Young Americans: Every Race In Its Own Place?

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by Glenn R. Geist

One has to stop and wonder just how many people are actually behind things we read about that appear to be movements or trends, but even to a skeptic, the touchiness of young Americans seems comically excessive and puzzlingly irrational.

Somehow a girl wearing a Chinese dress to her prom is “cultural appropriation” to her classmates because she’s not Chinese – as though being American and also Chinese isn’t possible; as though any culture is sui generis and hermetic and shares nothing with other cultures. Perhaps I’m naive, but I thought as Americans, we were guaranteed our civil rights without regard to race or religion or national origin.

Again, I don’t know how many of them are involved or how much of the puerile and pusillanimous population they represent. I have to assume the Washington Post would like to make it seem outrageous because it gets people like me to read their articles, but seriously – I need to be Italian to wear my Armani blazer, English to drive my Jaguar and German to quote Nietzsche? Hey, my wife has a closet full of Chipao and it says she was born in the USA on her passport – just like Bruce Springsteen.  So go ahead and tell her what she can wear and can’t wear because of where her parents were born. I dare you.

“you just don’t wear it if ur not. chinese … it’s not something to play dress up with…”

…replied some racist twirp, stunningly oblivious to the ubiquity of Western Suits on Chinese businessmen and Levis in Tokyo. US and European clothing covers the world’s nakedness, if not the self-righteous stupidity of young Americans.

“My culture is NOT your …. prom dress…”

…said one Jeremy Lam, claiming it was an act of colonialism while ignoring the fact that he wears western dress and calls himself Jeremy despite his Asian genetic origins. She’s “catering to a white audience,” he says, claiming the right to limit someone’s freedom of expression because of some haplogroup he inherited. Hey Jeremy – you’re a goddamn racist bigot and you’re appropriating my language.

I suppose  I should stay away from ethnic restaurants and blues clubs, but I choose to ignore – for as long as I can – the people who hate the melting pot that has been the basis and the pride of American culture and want to replace it with the kind of centrifuge they use to separate isotopes. “Every race in its own place” really seems a bit odd to be a motto of the new academic left.  It’s a mirror image of Nativism and it stinks of racism and stupidity.

It’s these people trying to make us into a collection of colonies instead of Americans by claiming ownership of something that belongs to everyone and if Jeremy doesn’t like that I can demand he stops listening to Western Music and drops that Chalupa. They’re not something to play dress up with.

About Post Author

Glenn Geist

Glenn Geist lives in South Florida and wastes most of his time boating, writing, complaining and talking on the radio
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Glenn R. Geist
5 years ago

I admit I’ve turned my fishing cap backwards when piloting my boat because otherwise it would simply fly off in the wind. It’s a nice one with a leather brim like Hemingway used to wear and he weren’t no hipster. But my favorite position is at the steering wheel and although racers like Barney Oldfield used to turn their caps backwards for the identical reason, they don’t wear those any more or smoke cigars on he track.

Sooner or later fashions do change, but I’m losing hope of living to see it.

Glenn R. Geist
5 years ago

I remember the Woody Allen Movie about bank robbers tunneling into a bank and one not being able to see because he had his miner’s hat with the headlight turned backwards. “But it looks so cool!”

I realize style isn’t about being rational, but jaysus – when will this one end? I hope it’s before we have Supreme Court Justices with backwards hats on. I admit that prosecutors with hoodies would be worth seeing.

jess
Reply to  Glenn R. Geist
5 years ago

Small time Crooks is that the movie, I remember that scene. I think the only time I have worn a cap backwards is when I play catcher on the softball team and you cannot have the visor under that head gear facing front. I am not good at that position at all, in case any of you wanted to know. I prefer pitching and center field.

jess
5 years ago

My day just keeps getting better and better, in a good way this time. So like I said up there, needed to run out some anger and I did just that. I’m out getting my run on and dude comes running up beside me, hey how’s it going I see you here etc etc. We stop to chat and dude has his baseball hat backwards, which is ugh, anyhoo, he’s got his baseball hat backwards we’re standing around talking for a few minutes and he put his hand up to shade the sun. Me…you know you already have a built in visor on your cap like mine, you could probably just turn it around and it will keep the sun out. I am not joking, dude said, oh I did not think of that thanks. See people, we have morons here in CA too.

Reply to  jess
5 years ago

LOL! Morons in the Golden State? Who would have thought? 🙂

jess
Reply to  Professor Mike
5 years ago

OMFG, guy was seriously impressed at my suggestion he turn his cap around, like he was discovering a new species Mike. I laughed all the way home thinking about it. I’ve seen people at Giants games doing the same thing, baseball cap backwards sitting there using a newspaper or some other covering to shield their eyes from the sun. It takes all kinds to make the planet a little more entertaining.

Reply to  jess
5 years ago

LOL! I’m a cap wearer, and once, I lost my sunglasses, but I really didn’t. I put them on my head, then put my cap on. I can be an idiot sometimes (no comments please) 🙂

jess
Reply to  Professor Mike
5 years ago

What is this sometimes you speak of 😉 Oh come on now, you cannot leave a no comments please thing and expect people here to stay silent. Have you even “met” any of us, are you new here?

Holte Ender
5 years ago

American youth culture and the way it dressed itself, is the most aped culture, certainly of the 20th century. The movies, Jazz, the Big Band Era and the heavenly Rock and Roll were widely imitated.

I was born in England in the 40s. About ten years later, nobody was offended when I started wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt and an Elvis quiff. Why? Because kids all over Europe embraced it. We took your music, put a shiny wrapper on it and sold it back to you and American kids loved it. To my knowledge no American ever said “I want my three chords and the truth back, you’re not American.”

It was a great time of inter-culture swap and improve. Except nobody improved on blue jeans and a white T-shirt, somethings shouldn’t be messed with.

jess
Reply to  Holte Ender
5 years ago

No one will ever improve on jeans and a tank or tee shirt Holte, no one. You can dress it up with a jacket or not and can still look put together. I love my jeans.

Glenn R. Geist
Reply to  jess
5 years ago

I prefer black t-shirts, but otherwise. . .

Bill Formby
5 years ago

I understand what you are saying Glenn but I have never paid attention to what was “right” according to “them” whoever them is. I was born in the deep South so poor we did not know we were poor, living on the fringes of the white neighborhoods and the “quarters.” Going generally one way from my house, wherever we were living at that time, the people got whiter and whiter, and the other way the people got blacker and blacker. Those of us in the middle ranged from white to a beigey color. We never had a choice of style because it was whatever clothes we were given or my mother made. I was a bit lucky in that I was the oldest and biggest so anything new I usually got dibs on. Living in the projects we had everything from Chinese to Native Americans to just plain old white kids. We were, after all, still segregated at that time from the black kids although there were a couple of families “passing” even then. People have been stupid for centuries so don’t expect them to change any time soon. They are like the monkeys on the Pacific Islands that people catch with a banana and a gallon jug with a small opening at the neck. For centuries the islanders have put the banana in the bottle which was tied to a stake in the ground. When they come back the monkey was there holding onto the banana and would not let go of it to get away before being captured. One would think that they would have learned that holding onto the banana was not the smart thing to do.

Glenn R. Geist
Reply to  Bill Formby
5 years ago

Your’s seems the healthy attitude and I suspect this article itself is the banana in the bottle and I shouldn’t be hanging on to it. The whole thing may involve a dozen people for all I know. And of course you’re right. Evolution is slow and evolution is not progress, but more like water filling in the cracks where ever it can.

Admin
5 years ago

This is another one of those WTF moments. When does this end? I know I say this regularly, like daily BUT!! WHEN DOES THIS CRAZINESS END?

jess
Reply to  Professor Mike
5 years ago

Right, I am so crazy mad this morning already. Just went to go put on my running gear and I notice I have the shorts inside out and tried to put both legs in one hole, then tried to put my head through the arm part of my shirt. I think this may be a day I just go back and stay under the covers, if this is how it is starting 🙂

jess
5 years ago

Meanwhile, the country is doing a swirly in the toilet. But hey, that person over there is wearing fashion and should be hanged by the neck till dead. I need to go run my anger out and it isn’t even 7:30 here yet.

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