My daughter's public school in Indiana is having "Hawaiian Day" today. That's offensive, isn't it? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/casualconversation@lemmy.world

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I dropped her off this morning and saw girls (and boys) wearing grass skirts, some of them with coconut bras too. I'm not sure what else is going on, but it doesn't seem very respectful of a native culture that we have seriously fucked over. Would they have a "Native American Day" and let kids come in wearing feathered headdresses?

Or am I reading too much into it?

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[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 5 points 1 year ago

When you fly to Hawaii, they offer you a lei even if you're not Hawaiian.

[-] eighthourlunch@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Not when I flew there last year.

[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 1 points 1 year ago

I remember getting one somewhere. I've been to two airports there, maybe it was only at one of them. It was also 7 years ago, so the tradition may have stopped.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, but grass skirts are more of a ceremonial thing, aren't they? Again, I'm honestly asking. I thought they were more of an important thing to Hawaiians culturally.

[-] Instigate@aussie.zone 1 points 1 year ago

Surely there’s a difference between a person of a different culture inviting you to engage in that culture and people unilaterally deciding to use thing from another person’s culture, right? The key is consent.

There are white kids who grow up in impoverished and majority-black areas who, through association with their friends, become allowed to say the ‘n’ word within their social circle. They’ve been invited by members of that culture to engage in such a way, so it’s no longer offensive. If that same guy were to go to another neighbourhood with people he didn’t know and used the ‘n’ word, it would become extremely offensive again. The key is consent from the people of the culture you’re engaging with.