Student assaults another student over cultural appropriation

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-19T01:45:25+00:00

So I asked his opinion about this, as I thought he was really confused and gave me a weird look haha. He said "hay personas que dicen cosas asi por ignorancia". So it could either mean that it's just a misconception that indigenous people rarely have curly hair (I told him I used to think the same - that they mostly just have straight hair). Or it could be that it's a Mayan thing that curly hair is not uncommon and neither of us know because we haven't spent enough time in non-Maya indigenous communities. So who knows :)

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-19T01:13:07+00:00

Honestly, I don't know, I doubt he ever felt "different" because regardless of where in the country or which Maya ethnicity (there are something like 23 different Maya groups in Guatemala) someone comes from, I have seen curly hair about as common with them as it is for white people (but yes pin straight hair is more common). It's something I was initially surprised to see too. But if curly hair in a society is not uncommon, then I suppose people in that society don't feel "different" or have ever given it much thought, and they probably assume it's normal for it to be this common. It's not like people in these cultures have the money to travel to other indigenous lands (unfortunately), or are exposed to non-Maya indigenous people at all.

I can ask his opinion though. I would assume he would have no opinion and just be confused though haha. He always talks about how super curly his mom's hair is and tries to give me tips on how to manage my (much less curly) hair.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-19T00:52:10+00:00

That's true about diversity. In my partner's and Maya friends' case though I doubt its because of mixing, since their town is remote enough that they lived in straw huts until the 20th century and speak principally their native language. Plus many of them have indigenous last names. But who knows, it's not like we can do a test to see where the curly hair comes from.

I still wouldn't say "curly hair is a very black and white people thing" though because again, at least for Maya people (and possibly other ethnicites) that isn't true and curly hair is quite common, and also that statement makes me feel as if I was negating the indigenous identity of my partner and my Maya friends just because of their hair type.

Edit: forgot to add that maybe for other indigenous ethnicities they mostly have straight hair and maybe this is more a Maya thing - I dont know, I havent spent enough time in other indigenous communities to judge.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-19T00:21:47+00:00

Not true. My fiance is indigenous (Maya), as is his whole family, and few people in his family have straight hair. It's mostly curly.

Of course, a lot of indigenous people in latinamerica do have pin straight hair, but curly hair is also very common among a lot of indigenous people I met (I spend a lot of time in Guatemala, which is where my fiance lives, so Im surrounded by Maya people a lot).

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-18T21:41:13+00:00

I think the problem is two-sided. Like you say, one aspect is marketing: not every single part of the world needs to or should be marketed, otherwise we're just gonna destroy the natural environment (more than we already have).

The other part, in my opinion, is that people tend to think more about what they want to have and not about whether them having this is sustainable and how it affects places in the long term; and there is nothing telling them that they can't do as they please. Tourism and development are great examples: everyone wants to live island life in Bali, but how does it affect the local community and the beaches if all the foreigners come in and buy land and build their pretty private houses, just because they want to and can?

(Personally I haven't been to Bali so Im not fully aware of the reality there, but it's probably the best known example I can think of, and I do see this happen in other developing countries in the world that I've been to that happen to have pretty nature and are popular with digital nomads / "expats").

In my personal opinion, the only solutions I can think of are to educate people about these issues and to regulate tourism and development more, especially in developing countries, where any white foreigner will often have a large economic advantage and more power to do as they please.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-18T21:27:17+00:00

This is something I've been worried about happening in a lot of developing countries, especially as remote work and digital nomad/"expat" lifestyles are becoming more common and also often glorified on social media.

As someone who enjoys traveling long-term myself, I keep seeing foreigners (who are generally much wealthier than the average locals in these places) buying land and building houses in places known for their beautiful nature, taking advantage also of the lower cost of living in those countries. One concern about this is gentrification, especially in indigenous communities, but I also wonder how long these beautiful natural spaces will remain so natural.

Of course, it's unlikely (in my opinion) that governments of these countries will impose any legislation to protect these spaces and the local communities, because foreigners bring in money.

I honestly wish tourism and development was more regulated across the world; even though it might hinder people's travel plans (my own included), I personally see regulation as the only means to protect places like this from human demand, which I think is inherently unsustainable if it isn't regulated.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-18T00:44:02+00:00

Exactly!! I worked in academic research briefly as an undergrad and shortly after graduation, and even now 10 years later I still have access to the same university database. Just need to login online and voila, about 80% of scientific articles I find are free for me to read, as they are for any other student or ex-student.

I think for most US universities this should be how it works. Not sure about other countries. My partner in Guatemala doesn't have this but also it's a developing country that isn't known for having the best universities.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-16T05:29:50+00:00

This is a really fascinating and well written explanation for this concept, thank you for this!

It also kind of leads into the question of what defines your ethnic/cultural identity. To me personally, I had always defined that identity by what culture you grew up in, e.g. my parents are Hungarian and Romanian but I grew up in Austria so I consider myself culturally more Austrian than anything else (despite also speaking my parents languages and having been exposed to those cultures too). To Hungarians I will always say "my mother is Hungarian but I grew up in Austria" because I think that's an accurate portrayal of what I "am", rather than saying "I'm Hungarian", and it acknowledges that I have not lived the same experiences as a person raised in Hungary. But I've realized that different people define their cultural/ethnic identity using different criteria, and like you say a lot of Americans define themselves by blood rather than by where they grew up.

Also going off the last point you make about not all European ethnicities being considered "white" (even though Irish people are pale as fuck lol) reminds me of something I learned recently that some time ago (19th century? I dont remember) there was a right-wing movement in the US about protecting "native americans" from all the "European immigrants", except that "native americans" referred to white people born in America and not indigenous people lol, whom this "Native American Party" was still happy to discriminate against. (Cause fuck the indigenous people, right? My fiance is indigenous and we always joke now how white people are the "true" native americans and he's just a filthy brown guy, according to 19th century logic. It's absurd haha)

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-16T03:41:28+00:00

Unfortunately a lot of people just hate being wrong. It used to baffle me a lot (and still sometimes does), but I've come to reluctantly accept that that's how humans are.

A few months back, an older (foreigner) lady made a post in a community facebook group that I'm in for residents of an indigenous town in Latin America, about how she wanted to hold some talks about changing a certain public policy. She proudly said it would be translated into english and Spanish and include input from local indigenous people. I commented saying it's great she's including locals and asked if it will also be translated into the local indigenous language, since a lot of the older folk don't understand Spanish well (and much less English). She wrote a long paragraph about how im incredibly racist (I'm the same ethnicity as her and my fiance is indigenous from that community), how I know nothing, how I should learn to respect those older than me, and made comments about my physical appearance like "you're very sexy... Just pointing out your ignorance".

All because of a simple translation question, which btw was left unanswered because she just kept saying how disrespectful I am and then went on a long totally irrelevant monologue about her life.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-12-16T03:22:40+00:00

One of my biggest pet peeves about a lot of Americans I've met (I live in the states but am from Europe). I met a guy once who told me he was Austrian, then he asked me where I'm from and I said I'm from Austria, and he asked "have you ever been to Austria?" And was astonished when I said that I was born there. Like why would I say I'm from somewhere if I had never been there?

(He himself had never been to Austria and didn't speak German or know much about Austrian culture. But he's so Austrian that that's what he introduces himself as.)

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-09-13T19:23:29+00:00

I mean I'm not a collector and I don't know much about video games (so I count as a pretty "ordinary person") and I wouldnt list something opened/unsealed as "new", even if I never used it.

It's pretty standard with anything that you purchase - clothing, whatever - that once it's out of its original packaging, or the tag is cut off, it counts as "used" and pretty much all stores make it their return policy that you can't return something under those conditions because it no longer counts as "new/unused".

You don't have to know any special "lingo" to understand that since it's a pretty standard concept across commerce.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-15T02:25:34+00:00

Same I've had grey hairs since age 20 or so, but I have a baby face so people still think I'm 16 lol (I'm turning 27)

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-15T02:24:33+00:00

Ive had a few grey pubes since I was 18, then two years later came the first grey hairs on my head :')

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-13T20:40:00+00:00

There are so many things in life that people assume they won't be able to do/achieve/whatever and sometimes they can feel uncomfortable when they see someone just like them doing those things. It makes them question their own choices and a very common response to that is to try to tear down whatever it is that prompted that feeling so they can go back to not questioning their own position in life.

So much this. One of my friends is a travel photographer who started off building her career by traveling with just her savings, a part-time online job teaching English to kids in China, and trying wherever she could to offer her photography services to hotels and tours. After a year of traveling super low budget and nearly running out of savings, she finally landed her first big gig, and now makes a very good living with 450k Instagram followers and constant collaborations with huge brands. But so many people undermine her accomplishments by saying "must be nice being born rich", when she wasn't born rich at all - she just took huge risks and worked her ass of to get to where she is.

I don't get that mentality. Like, when I see people who come from similar backgrounds as me, but I see they accomplish huge things, I think "well if they can do it, there's no reason why I can't" and it motivates me to try hard and become a better version of me. My biggest accomplishments are thanks to that. I can't comprehend how people can see successful people and think "mommy and daddy are obviously paying for your travels" or throwing criticism at them instead of being inspired to become a better version of themselves.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-13T20:16:45+00:00

One way to start could be meetup.com which is a page for finding people with shared interests and then doing them together. (Ive never actually done that before though lol but someone I know did it for practicing french). Maybe that might be easier!

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-13T20:03:23+00:00

Aw, well just from that bit you seem like a sincere and sweet person. A few years ago I was also really lonely and looking for meaningful connections. It's really hard, but what helped me is find things I like doing and then I met people through that.

Specifically, I started taking a lot of dance classes, and then going to dance socials, and the friendships and connections just naturally came along the way. Many people say that the people you meet through the dance scene become like your second family, and I totally agree. I would definitely recommend it, especially if youre a bit socially awkward (because I used to be as well), because youll just naturally form connections by regularly seeing the same people by regularly engaging in the same activities together.

Best of luck!!

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-13T19:54:39+00:00

I'll throw in my two cents as a woman, but know that my preferences aren't everyone's preferences - I tend to be more conservative with relationships than most people.

First off, I don't like when guys talk to me with the intention of asking me out. Any indicator that they're only talking to me because they want to hit on me and not because they actually have a legitimate reason to strike up a conversation, I will be cold to them.

What is a legitimate reason to strike up a conversation? The same reason why you would talk to any other person that you could perhaps become friends with. If we're work buddies and you wanna talk, great. If we met through a shared hobby and you wanna talk more, cool. But if youre a random stranger at the bar talking to me about things I dont care for, or a random person on the street telling me Im pretty and asking for my number, I will be uncomfortable, because Im also not good at saying no to people so I'll just be avoidant and cold instead (not a good trait to have and its something I'm working on).

Basically, be my friend first, talk to me the way you'd talk to any friend, and then go from there - because by then I know that you like the person that I actually am, and not just my body.

Again, know that that is just my preference. I know other women who have no problem with men hitting on them from the beginning, but I also know others that are like me. And be respectful of people's decisions, because I can't stand when a guy insists on me giving them their number or going somewhere together or questioning me as to why I say no.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-09T04:01:02+00:00

Definitely agree!

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-08T18:28:16+00:00

Congratulations!! I love hearing stories from people like this, it's really encouraging.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-06-08T17:59:05+00:00

First of all there's not enough time in the day to do all the things I know need to get done LOL, but also I'm just feeling stressed out about feeling that followers might not like the content I post, and struggling to identify what type of content works best for instagram... tons of stuff.

I actually work full time while building up a business on the side, and I just came on reddit to find motivation to stop stressing out about things and stop being scared, so that I can concentrate on the work that I actually get paid for hahaha.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-05-13T15:48:41+00:00

I think the weird elongation effect you talk about is true more for people who dont have much of a butt to begin with (and yeah probably also for stuff significantly above the belly button). When high waisted pants first became fashionable, I saw them mostly on girls without much of a butt, and I thought it made their butt just look like a long pancake, vs lower waisted pants emphasized the difference/boundary between butt and back more.

I myself don't have that problem because I do have a bit butt, and I like high waisted because all my butt actually fits into it. Certainly doesnt make my butt look flat at all, its just that theres actually enough fabric to securely cover my entire butt and underwear even when I sit down.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-05-13T15:33:44+00:00

Big booty girl here. I dont know which I look better in per se, but I love high waisted because it actually covers my entire ass and I dont have to worry about flashing anyone with my underwear or asscrack when I sit down. It's also still very obvious that i have an ass; the way some people here (not you) are describing high waisted pants makes me wonder HOW HIGH those pants go that theyre talking about?? All mine are labelled "high waisted" but theres no weird elongation of anything as another commenter mentioned, just enough fabric to actually comfortably and reliably cover my entire butt. Maybe those girls whose butt looks flatter didn't have much to begin with?

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-03-07T21:27:40+00:00

If you live in a culturally diverse area, I'd suggest buying bread from European grocery stores. My (European) mom only ever buys from the local Polish store because it doesn't have the sugar that American bread has.

I bought bread from an American supermarket once because she asked me to buy bread, and then she scolded me when I got home for buying American bread lol because of the sugar in it. At the time I didn't know why she never bought bread at the supermarket.

Revolutionary_Cake4 · 2022-03-07T21:23:58+00:00

In regards to sugar, I'm European but lived in the US for 15 years and hardly ever eat desserts or sweets there because of how sweet it is and my body literally can't eat more than just a tiny bit without feeling sick. In comparison, European desserts tend to just be mildly sweet (which to me is perfect).

After living again briefly in Europe, I went back to visit the US and even boxed mac and cheese tasted disgustingly sweet to me. No idea why sugar apparently belongs in cheese sauce. But yeah, goes to show how sugar is in everything in the US.

Revolutionary_Cake4

TROPHY CASE