Quote:
Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge
Paraphrasing one of my facebook friends:
KKG didn't care when their members were culturally appropriating hand signs from NPHC organizations, but suddenly they care when they are vaguely associated with white hate groups.
The perception of racism is more important than the actual racism. Okay.
But another layer to this is the reaction of NPC alumnae members... "I've always been uncomfortable with this..." they say. Let's be honest - you're uncomfortable because it doesn't seem refined, and it doesn't seem refined because you know it's something black people do.
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Culturally the line when appropriation is homage and when we regard it as theft or insult is interesting to me.
Do you object to NPC groups having hand signs period because recent NPC hand signs come out of the NPHC tradition so are an inappropriate appropriation in all circumstances, or is it more that you feel that the NPC versions of hand signs were invented in a spirit that mocked the original NPHC hand signs?
I think I understand what you are getting at, but it also seems like there's a little damned if you do; damned if you don't aspect to your post. You seem to simultaneously indicated that NPC groups shouldn't appropriate hand signs because the signs are a thing that black people did first, but on the other hand a failure to embrace appropriating the signs is also suspect because it might reflect a reluctance to do something because black people did it first. What NPC members apparently need to do is not throw hand signs but make sure they aren't throwing them for the right reasons, which for some reason amuses me in a medieval scholasticism kind of way.
ETA: I got around to reading the linked article after I read the thread and commented. The context and spirit of your comment is much clearer to me now. That article was a complete unforced error, and your paraphrased facebook comment seems spot on.
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