I'm referring specifically to things like white people wearing cornrows (there's a fascinating history behind them in slave culture) and non-Native Americans wearing feathers and having "spirit animals," because it's "cute"
Well yes, I have heard of those examples, but I still do not see it. Hair and "spirit animals" are as old as humans themselves. I just meant to say that "cultural appropriation" is a very common thing. When I look outside my window, I see an Egyptian-Israelian, a Surinam-Chinese and an Indonesian-Malaysian restaurant across the street. Cultures are appropriating a lot of things from each other and the transactions seem to be beneficial often (or no one cares). No one talks about the benefits of it anymore it seems.
Cornrows are actually kind of wide spread in
current culture (also in its places of origin) and certainly not confined to "slave culture". So why do some people in particular get to judge this is "inappropriate"cultural appropriation to African-Americans? The main problem I have with it is that people who are completely
free persons are the ones to lay these claims. How do they even identify with slavery anymore, because they suffer from institutionalized racism? It is not that I wouldn't understand that, I just don't know if it is the correct way to analyze these things. I once saw someone complaining that it was offended by straight people adopting the rainbow flag in their Facebook profile picture to support the gays. Called it "inappropriate" subcultural appropriation. ?!?!?!?!?!? What the hell, these people did that to support us, why complain about it. I'm often ashamed of this subculture I unwillingly belong to when I see them inappropriately holding up their gay discrimination card, but it happens so often. Like with "gaming community". There is no "community", just zillions of individuals who buy and play games, the gaming market actually surpasses the music market these days. Sure, we connect on forums and such, but those forums often aren't all that related to each other, and most people simply aren't part of such things / have no desire to.
Also, sometimes I genuinely wonder how long ago is long enough? I detest the word "slave culture" used in modern contexts. What is it even, and how long ago is long enough to let go of the claim of direct ties to it, in a genetic sense? Certainly, this doesn't confine itself to African-Americans, as the word itself stems from caucasians enslaving caucasians. Also, more recent examples of slavery, like working camps during WWII, I hear nobody talking about. So when I hear free people whine about slavery, I always think of the 17% of Maurtania that is still enslaved. If history taught you that abolishing slavery is important, then go and try doing something about current slavery. In recent years a pope extended his apologies for what the church did to Waldensians in high medieval times, for example, but Waldensians refused to accept this apology saying that the ones who were responsible for the deeds themselves no longer live, so an apology cannot be truly extended, and the ones who have suffered also no longer live, so an apology extended cannot ever be seriously accepted either.
Considering spirit animals; the first drawings of spirit animals stem from Indonesia I believe, in prehistoric times some 35.000 to 40.000 BC. Coming in second are the famous spirit animals in cave paintings in France and Spain, some 350 caves discovered up until now, some as old as 35.000 BC. I don't know, these things are kind of more ancient than the cultures you speak of, so how can any one culture lay claim to "spirit animals"? I just don't get it, but would love to hear more about viewpoints from the States, as things are so different over there.