From Melting Pot to Big Stew

May 9, 2018

A girl found a beautiful dress at a vintage store and wore it to her prom. The dress was a Chinese cheongsam; it was beautiful, she loved it, she bought it, she wore it. She wasn’t Chinese.

When she posted pictures, some people got into a snit, saying she was “appropriating” Chinese culture. (Apparently, whoever placed the dress in the store for resale wasn't too worried about it, but somebody was.)

Cultural Appropriation is a thing now, wherein you find something appealing from another culture, you adopt it, and people get mad about it. Forget the fact that most recipes, music, and fashion are adapted from some sort of foreign culture, because America was settled by—well, foreigners. And we became neighbors, and shared our cultures, and learned about each other and found out ways that we’re similar as well as ways that we’re different.

America used to take pride in being a melting pot. Now everything causes a big stew.