Hahaha. I see this has been downvoted a lot, but honestly, it’s true and you’re fabulous. <3 Funny how so many different groups of immigrants have spent so much time fighting over land that was never theirs in the first place.
I’m very sorry to disagree, but I do think that it is important to at least listen to people when they feel they are being made fun of because of their race or culture. People who are offended are not always right, and many become too angry to make good points, but I don’t see what is so terrible about taking time to at least consider the feelings of others. I see people all the time complaining about how Christians and white people are being attacked by changes in our modern culture, but then those same people turn around to say that Muslims or Natives (who are genuine minorities) should stop complaining about the prejudices they suffer. The truth is that we should all be sensitive to each other’s feelings and comfort levels in order to build a kinder, more understanding society. This includes Christians, white people, black people, Natives, and members of all other major religions. (Except Scientology. Those guys are B-A-N-A-N-A-S.) I agree that we should not coat everything in bubble wrap, but we also should not plant our feet and refuse to change.
“For every exception we make and every change in tradition so please one group, we become weaker and more pussified as a society.”
But who established these traditions? America is becoming more progressive every day, but many of the foundational pillars of our society and of the Greek system were established by rich white men, who were the only people holding significant power in the early days of the United States. With the help of the Civil Rights Movement and other social forces, that balance has shifted significantly, which is wonderful. However, there is still a ways to go. I think that Nicki Brand is being overly confrontational in her comments here, but I agree with her that it is not a bad thing to adjust our traditions so that our sisterhoods and brotherhoods can welcome more people. It’s not being “pussified.” It’s being kind, mature and thoughtful.
I can’t speak for the concerns of these specific students, but I can say that I am Native American; not as in “my great-great-great-grandma was a Cherokee princess” but as in “my entire extended family lives in an Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area and we’re still very involved in the cultural traditions of our tribe.” (We are Comanche, in case you were wondering!) My parents opted to move away from the OTSA but made sure to raise me to be proud of my heritage and to understand the special meaning of our ancient religious traditions, our tribal clothing and the history of our people.
Although I love being in a sorority, it sometimes puts me on edge when my sisters who are not Native do things like wear our traditional headdresses or dress up as “sexy Indians” for Halloween. It makes me happy that they appreciate how beautiful these aspects of my culture are, but it also feels a bit strange to see them casually wearing items that are meant to have a very serious and special meaning. For example, headdresses (war bonnets) are only meant for tribal leaders or for people who have helped the Comanche community in an important way. In the past, our warriors were given headdresses if they helped us in our battles against another tribe or against invading settlers; today, they are most frequently given to men and women who have served in the US Armed Forces. (Last year my brother, who served 2 tours in Afghanistan, was allowed to wear a war bonnet for the first time at a regional pow-wow. It was a very emotional thing and we all cried a lot, haha.) Being allowed to wear a war bonnet is a very special thing and a huge honor. When people who don’t understand how important it is just throw one on to complete their sexy costume, it makes me a little sad. I would not call them racist, but I do wish they would take the time to learn some more about how much these symbols mean to myself and my tribe.
This is a pretty long comment and I’m sorry, but I guess the point of it is that I understand where these students are coming from. It can be disappointing to see things that are important to your culture being used by people who don’t understand their meaning. However, I don’t think this aggressive response is really merited. Maybe instead of demanding that FIJI change so much about their own traditions, they should negotiate a deal where members of the Asian Pacific Student Association can give advice to FIJI members so their celebrations are culturally accurate and not as stereotypical. They could also provide an educational seminar or something so FIJI members can learn more about the special traditions of the real-life Fiji people. Maybe they could even conduct social events and fundraisers together!
In my experience, it is better to educate other people than to get angry at them. Getting angry only inspires more anger, and then neither side has any chance of teaching the other anything.
Hahaha. I see this has been downvoted a lot, but honestly, it’s true and you’re fabulous. <3 Funny how so many different groups of immigrants have spent so much time fighting over land that was never theirs in the first place.
I’m very sorry to disagree, but I do think that it is important to at least listen to people when they feel they are being made fun of because of their race or culture. People who are offended are not always right, and many become too angry to make good points, but I don’t see what is so terrible about taking time to at least consider the feelings of others. I see people all the time complaining about how Christians and white people are being attacked by changes in our modern culture, but then those same people turn around to say that Muslims or Natives (who are genuine minorities) should stop complaining about the prejudices they suffer. The truth is that we should all be sensitive to each other’s feelings and comfort levels in order to build a kinder, more understanding society. This includes Christians, white people, black people, Natives, and members of all other major religions. (Except Scientology. Those guys are B-A-N-A-N-A-S.) I agree that we should not coat everything in bubble wrap, but we also should not plant our feet and refuse to change.
“For every exception we make and every change in tradition so please one group, we become weaker and more pussified as a society.”
But who established these traditions? America is becoming more progressive every day, but many of the foundational pillars of our society and of the Greek system were established by rich white men, who were the only people holding significant power in the early days of the United States. With the help of the Civil Rights Movement and other social forces, that balance has shifted significantly, which is wonderful. However, there is still a ways to go. I think that Nicki Brand is being overly confrontational in her comments here, but I agree with her that it is not a bad thing to adjust our traditions so that our sisterhoods and brotherhoods can welcome more people. It’s not being “pussified.” It’s being kind, mature and thoughtful.
I can’t speak for the concerns of these specific students, but I can say that I am Native American; not as in “my great-great-great-grandma was a Cherokee princess” but as in “my entire extended family lives in an Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area and we’re still very involved in the cultural traditions of our tribe.” (We are Comanche, in case you were wondering!) My parents opted to move away from the OTSA but made sure to raise me to be proud of my heritage and to understand the special meaning of our ancient religious traditions, our tribal clothing and the history of our people.
Although I love being in a sorority, it sometimes puts me on edge when my sisters who are not Native do things like wear our traditional headdresses or dress up as “sexy Indians” for Halloween. It makes me happy that they appreciate how beautiful these aspects of my culture are, but it also feels a bit strange to see them casually wearing items that are meant to have a very serious and special meaning. For example, headdresses (war bonnets) are only meant for tribal leaders or for people who have helped the Comanche community in an important way. In the past, our warriors were given headdresses if they helped us in our battles against another tribe or against invading settlers; today, they are most frequently given to men and women who have served in the US Armed Forces. (Last year my brother, who served 2 tours in Afghanistan, was allowed to wear a war bonnet for the first time at a regional pow-wow. It was a very emotional thing and we all cried a lot, haha.) Being allowed to wear a war bonnet is a very special thing and a huge honor. When people who don’t understand how important it is just throw one on to complete their sexy costume, it makes me a little sad. I would not call them racist, but I do wish they would take the time to learn some more about how much these symbols mean to myself and my tribe.
This is a pretty long comment and I’m sorry, but I guess the point of it is that I understand where these students are coming from. It can be disappointing to see things that are important to your culture being used by people who don’t understand their meaning. However, I don’t think this aggressive response is really merited. Maybe instead of demanding that FIJI change so much about their own traditions, they should negotiate a deal where members of the Asian Pacific Student Association can give advice to FIJI members so their celebrations are culturally accurate and not as stereotypical. They could also provide an educational seminar or something so FIJI members can learn more about the special traditions of the real-life Fiji people. Maybe they could even conduct social events and fundraisers together!
In my experience, it is better to educate other people than to get angry at them. Getting angry only inspires more anger, and then neither side has any chance of teaching the other anything.