# Cultural appropriation part...XV **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 25, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440 "2017-05-25T20:33:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/1 "2017-05-25T20:33:03Z")
So i saw a clip of some chick accosting a poor guy wearing a pancho on Cinque De Mayo and accusing him of cultural appropriation. Never mind that May 5 is to Mexicans as Say…Lee Jackson Day is to Americans. or that the real name of the holiday should be “Excuse For Americans to Binge Margaritas Day” But if that’s cultural appropriation…then isn’t Ocktoberfest? Or St. Patrick’s Day? Or…non-christians who happen to celebrate Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/2 "2017-05-26T04:20:15Z")
Poncho. Pancho is a nick for Francisco, poncho is a large cape with a hole to stick your head through. And it’s Oktoberfest. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/3 "2017-05-26T04:29:32Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Poncho. Pancho is a nick for Francisco, poncho is a large cape with a hole to stick your head through. And it’s Oktoberfest. No no no it’s “Poncho and Lefty” right? And Doc Ocktoberfest. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/4 "2017-05-26T05:01:39Z")
If wearing a poncho is cultural appropriation, then I am in trouble many times over. I have one and I love wearing it; it is really comfy…! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/5 "2017-05-26T14:37:08Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > If wearing a poncho is cultural appropriation, then I am in trouble many times over. I have one and I love wearing it; it is really comfy…! And let us not talk about the things you do to beer… ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/6 "2017-05-26T14:44:02Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And it’s Oktoberfest. Not anymore. It’s been appropriated to Ocktoberfest. Take that, Germans! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/7 "2017-05-26T14:51:52Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Poncho. Pancho is a nick for Francisco, poncho is a large cape with a hole to stick your head through. And it’s Oktoberfest. And what is “Cinque de Mayo”? Is that Cinco de Mayo appropriated by Italians? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/8 "2017-05-26T14:54:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And what is “Cinque de Mayo”? Is that Cinco de Mayo appropriated by Italians? Cinque - old timey word for five. As in the Cinque Ports (five ports). From Middle English cink, from Middle French cinq, from Latin quīnque. The spelling is influenced by Italian cinque. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/9 "2017-05-26T14:57:03Z")
First time I’ve heard of “Lee Jackson Day.” God, what a terrible idea. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/10 "2017-05-26T15:08:34Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > But if that’s cultural appropriation…then isn’t … St. Patrick’s Day? I am pretty sure some people think so. I sort of think Outback Steakhouse is too. In a shaking-my-head kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/11 "2017-05-26T15:47:01Z")
The next time one of those “cultural appropriation” assholes hassles you, demand that they immediately stop using any words that aren’t native Anglo-Saxon. And stop using anything written, since the alphabet we use was originally Phoenician. Then demand that they strip, because they are probably wearing cotton, and that isn’t indigenous to wherever their remote ancestors are from either. Then punch them in the neck. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/12 "2017-05-26T15:55:07Z")
[Speaking of…](http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/05/22/19028161/this-week-in-appropriation-kooks-burritos-and-willamette-week). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/13 "2017-05-26T16:02:17Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [Speaking of..](http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/05/22/19028161/this-week-in-appropriation-kooks-burritos-and-willamette-week). Yeah, we got a big discussion on that in the SJW pit thread if you want to peek over there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/14 "2017-05-26T16:18:37Z")
I guess I’ll have to mothball my Urban Sombrero. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/15 "2017-05-26T16:27:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, we got a big discussion on that in the SJW pit thread if you want to peek over there. Wow. That’s a mess. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/16 "2017-05-26T17:11:06Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Poncho. Pancho is a nick for Francisco, poncho is a large cape with a hole to stick your head through. And it’s Oktoberfest. What about this guy;) > **[Poncho Sanchez](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poncho_Sanchez)** > > Poncho Sánchez (born Ildefonso Sanchez, October 30, 1951\[citation needed\]) is an American conguero (conga player), Latin jazz band leader, and salsa singer. In 2000, he and his ensemble won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for their work on the Concord Picante album Latin Soul. Sanchez has performed with artists including Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaría, Hugh Masekela, Clare Fischer, and Tower of Power. > The youngest of eleven children, Poncho Sanchez was born in Laredo, Texas and reared... ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/17 "2017-05-26T18:20:57Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [Speaking of..](http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/05/22/19028161/this-week-in-appropriation-kooks-burritos-and-willamette-week). I liked this part: > [@](#): > > And call attention to it we did. As soon as Willamette Week, who has a history of publishing racially insensitive food commentary, published this story, people of color were outraged. Even some of those aforementioned super liberal white people. The comments on the article went up in flames, and pretty soon the story was even picked up by a national outlet. Translation: “Nobody but a handful of people actually gave a shit until we made giving a shit contingent on being a right and proper liberal, resulting in a widespread round of social media virtue-signalling that probably resulted in job loss for two ladies who really liked tacos.” The other day I used the term ‘‘spirit animal’’ to describe a particularly shy octopus and my best friend said she recently learned that is cultural appropriation. I told her I’m sick to goddamn death of being lectured by other overeducated white people whose sum total contribution to social justice is angry Facebook memes. The media is totally complicit in this and I am getting Ray Bradbury levels of paranoid about the role of the media in shaping public discourse. I am a ginormous liberal who is sick to death of liberal bullshit. I’m sick of conservative bullshit too, but I take the liberal stuff personally. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/18 "2017-05-26T18:24:58Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > The other day I used the term ‘‘spirit animal’’ to describe a particularly shy octopus and my best friend said she recently learned that is cultural appropriation. Good grief. You can’t even talk about anything for fear of offending someone. People need to put on their big girl/boy pants and suck it up. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/19 "2017-05-26T18:26:12Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Appropriation of what? People who lived in Atlantis? 😕😕😕 ‘‘Sprit animal’’ = culturally specific to Native Americans. Ergo, cultural appropriation. The thing that bugs me about the cultural appropriation argument is that a given person from that culture is likely to have a unique perspective on how they feel about that particular activity. Saying that using ‘‘spirit animal’’ is offensive to Native Americans is, in effect, treating Native Americans as one monolithic entity with the same feelings about everything - or, at the very least, using the most offended person as the yardstick to go by, which seems like a bad idea for any social norm. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440/20 "2017-05-26T18:32:14Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > ‘‘Sprit animal’’ = culturally specific to Native Americans. Ergo, cultural appropriation. Well, not really. A totem (Ojibwe doodem) is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe. While the term totem is Ojibwe, belief in tutelary spirits and deities is not limited to indigenous peoples of the Americas but common to a number of cultures worldwide, such as Africa, Arabia, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Arctic. However, the traditional people of those cultures have words for their guardian spirits in their own languages, and do not call these spirits or symbols, “totems”. The Fylgjur Remember the cats, ravens, and other familiar spirits who are often the companions of witches in European folktales? These are fylgjur (pronounced “FILG-yur”) in the plural and fylgja (pronounced “FILG-ya”; Old Norse for “follower”) in the singular. The fylgja is generally an **animal spirit** , although, every now and then, a human helping spirit is also called a fylgja in Old Norse literature. The well-being of the fylgja is intimately tied to that of its owner – for example, if the fylgja dies, its owner dies, too. Its character and form are closely connected to the character of its owner; a person of noble birth might have a bear fylgja, a savage and violent person, a wolf, or a gluttonous person, a pig. This helping spirit can be seen as the totem of a single person rather than of a group. Many of the gods and goddesses have personal totem animals which may or may not be fylgjur. For example, Odin is particularly associated with wolves, ravens, and horses, Thor with goats, and Freya and Freyr with wild boars. It should come as no surprise, then, that their human devotees have personal totems of their own. Sorry, very common in Human history. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-appropriation-part-xv/787440.md?page=2)