Why not?

I can be from time to time a cultural explorer. I study, learn as much as I can about different cultures – especially their perspectives and beliefs that diverge from the mainstream rivers of junk that pass by me every day. One outcome from these studies is that I can pick and choose what I want to think, believe and dream about … using all these different cultural insights to help with my own very personal internal culture – mystical.

Yet, I have read and listened to very, very smart people declare that borrowing cultural artifacts and practices should not be done … why not?

These thinkers seem to think that picking / choosing different elements creates something like this.

I don’t agree … maybe we can be something more like a decorator crab

They pick up pieces along the way, add to their armor for protection and better living … why can’t I do the same? Cultural appropriation is only probable if I don’t learn the ins / outs of the culture and its artifacts – especially those that interest me. A genuine use of the artifact but personalized – standard practice imho. Finding cultural gems that can improve my life but ignoring them because they didn’t originate in MY culture – sounds stupid!

Cultural perspective and indigenous spiritualism of people and place suggests that humans have no common foundation and that culture creates our humanity. Bah humbug! We create our culture every day by picking and choosing what works and what doesn’t work, and we move from place to place, and we connect with other humans (if we try) from different cultures. These creative choices make us human and with full accountability – and agency.

Part of being a human imho, is looking for these cultural gems – learning!! If it works, pick it up and put it on … use it as long as it’s useful … why not?

Featured image from MSFT CoPilot – decorator crab photo from Wikipedia