HA means the breath of life. The thing is, Id love for more folks to understand why its a problem when people from a dominant culture take cultural elements from a marginalized group without knowing or caring about how their actions affect marginalized people. There are ways for you to genuinely appreciate other cultures, which is wonderful. But seriously, aloha isnt a mere colloquialism, but an actual word in the Hawaiian languagea language spoken by peoples conquered by the United States in the On the surface, simple greetings and phrases from other races and cultures mayseem fine to sprinkle into our vernacular. Fans applaud the shift away from the appropriation of Native American culture as mascots. The author argued such speech can be offensive. The term "cultural appropriation" has been used to describe everything from makeup and hairstyles to tattoos, clothing and even food and wellness practices. That's all it means. Niheu also started a Change.org petition calling on Aloha Poke to change its name, and said the company has been threatening native Hawaiian families with legal action. Consider how different this is from appropriation like when white Americans imitate immigrants clothing just for fun. Youre actually perpetuating the common stereotype that Black people are unintelligent and dangerous. Its cultural exchange, and I support that, too. Assimilation doesnt have the same impact as appropriation. Kuuwehi Hiraishi is a general assignment reporter at Hawaii Public Radio. JavaScript is disabled. Is Cultural Appropriation Always Wrong? - The New York Times And Storms in Africa. WebUSA Today published a piece that explored the usage of cultural phrases such as "aloha" by individuals not from that culture. Email Newsroom@BlockClubChi.org. But you should know that avoiding appropriation isnt about avoiding other cultures altogether. So, what were we saying? If I say "hola," that means "hello." Non-Native people use slurs like redsk*n as sports mascots, wear disrespectful imitations of sacred symbols like headdresses, and more then say its in the name of honoring Native people. Its possible to find other options and unlearn the toxic pattern of believing you have to claim something for yourself in order to appreciate that it exists. Aloha is used for everything from clothing to paper goods, and electronics to food. For example, dont say aloha, a culturally sensitive word taken out of context. Stop saying words like 'aloha' out of context (@USAToday): On the surface, simple greetings and phrases from other races and cultures may seem fine to sprinkle into our vernacular. Inclusive even. "Language is too critical to our culture, that we can't just casually use language in ways that might offend and/or even harm, do harm to certain groups of people.". Unlike Eminem, who never tried to mimic a Black vocal style, Azalea dropped every hint of her native Australian accent in favor of a so-called blaccent and various other trappings of Blackness, picking and choosing what aspects of Black culture to plunder without recognizing the struggle behind it. He says this isnt the first time Hawaiian culture has been commodified. Got a story tip? This is my perspective on cultural appropriation, gathered from my personal experience, research, and time spent listening to the many activists, scholars, and marginalized people who have been speaking up about the harm of appropriation since before I was born. A trademark search for the word aloha on the legal website Justia, yielded more than 5,500 results of companies either registering a trademark with aloha or initiating the process. It also teaches a valuable lesson about acceptance, overcoming obstacles, and turning lemons (big ears) into lemonade (wings).