Two White Women Forced To Close Burrito Shop Because Of “Cultural Appropriation,” the headline at zerohedge.com reports. No really. The fact that Kali Wilgus and Liz Connelly (above) admitted that they”stole” recipes during a Mexican holiday has led to the demise of their enterprise. It gets worse . . .
It’s a trend. Here’s the intro to a Google doc that lists Portland, Oregon restaurants that are “guilty” of cultural appropriation:
White business owners wield economic and “cultural capital” advantages over POC [people of color] business owners, so they are “punching down” by appropriating cuisines from people who are disadvantaged in comparison.
A Vietnamese person opening a Japanese restaurant does not have the same impact as a non-Hispanic white person opening a Mexican restaurant.
Healthy cultural exchange can and does occur when the playing field is relatively even, but appropriation is a demonstration of power that perpetuates inequities.
Here be dragons. Because this kind of mindless knee-jerk reverse racism is already part of the civilian disarmament industrial complex’s canon.
We know that gun control laws target law-abiding Americans of all colors, creeds and sexual orientation. Gun control advocates see things exactly backwards. The antis contend that the “gun violence” that plagues people of color is the direct result of “easy access” to legally purchased guns “leaking” to criminals. And who do they think buys these guns in the first place? White people!
Rather than working to make guns available to economically challenged minorities — thank you Texas for reducing (if not eliminating) the LTC licensing fee — the far-left sees gun control as an ideal way to help “POC” overcome deadly “institutional racism.”
My father, a Jew, arrived in the U.S. with $20 to his name. He recounted many tales of anti-semitism during his life in The Land of the Free, prejudice from academics, bankers, employers, real estate brokers and neighbors. He overcame, without once relying on equal opportunity/anti-discrimination or affirmative action legislation.
I’m not saying that such legislation is wrong. The Civil Rights Act and other legal protections for minorities are fair and just. But I am saying the battle for equality is best fought on the ground on an individual basis. In schools, churches, city hall and wherever else such prejudice occurs. But especially the marketplace. That’s where people of all backgrounds meet to share common interests.
I’ll never forget watching New England Yankees standing side-by-side with Portuguese immigrants to buy fish as it came off the boat in our local harbor. Helping each other. Exchanging recipes. Learning to respect each other’s culture.
Nor will I forget the multi-cultural atmosphere at the Massachusetts gun range near my home in Rhode Island. Where Americans of every stripe mixed and mingled to practice the fine art of armed self-defense. Or just have fun.
The left — so busy attacking “white privilege” and promoting gun control — should visit. They might then see that shared gun rights underpin the safety and economic opportunities that make this country great. For all its people.