"Faithless" - Part 3: Cultural Appropriation

Now - I can confirm that I'm not high right now. But ... oh well. My mum celebrated her birthday today ... at it was pretty fun being around family and stuff ... sortof. Though it's weird to think of my actual life while in these situations. It's not like I have much opportunity to do so.

Anyhow - rather than doing this whole "Wokescold vs. PIBPS" thing - I just wanna focus on the merits of what some might call 'cultural appropriation'. Sure - there are those edge cases in which over-privileged individuals appropriate things of cultures they subjugated - and thus aren't actually engaging with the respective culture in a good way. It's like - a white person might dress as a native American for Halloween - without possessing even a sliver of sympathy for the respective culture, outside of things that do align with their own. That however I wouldn't describe as 'cultural' appropriation but rather just as 'asset' appropriation.

'Cultural' 'appropriation' would go much deeper than that. And sure - in my paranoid fantasy there's the case of the overprivileged twat that has all the opportunity to settle in to learn of other cultures things that might benefit them - even so to the peril of those that helped them. Which again is more like ... asset appropriation.
So - I ... so far ... love Supergirl, the show, although it is really stupid at times. Right now I'm contemplating as to whether it's worth my time to watch the last two seasons. But so, my angle on this matter - which for now I want to roughly introduce as "the Luthor Syndrome" - is mostly inspired by that particular iteration of "the Franchise".

So is there this 'asset appropriation' - which we might also call "Lex Luthorism". The primary aspect of Lex Luthorism is self-service. And sure, perhaps, hate of Kryptonians which might - as per how it's usually framed - be a stand in for all that inspires goodness in people. From it we can derive the concept of "being a Pawn to Lex Luthorism" - a.k.a. the Agent Liberties of the world.

When it comes to 'cultural' appropriation - I happen to think of "Lena Luthorism". That, from my perspective, at a point in the show where Lena just learned that Kara is Supergirl. Lena, as per her own choice, is more of an antithesis to Lex, but - well - I hate to say it: She's still a Luthor. What the details are are more or less irrelevant. The situation at hand is this: Kara tried to tell Lena that she's Supergirl at various occasions, but is always discouraged from doing so by realizing that Lena might judge her as a Liar and a Fraud and that would have consequences she didn't like to face.
Eventually Lena finds out anyway - and the things that Kara had feared unfold to some capacity.

So, while "Lex Luthorism" is all about self-service, "Lena Luthorism" is all about 'external respect'. Even if it might turn out to be a misjudgment of Lena - the issue still is that Lena deems herself above "the petty struggles of man" - thus maintaining the privilege to unfriend anyone who betrays her trust. And I hope you can see how that relates to the topic at hand.


The issue then, with demonizing 'cultural appropriation', is that it discourages people from any form of intimate engagement with another culture. One might read that as "Lex Luthorism" or ... as a transgression against the Lena's of the world.
And sure - if we wanted to go hard on it - we might even argue that one can only be on either of those two sides. Which is of course nonsense - but by the power of individual perception ... a lot of things become possible that actually aren't or shouldn't be.

I mean, it's normal for us - as we grow up - to assume some cultural identity. It took a while - but in my teenage years I've been firmly into anything related to Hip Hop. To say as much as: "Black Culture". Well, looking back - a lot of it has sure been cringe and due to other reasons I'd even consider most of it to be invalid - but some aspects of it still are a part of me - and although it might not be obvious, it also flows into my fashion.
Further - I'm of mixed heritage. Which is a situation of which some argue ... that we don't really have a culture. Subsequently all I have is cultural appropriation. The only justification I have in all of that is: Me.

So - is it only fair of Mixed people to culturally appropriate? Like ... "We are Daywalkers". No - I'd say, since after all I have inherited a culture as by my upbringing. It's just that I don't look like I'd be a part of it. Or them. And things are fragmented - so - I'm not really sure ... . I mean, there isn't really a society or authority I could ask about that!

Like so, I've begun to develop a taste for Metallica - as beyond being merely exposed to the various pleasantries of the harder or heavier forms of Rock music. And it's weird ... possibly because I'm almost 40 - and - things don't go or work as they used to. I suppose ... 20+ years ago I'd have fully immersed myself in it, made it part of my identity - and maybe hated all things Hip Hop related until I grew old enough to appreciate Music for what it is.

Is it now so, that I'm still genetically, technically, a P.O.C. and therefore entitled to listening to Raggae? I mean, it might be a stretch ... but ... uhm. Well, on the other hand I'm really into smoking weed - so ... would that ... make it ... uhm ... legal?

But sure - those are, at least given my ethnic background, very light forms of cultural appropriation. Whereas if you're white you're only truly allowed to enjoy Rock Music!/s
But it's still weird, given that I do have an established cultural background - however mixed it may be - and so I start to wonder as to whether or not I'm even allowed to listen to Metallica on my own accord!

A harder version of it however, to get to the matter of "Lena Luthorism" - were if an Incel thought that being some persuasion of Trans might help them sexually - although they wouldn't really ... be trans as it were. It's the exact situation - where, the former Incel might find friends and become a changed person - although they might have to untrans themselves to be really true to themselves - yet further hide a part of their truth in order to not upset their new circle of friends. If ... just being cis/het wouldn't be enough of a reason to get ostracized already.


So, yea ... food for thought ... I guess.


As for my really true self - well. On the one hand I'm a Christian - and sure, it is a part of Christian philosophy that ... it's for everyone. So, one shouldn't feel scared to ... well ... "appropriate" it. Give or take - but thats an issue of Gnosticism.
Though, since I don't really have a Church - other than being part of a Transphobic one - "I guess" I can only speak to that from my own ... gains of appropriation.

On the other hand ... I'm a Whore. So I keep wondering about ... what I could possibly contribute to society in that regard. I mean, I'm under the impression that Clarity is ... something that enables us to connect in mysterious ways - ignoring inter-personal issues for the time being. Like ... I had "colleagues" I looked up to - and always felt like they were supportive of me. So, here I can't really say that I don't have a part in it - although ... I don't have all that many notches on that belt.

But so - yet again ... 'bad luck' ... for what is "Whore Culture" ... ? Other than ... getting exploited?


I mean, we might tell ourselves that it's a bit of a win-win - while boiled down to the most rudimentary aspects there ... maybe ... isn't much wrong about it. Certainly not enough for one to majorly care, we might think. I mean, I suppose the biggest issues that emerge are one's of how that reality intersects with like ... "the real world". If - in these regards - there is such a thing.


Money and Dominance.

That is the real problem with "Lex Luthorism". It isn't in the appropriation, but in what is being done with it. Or rather, what people do when they 'have' stuff - and how that affects the rest.

I mean, look at Vladimir Putin. He probably thinks that he is important; Or that what he's doing is for the greater good of Russia. And had things played out differently - he might even have gotten away with it. But as it stands - he won't.
Similarly - I don't think that there is a Nation on this world that isn't ... like, right there on the edge, where things could easily flip one way or another. Which is, I think, good for me because chance has a way of playing out in my favor.

And there are elements to this - that I'd argue have embedded themselves in our collective understanding. Not by some shared emotional telepathy - but merely ... as a matter of inherited trauma.
We can think back - at the issue between Cain and Abel; Or we can look into the animal kingdom - where dominant posturing can at times be more important than the ability to back it up. "The Right of the Stronger" - we might call it - is thereby something we maybe don't like - and yet, I think, something we tend to crave.

Subsequently would Armies Clash in an attempt to "do good by the Gods" - we might say - and these days, where we've found a better way - it is inconceivable how there are still people that subscribe to that ancient belief.
Meanwhile we still do romanticize manifestations of power - and perhaps innately crave being a part of it.

Titles, Privileges, ... the bliss of Victory, Superiority ... . Though perhaps just freedom.

Hmm ... . Trick Question: What Freedom though? Freedom from the Oppressor - or freedom from the oppressed?


In my understanding - this isn't even about resources. Resources merely give us an excuse to hold on to these ways. Ways that promise us strength - in face of our individual weakness. Something, I think, that has been an issue already before this world was created.

Power Dynamics - I think - go way back. And power here isn't necessarily physical. It can come through shared beliefs, Charisma, happenstance ... . All part of some seemingly endless battle - a battle that may be fought over the idea of who gets to be God.

And so there is this phrase: "To challenge the Status Quo". For when the power dynamics shift - there are two principal ways in which a person that is affected can react. To either yield - or to oppose. And sometimes change creates opposition - opposition that seeks to resist the change - to ascertain dominance, or at least maintain as much of it as possible.

On the other hand - these changes ... challenge our understanding of reality. Possibly triggering Fear - fear from the unknown - fear from what new power dynamics might imply. Where, in as much one is protected by the old ways, one might fear life without it. Or the vengeance of what's looming on the horizon.


Maybe watch "the Power" on Amazon Prime - which is, funny, in a way, because ... that's what things look like, although Women can't actually shoot lightnings from their hands. But nonetheless ... change ... is happening.