I hope I’m not getting out of my lane here but I enjoy your writing and ideas so much that I can’t resist asking if you would share your take on theme of navigating the post colonial world generally. How do we deal with the colonial past? How do we teach it? What do we do with its monuments and institutions? Is cultural appropriation bad…
I hope I’m not getting out of my lane here but I enjoy your writing and ideas so much that I can’t resist asking if you would share your take on theme of navigating the post colonial world generally. How do we deal with the colonial past? How do we teach it? What do we do with its monuments and institutions? Is cultural appropriation bad or good? How do we separate the colonial contributions (eg modern political systems) from the bad and who decides? How do indigenous and the descendants of colonialists coexist? These questions are relevant to almost every country on earth. Your experience abroad and unique family background give you a good vantage point from which to think about these questions. I’ve lived in India and other countries like Mexico and all are still litigating the post colonial world.
""How do we deal with the colonial past? How do we teach it? What do we do with its monuments and institutions? Is cultural appropriation bad or good?"
😁 A lot to cover here, but very broadly speaking, I think the way to deal with the post colonial world is to stop pretending that past and present are equivalent. And to focus on real issues instead of distractions. This would be helped enormously by teaching history accurately, tying it to the present effectively, and abandoning the idea that we automatically share the sins or oppression of our ancestors. We can do this without denying our culpability in the present.
For example, let's consider a few different types of cultural appropriation.
I saw recently that some Aboriginal spears stolen by James Cook in 1770 will be returned to the original clan. I think that's great if that's what the clan wants (I'd love to see the same thing happen with the British Crown Jewels, but I won't hold my breath 😄).
There's no denying that colonialism stole a lot of material and cultural wealth from around the world and if the descendants of the original owners want it back, I think that's what should happen. That wrong, at least, can be undone relatively easily.
Then there's appropriation in the form of capitalism, which is a lot more complicated. To take Africa as an example, vast amounts of wealth and resources have been (and still are being) effectively stolen from the continent.
Right now, China is buying up vast swathes of land and infrastructure that will keep Africa indebted for centuries. This is colonialism too. Aided and abetted in the case by extreme poverty and corrupt governments (both African and Western). It's one of the greatest injustices of history and hardly anybody is talking about it because we're all, and I mean *everybody* in the west, complicit. To undo *that* colonialism we'd all need to sacrifice. To be fair, the reluctance to sacrifice for the greater good is why colonialism throughout history has gone unopposed by people of good conscience.
And this is why it's so infuriating to see people going about "cultural appropriation" in the form of dreadlocks and beads and surfing. This is what always happens. There's a legitimate problem somewhere in the world, the problem is complex or the solutions are unpalatable, and so a sect of noisy "activists" finds some idiotic low-hanging fruit that nobody really cares about and they act as if that's the key issue.
Some people *pretend* to care because it's trendy and they get social media points, and the people most affected, the people starving and dying in poverty and unsafe working conditions, never even cross their minds. But hey, at least we yelled at Kim Kardashian for wearing cornrows or for calling her shape wear line "Kimono."
Anyway, rant over.😅 I hope I mostly answered your question.
That was a take on the symbolic “cultural appropriation” as “idiotic low hanging fruit that nobody really cares about” in the context of the massive material appropriation that nobody talks about is original and really perceptive. I had never linked them that way.
When I raised the issue of the challenges of post colonialism I was not expecting your substantive answer. I was hoping it could be a topic of future articles. You have a lot to add I am sure.
There is actually one anti-appropriation law that I know of. It is on behalf of native Americans. I have a Navajo flute (crafted and sold by Navajo people) and a native American style flute (not made by native Americans). Notice the inclusion of the word style. It's the law. Selling crafts native to native Americans is a common source of income and falsely selling imitations is truly a ripoff.
That is quite different from me playing clawhammer banjo or blues which are considered to be Americana. The African roots are acknowledged but the extraordinary richness of American music is a cultural blend.
As for things like hair styles. I am a champion of women doing whatever they please to accentuate their beauty. No tribe has a monopoly.
I'm not trying to answer for Steve with this, but part of the difficulty in my opinion is that people want to maintain their tribal status. I posted this link on my Facebook page with the words, "Historical song with a hidden meaning. More of the old music is like this than I knew." The only person to put a 'like' on it was my 90-year-old conservative uncle.
Do people not want to know about such things, or do they fear being thought of a woke if they publicly like it? I didn't put it there to signal virtue or wokeness, I found it to be interesting a few days late for Black History Month.
I'm fairness I understand that my interest in history found in song is not exactly common.
I'm the book "Banjo Roots and Branches" it must have been painful for slave owners to give the detailed descriptions of their runaway slaves, but they wanted them back. "He is a skilled blacksmith and carpenter who speaks and reads English and French. He is also a fiddler who plays at dances for white people." That from people who justified being slave owners with the idea that black people were inferior, but passed laws making it unlawful to teach a black person to read with no apparent sense of irony. Something I learned because of my interest in the banjo.
I am currently working with Greg "Sule" Wilson's "Funky Banjo" instruction. Volume Two has a good bit about the history and meaning of the songs. Some black musicians refuse to play "Turkey in the Straw." He teaches the uncensored names of versions that we could not be comfortable singing. When you hear that ice cream truck coming down the street you don't think about that being "N****r Love a Watermelon Ha! HA! HA!" during the Coon Era and points out that watermelon were a taste from home.
He teaches "Run N****r; Run or the M.P. 'll Catch You" (without the asterix) with the explanation. "Yes, we get it. Most folks are NOT going to sing this song in public; to use the word "n****r" is still pretty volatile. Yet we include it. Why? A couple of reasons. One: ALL our history is not to be shut out least we not learn from our mistakes. Two: This folk expression of bravery and humanity, a testament to heart and perseverance, was taken and used against us. Let's all grow up, re-contextualize and heal."
I hope I’m not getting out of my lane here but I enjoy your writing and ideas so much that I can’t resist asking if you would share your take on theme of navigating the post colonial world generally. How do we deal with the colonial past? How do we teach it? What do we do with its monuments and institutions? Is cultural appropriation bad or good? How do we separate the colonial contributions (eg modern political systems) from the bad and who decides? How do indigenous and the descendants of colonialists coexist? These questions are relevant to almost every country on earth. Your experience abroad and unique family background give you a good vantage point from which to think about these questions. I’ve lived in India and other countries like Mexico and all are still litigating the post colonial world.
Interested?
""How do we deal with the colonial past? How do we teach it? What do we do with its monuments and institutions? Is cultural appropriation bad or good?"
😁 A lot to cover here, but very broadly speaking, I think the way to deal with the post colonial world is to stop pretending that past and present are equivalent. And to focus on real issues instead of distractions. This would be helped enormously by teaching history accurately, tying it to the present effectively, and abandoning the idea that we automatically share the sins or oppression of our ancestors. We can do this without denying our culpability in the present.
For example, let's consider a few different types of cultural appropriation.
I saw recently that some Aboriginal spears stolen by James Cook in 1770 will be returned to the original clan. I think that's great if that's what the clan wants (I'd love to see the same thing happen with the British Crown Jewels, but I won't hold my breath 😄).
There's no denying that colonialism stole a lot of material and cultural wealth from around the world and if the descendants of the original owners want it back, I think that's what should happen. That wrong, at least, can be undone relatively easily.
Then there's appropriation in the form of capitalism, which is a lot more complicated. To take Africa as an example, vast amounts of wealth and resources have been (and still are being) effectively stolen from the continent.
Right now, China is buying up vast swathes of land and infrastructure that will keep Africa indebted for centuries. This is colonialism too. Aided and abetted in the case by extreme poverty and corrupt governments (both African and Western). It's one of the greatest injustices of history and hardly anybody is talking about it because we're all, and I mean *everybody* in the west, complicit. To undo *that* colonialism we'd all need to sacrifice. To be fair, the reluctance to sacrifice for the greater good is why colonialism throughout history has gone unopposed by people of good conscience.
And this is why it's so infuriating to see people going about "cultural appropriation" in the form of dreadlocks and beads and surfing. This is what always happens. There's a legitimate problem somewhere in the world, the problem is complex or the solutions are unpalatable, and so a sect of noisy "activists" finds some idiotic low-hanging fruit that nobody really cares about and they act as if that's the key issue.
Some people *pretend* to care because it's trendy and they get social media points, and the people most affected, the people starving and dying in poverty and unsafe working conditions, never even cross their minds. But hey, at least we yelled at Kim Kardashian for wearing cornrows or for calling her shape wear line "Kimono."
Anyway, rant over.😅 I hope I mostly answered your question.
Well said Steve. Very well said.
That was a take on the symbolic “cultural appropriation” as “idiotic low hanging fruit that nobody really cares about” in the context of the massive material appropriation that nobody talks about is original and really perceptive. I had never linked them that way.
When I raised the issue of the challenges of post colonialism I was not expecting your substantive answer. I was hoping it could be a topic of future articles. You have a lot to add I am sure.
There is actually one anti-appropriation law that I know of. It is on behalf of native Americans. I have a Navajo flute (crafted and sold by Navajo people) and a native American style flute (not made by native Americans). Notice the inclusion of the word style. It's the law. Selling crafts native to native Americans is a common source of income and falsely selling imitations is truly a ripoff.
That is quite different from me playing clawhammer banjo or blues which are considered to be Americana. The African roots are acknowledged but the extraordinary richness of American music is a cultural blend.
As for things like hair styles. I am a champion of women doing whatever they please to accentuate their beauty. No tribe has a monopoly.
I'm not trying to answer for Steve with this, but part of the difficulty in my opinion is that people want to maintain their tribal status. I posted this link on my Facebook page with the words, "Historical song with a hidden meaning. More of the old music is like this than I knew." The only person to put a 'like' on it was my 90-year-old conservative uncle.
https://youtu.be/UYJafpW1siE
Do people not want to know about such things, or do they fear being thought of a woke if they publicly like it? I didn't put it there to signal virtue or wokeness, I found it to be interesting a few days late for Black History Month.
That video was history, not wokeness or postmodernism. Thanks for it!
I'm fairness I understand that my interest in history found in song is not exactly common.
I'm the book "Banjo Roots and Branches" it must have been painful for slave owners to give the detailed descriptions of their runaway slaves, but they wanted them back. "He is a skilled blacksmith and carpenter who speaks and reads English and French. He is also a fiddler who plays at dances for white people." That from people who justified being slave owners with the idea that black people were inferior, but passed laws making it unlawful to teach a black person to read with no apparent sense of irony. Something I learned because of my interest in the banjo.
I am currently working with Greg "Sule" Wilson's "Funky Banjo" instruction. Volume Two has a good bit about the history and meaning of the songs. Some black musicians refuse to play "Turkey in the Straw." He teaches the uncensored names of versions that we could not be comfortable singing. When you hear that ice cream truck coming down the street you don't think about that being "N****r Love a Watermelon Ha! HA! HA!" during the Coon Era and points out that watermelon were a taste from home.
He teaches "Run N****r; Run or the M.P. 'll Catch You" (without the asterix) with the explanation. "Yes, we get it. Most folks are NOT going to sing this song in public; to use the word "n****r" is still pretty volatile. Yet we include it. Why? A couple of reasons. One: ALL our history is not to be shut out least we not learn from our mistakes. Two: This folk expression of bravery and humanity, a testament to heart and perseverance, was taken and used against us. Let's all grow up, re-contextualize and heal."
Should this history not be taught? Why?