# University yoga class canceled because of 'oppression, cultural genocide' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452 "2015-11-24T17:30:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/41 "2015-11-25T01:22:06Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Does this mean we can make Italians give up their tomatoes now? Sure! Because, if I’m reading my tomato-grower’s handbook correctly, the “Don’t worry if your plants aren’t beautiful. After all, they started out as mere Peruvian weeds.” would suggest the Italians appropriated them from the Peruvians or someone in between – Missionary explorers of some type? Making the Italians drop tomatoes from their cuisine would still leave us with salsas from Central and South America, plus Italian pesto and al fredo sauces, wouldn’t it? And modern people in the USA should quit polluting their sushi menus with “California Rolls” and “Philadelphia Rolls” and other abominations because the originating culture didn’t have access to ingredients like avocado and creamed cheese? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The physical activities which are called yoga in the western world are only an insignificant portion of what yoga is in Indian culture. My understanding is that yoga a whole lifestyle that is supposed to being a person closer to divine enlightenment. One portion of this is meditation and one portion of meditation is getting your body in the right position. And as an aid to help people get their bodies in the right position some yoga teachers described some stretching routines. And these stretching routines somehow became identified as the whole of yoga to the western world. It would be the equivalent of somebody describing Christianity as a system of kneeling. Wow! It would be like all those ancient Chinese movements used to thoroughly kick someone’s ass were just calisthenic exercises to prepare Buddhist priests for the rigors of intense meditation on the Vedas and Upanishads and Koans and such, but then those movements were taught separately from the mental and spiritual stuff as “just a system of fighting.” 😕 > [@Grey](#): > > But ultimately the terms and focus of the activity will evolve… Or deteriorate. Like the fighting techniques that spread from the Far East to the Western world have deteriorated (spiritually) to the point that kids in California just refer to all of those fight classes as “Kr-Rotty” 😉 > [@ratatoskK](#): > > The instructor offered to change the name of the class to “mindful stretching,” Actually a good friend of mine complained about this back in the late 1980’s. The University of California had changed the Hatha Yoga (or some variant of Yoga, I can’t remember precisely which) classes to “Mindful Stretching” classes because there were suspicions that the teachers were mentioning things like spiritual connections and mystical (non Christian) philosophies. So the instructors had to change the name of the classes and were told to avoid mentioning Chakras, spirit, atman, any divine or mystical entities whatsoever, et cetera. My friend said the courses were just boring stretching routines without the content from India’s philosophies and religions.☹ –G! \*And don’t, for that matter, pretend you’re more authentic by skipping the sushi and ordering Tonkatsu or Tempura. Battered-and-boiled-in-oil cooking was introduced to Japan by the Portuguese. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/42 "2015-11-25T01:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=Grestarian] Like the fighting techniques that spread from the Far East to the Western world have deteriorated (spiritually) to the point that kids in California just refer to all of those fight classes as “Kr-Rotty” 😉 [/QUOTE] At that, guys from Japan and Korea have won Olympic gold in Greco-Roman wrestling. I’m not sure whether to emphasize “Greco-Roman” or, y’know, “Olympic”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/43 "2015-11-25T02:15:14Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > That is so Canadian :D. > > Oh, speaking of Canadians getting miffed about cultural assimilation, ask a Canadian what they thought when the NHL tried to expand to Southern US cities ;). To base hockey teams in cities without snow is just wrong. Even Los Angeles. And I’m not even that much into hockey. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/44 "2015-11-25T02:16:58Z")
[Indians have made concerted efforts to export yoga to the West since the 19th century.](http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2015/11/university_canceled_yoga_class_no_it_s_not_cultural_appropriation_to_practice.html) As a (very peaceful) weapon against British imperialism no less. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/45 "2015-11-25T02:17:17Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Way to exclude the mindless community. #EndTheOppression I would drop in on a Mindless Stretching class just to see what it’s like. I imagine it would look like a Gary Larson cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/46 "2015-11-25T03:55:27Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I would drop in on a Mindless Stretching class just to see what it’s like. I imagine it would look like a Gary Larson cartoon. There are less pants, for a start. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/47 "2015-11-25T03:57:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My understanding is this isn’t generally true. The physical activities which are called yoga in the western world are only an insignificant portion of what yoga is in Indian culture. My understanding is that yoga a whole lifestyle that is supposed to being a person closer to divine enlightenment. One portion of this is meditation and one portion of meditation is getting your body in the right position. And as an aid to help people get their bodies in the right position some yoga teachers described some stretching routines. And these stretching routines somehow became identified as the whole of yoga to the western world. It would be the equivalent of somebody describing Christianity as a system of kneeling. I take your point, and I don’t disagree. I guess what I’m saying, though, is that by and large yoga wasn’t brought to the West by westerners who traveled to India and picked and chose certain superficial bits of the system to take home, if I understand the history correctly. It was brought here by experienced Indian yogis who were fully versed in the discipline and made their own choices as to how to adapt it to a western audience. If we second-guess their decisions, is that perhaps culturally arrogant? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/48 "2015-11-25T04:44:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, the point is that what you mean doesn’t actually matter all that much. Is it considered acceptable to do blackface because you admire black people? No, because blackface is offensive. It’s fine, the whole idea is getting the right color shoe polish[.](http://itsalwayssunny.wikia.com/wiki/Dee_Reynolds:_Shaping_America's_Youth) > [@](#): > > So, too, is appropriating the headdress of American Indians. **They have to work their entire lives to earn every single feather.** You just put it on like a costume. You do it on Halloween, as a way to have fun. It’s trivializing something that is really important to them, no matter what your intentions. The main thing that’s bothered me about people who complain about appropriation of Native American symbols and also the people who say that it is no big deal - there’s lots of assumptions that Native Americans are some monolithic bloc with similar beliefs, practices, and opinions. Some Plains Indians may rightly consider it part of their culture, but that doesn’t mean that some coastal tribe should care. And of course, wearing an “Indian” Halloween costume often turns out to be as accurate if someone dressed as “American” for Halloween, wearing fanny packs, fat suits, and such. > [@Grestarian](#): > > \*And don’t, for that matter, pretend you’re more authentic by skipping the sushi and ordering Tonkatsu or Tempura. Battered-and-boiled-in-oil cooking was introduced to Japan by the Portuguese. :smack: What’s more, the name “tonkatsu” is half English (from “cutlet”), and we have forced them to adopt our language. We even forced them to use [an entire writing system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana) for foreign words, mostly English! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/49 "2015-11-25T04:54:07Z")
Brits better give up their tea, too! The controversy in Washington isn’t as much over Native Americans as a mascot. I mean, yeah, that’s part of it. But the biggest issue is that “Redskin” is considered to be a racial slur. > [@Senegoid](#): > > In other news: The al-jabr that we stole from those Ay-rabs or whoever they were, we’ve desecrated and mangled beyond anything that [al-Khwārizmī](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Musa_al-Khwarizmi) would ever recognize! We must all demand that our schools cancel all Algebra classes forthwith! Twenty years ago, I actually would’ve supported that. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/50 "2015-11-25T13:16:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The controversy in Washington isn’t as much over Native Americans as a mascot. I mean, yeah, that’s part of it. But the biggest issue is that “Redskin” is considered to be a racial slur. Exactly. We would never tolerate a sports team called the Niggers or the Chinks. So, why do we accept the Redskins? ETA: For the same reason, the Cleveland Indians get a lot of flak over their mascot, which is a really awful red-skinned caricature of a Native American. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/51 "2015-11-25T14:03:54Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Brits better give up their tea, too! > > The controversy in Washington isn’t as much over Native Americans as a mascot. I mean, yeah, that’s part of it. But the biggest issue \*\*is that “Redskin” is considered to be a racial slur. \*\* > > Twenty years ago, I actually would’ve supported that. [bolding mine] Is it though? I’ve never heard anyone use that term before except when referring to the football team. I don’t even think of Native Americans when I hear that term, I immediately think of the team. IMHO, some people are just actively seeking out things they think some other group should be offended about. It’s getting ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/52 "2015-11-25T14:19:59Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Just as bloody well zero is out of copyright. Imagine the royalties we’d all owe. I know this is supposed to be a joke but when one of the fundamental rules of copyrights is that only creative works of expression are protected—not scientific concepts—it’s just not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/53 "2015-11-25T15:28:37Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know this is supposed to be a joke but when one of the fundamental rules of copyrights is that only creative works of expression are protected—not scientific concepts—it’s just not funny. I think we’ve found the person who complained. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/54 "2015-11-25T15:31:28Z")
Now THATS funny! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/55 "2015-11-25T16:08:11Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know this is supposed to be a joke but when one of the fundamental rules of copyrights is that only creative works of expression are protected—not scientific concepts—it’s just not funny. The nitpick is supposed to be that the term is “patent”, not “copyright”. Anyhoo. Cultural genocide? Hindi, the language whence Yoga terms are derived, is spoken by around 900 million people. 4th largest in the world. In fact, Hindi is squeezing out many other native Indian languages. Hinduism, the religious background of Yoga, has about 1 billioin followers. 3rd largest in the world. Again, also squeezing out other religions in India. Both are growing rapidly and have spread around the world. (The largest religious building in my area is a Hindu temple. They set off a _lot_ of fireworks for Diwali.) Genocide this isn’t. I wonder what would happen if the student council at Maharishi University in Iowa banned transcendental meditation classes for the same reasons. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/56 "2015-11-25T16:31:57Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Not that I can dispel it off the top of my head, but in threads like this, there seems to be a lot of assuming what people mean by X instead of trying to find out what they actually mean by X and, more importantly, why. But what about Z? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/57 "2015-11-25T22:33:15Z")
In protest against the holocaust, I insist that non-jews stop eating bagels. Talk about cultural appropriation! And middle easterners should complain about how we appropriated the alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/58 "2015-11-26T00:00:22Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Exactly. We would never tolerate a sports team called the Niggers or the Chinks. So, why do we accept the Redskins? [The Fighting Whities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Whites). > [@](#): > > ETA: For the same reason, the Cleveland Indians get a lot of flak over their mascot, which is a really awful red-skinned caricature of a Native American. Yeah, the logo is just a stoic chief, most of the offense is derived from the name. [Chief Wahoo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Wahoo) on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/59 "2015-11-26T01:49:21Z")
To be fair, they thought it was yo_gurt_ class, which better explains the “cultural genocide” aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452/60 "2015-11-26T01:57:28Z")
My mother makes Polish food on Christmas – is my dad still allowed to eat it, even though he’s not Polish? > [@nate](#): > > [bolding mine] Is it though? I’ve never heard anyone use that term before except when referring to the football team. I don’t even think of Native Americans when I hear that term, I immediately think of the team. IMHO, some people are just actively seeking out things they think some other group should be offended about. It’s getting ridiculous. Uh, yeah, [it kinda is](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redskin_(slang)). And of course it’s connected with Native Americans – it’s their freaking logo. It may not be as common as “kike” or “nigger” but it’s a slur all right. Just because YOU aren’t as familiar with it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-yoga-class-canceled-because-of-oppression-cultural-genocide/738452.md?page=4)