrier, Miley Cyrus decided to twerk as part of her on stage performances.
Before then, this was only heard of in the black community as a form of dancing.
She often kept black women in her videos and performances as pieces.
Usually having some sing and some dance but objectifying the dancers to those equivalent to a sex toy.
But she isn’t the only one.
Shall we go on?
Let’s talk appearance.
Society is a monster.
From a young age, we are taught to hate ourselves, especially young minority girls.
As a black girl, I was often teased for my full lips, milk chocolate complexion, and my naturally curvy body.
Now that I’m older, the same things that I was being teased for are the same things that are being praised on others.
Let’s use the lovely Kardashians as the example.
Kim altered her body to have curves and an ass which she didn’t have naturally; Khloe got ass injections that are not proportionate to her body; and Kylie got lip injections that she swore wore not lip injections.
It seems like the features that many minorities have are favored on other women who are not in the minority.
Not convinced yet?
Let’s give it one more shot.
Cultural appropriation matters because it is a form of oppression.
Typically, the ones that are being oppressed are usually the ones that have a problem with this.
This is just another example of how white privilege works.
White people take something, give no credit for it, and claim it as their own and repeat the process.
White privilege and accountability don’t go together at all hence why we have cultural appropriation issues.
Minorities have given the false hope of ‘all man is created equal’, forgetting the fact this quote wasn’t meant to include everyone at the time it was first said.
So in turn, the foundation of this country has been built on the unequal stature of those who take from those who are defenseless.
And in the end, cultural appropriation does matter and needs to be recognized.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Alannah Giannino/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Academic Failure Is The Root Cause Of #IStandwithAhmed Scandal
By Ashanka Kumari
Earlier this week, Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Texas, was arrested after his English teacher thought his homemade clock was a bomb. While those involved in the arrest might claim Mohamed’s religious beliefs and position as a Muslim boy were not reasons for suspicion, the teacher and school’s initial responses point to this incident as that within the ongoing Islamophobia in our country.
If Ahmed Mohamed had been a white boy named John Smith, for instance, I suspect the teacher would not have been so quick as to dub the homemade clock a bomb. Further, if the teacher truly thought the clock were a bomb, I suspect the school would have taken steps towards a lockdown to protect other students. Instead, Ahmed was arrested and it becomes clear that this incident is another that continues the seemingly endless battle with racism we face as a country.
Today, as a teacher as well as a student, I am terrified by the kinds of similar ideologies my students might bring with them because of my name and race.
Beyond these issues, Ahmed Mohamed’s story represents one many children like him continue to deal with on a daily basis. As a minority student, I know first-hand how moments likes these often cause children with names like Ahmed’s and mine to be silenced, to fear going to school, to hate participating in the American education system.
I remember distinctly how isolated I felt as a fifth-grade student right after 9/11.
I remember the terror I felt when I heard customers at my dad’s business call him a terrorist repeatedly because of his name and race. I worried my teachers and other students thought similarly about me at school, especially when I found it hard to make friends during the time. Each day I begged my dad to quit his job and stay home. I feared for his life as well as the lives of the rest of my family. Though he never quit his job, repeated break-ins including one during which my mother was physically injured showed me the kind of hate people are capable of based on their uneducated assumptions of another race.
Today, as a teacher as well as a student, I am terrified by the kinds of similar ideologies my students might bring with them because of my name and race. While I imagine Ahmed’s parents will take actions against the school and those involved, this work cannot stand alone. Serious discussions must take place to educate faculty and staff at this school and all schools about difference.
When students are accused of actions based on their name and/or race, they stick with them forever. Ahmed appears to be moving forward fine after his arrest based on interviews and media coverage, but I am certain he will unfortunately forever remember how his school responded to the time he wanted to share a clock he made because he was genuinely interested in engineering. #IStandwithAhmed
Ashanka Kumari is a Ph.D student at the University of Louisville.
Cover Photo Credit: KXAS-TV/ Screenshot
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Trainpocalypse: Real Danger To The Environment Is In Not Approving The Keystone XL Pipeline
The following is the opinion of the writer of this piece and not necessarily of Rise News.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is a divisive issue in American politics. Typically, Republicans favor it, stressing its economic benefits:
“This decision isn’t surprising, but it is sickening. By rejecting this pipeline, the president is rejecting tens of thousands of good-paying jobs.” – House Speaker Paul Ryan
While Democrats mostly oppose it, with an intense focus on its environmental impact:
“Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation’s interest. And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” – President Barack Obama
Given how difficult it has become for both sides to agree on anything, let’s just start out with some indisputable facts.
- The Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada have a substantial amount of oil
- Around 48 companies have a stake in the oil sands, the majority of them not American-based
- A pipeline is one of a few different ways to transport oil
The Keystone XL Pipeline is commonly depicted by American politicians as the single determinant in whether this dirty oil is going to be extracted from the ground, but that is a narrow minded take on a large-scale problem.
Whether or not America decides to build one pipeline will not stop Canadian businesses and state and local governments from exploiting the economic windfall of this massive supply of energy. With no major pipeline to move this oil to one of its most logical destinations, many of these businesses have turned to a myriad of options.
America’s railroads have become a much more popular method to distribute their cargo, with western transportation spiking in this last quarter after President Obama vetoed the Keystone Pipeline.
“The environmental impact is negative either way, but when pipelines burst, they usually don’t present the immediate danger to life and property that derailed oil trains do.”
Transporting oil in a sealed compartment while speeding along metal rails is a much more dangerous option than pushing it through a pipeline.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration even says that “pipelines are currently still the safest means of transporting hazardous liquids and natural gas.”
If a train becomes derailed, multiple massive explosions are a possibility, as evidenced by the 2013 tragedy in Quebec that claimed 47 lives, the deadliest in the history of oil by rail.
WATCH: 2013 BBC report on the Quebec oil train tragedy
According to federal data, more oil was spilled from trains in 2013 than in the previous four decades combined. By creating a political football out of one project, we have avoided talking about the real consequences of action or inaction.
Inaction has led to a situation where oil that is especially combustible is being moved through cities and along rivers, and the problem is accelerating.
Nine railroad incidents spilled 4,900 gallons of oil throughout 2010; in 2014, 143 episodes released 57,600 gallons.
Even in the face of mounting calamities, the oil industry is dragging its feet on implementing new rail safety rules.
Granted, the rate of rail accidents has been declining since 2005, but the amount of oil being moved in the last five years isn’t even comparable to the ones preceding them. The issue has evolved into uncharted territory for the current model.
The Alberta tar sands oil industry is preparing to triple production by 2030. They are under immense pressure to find various methods to export this oil, especially since labor and materials have become more expensive.
Vetoing the creation of a pipeline into America will not keep this oil in the ground. There is plenty of demand for oil here, and any time we have the opportunity to lessen our dependence on Middle Eastern despots in order to become closer to our northern ally, we should take it.
Yes, a pipeline will have negative effects on the environment, but that oil is coming out regardless – the market has spoken. If we don’t buy it, someone else will. Saying no to a pipeline just means that more of this oil will be transported to the United States by alternative methods like rail, and there will continue to be tragedies that cost innocent lives.
The environmental impact is negative either way, but when pipelines burst, they usually don’t present the immediate danger to life and property that derailed oil trains do.
The United States should build a pipeline to the Canadian tar sands in order to alleviate the stress that is being placed on our railroads, and use the tax windfall to invest in an energy future where we don’t have to choose between a handful of lousy options.
Cover Photo Credit: Greg Gjerdingen/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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In Canada, Trudeau Is Meeting Fear With Progressive Strength
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as President of the land of the theoretically ‘free’, and home of the allegedly ‘brave’, a series of hate crimes broke out throughout the United States.
Young children exposed to hate speech at home, began imitating it in elementary schools throughout the country, bullying children whose skin tones were different from theirs, and insisting that they “go home”.
Any naïve hopes that Trump would change his ways once elected—that a year of bigotry, misogyny, and explicit racist behaviour would change once he became president—came crashing down with the White House’s announcement that Muslims from seven nations would be banned from entering the United States.
The slamming of the door to innocent Muslims created a gust of wind so strong, that it made its way up to Quebec where once again, we saw that hate inspires hate.
Canada, which has experienced very few acts of terror on its home soil, was faced with a devastating one last month.
A young, Trump and Le Pen supporting, Quebecois male decided to open fire on a room filled of innocent Canadians.
While no borders were closed in Canada—no bans were mindlessly ordered—the feelings of exclusion, hatred, and division were undoubtedly felt by Canadian and American Muslims alike.
It was with great pride and relief to watch Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, say in the aftermath of the attack “this was a group of innocents targeted for practicing their faith. Make no mistakes, this was a terrorist act.”
Too long, have acts of violence perpetrated by Muslim individuals been distinctively classified as ‘terrorist acts’.
Justin Trudeau at a 2013 event. Photo Credit: John McCallum/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
But what precisely, distinguishes an act of violence committed by a Muslim individual versus one perpetrated by a non-Muslim individual?
Read More: Rory, Obama, And Me
Why are certain individuals’ acts of violence categorically different?
If every shooting in the US got the same press coverage as a ‘terrorist’ attack—if every white-skinned American murderer was labelled a terrorist—islamophobia may not have seeped its way into the homes of millions of American and Canadians; Racism may not have been so rampantly contagious.
Trudeau stayed quiet after the election of Donald Trump.
But since his inauguration, Trudeau has been subtly standing up to our southern bully by supporting Women March protestors, demanding that FOX NEWS rectify false information victimizing Muslims, and by reminding Trump in his speech last week, that violence against minorities is an act of terrorism.
Justin Trudeau is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
As a self-proclaimed feminist, whose socially liberal ideals have defined his leadership, he is faced with the difficult task of navigating relations with a racist President who stands for everything Trudeau ideologically condemns.
Meanwhile, healthy relations with the United States is pivotal for a stable Canadian economy.
Trudeau is faced with a difficult task.
Photo Credit: trumpvstrudeau/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Either he stays quiet, embodying the Canadian stereotype of being polite to a fault or he takes a far scarier path, and refuses to surrender in the face of hatred.
Read More: Here’s How Trump’s Gaslighting Reminds Me A Lot Of My Abusive Ex
Although his future actions are unknown, perhaps Trudeau has already unveiled his plan for the next four years.
Last week he said simply, “we will not meet violence with more violence. We will meet fear and hatred with love and compassion, always.”
Maybe hate—which divides and alienates—can be overcome when met with love and compassion, which unifies.
Perhaps Canadian values of politeness & kindness are not so impotent after all.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: John McCallum/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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