The Daily Beast by Matt Lewis 10.19.18
As identity politics and victimhood become the party’s defining signals of virtue, it’s only natural that some white people want part of a more in-demand cultural identity.
Elizabeth Warren wants to be Native American. Robert Francis O’Rourke wants to be Latino. But they aren’t. And they’re being hoist on the left’s own petard.
I’m a fan of cultural appropriation. I think it’s actually healthy for the dominant society to incorporate some aspects of other cultures. This makes us more diverse, more interesting, and more tolerant. But many on the left strongly disagree with me on this. They hate themselves for loving yoga, and don’t think two white women should be able to own a burrito cart in Portland. They are adamant about it.
This leads to what some might call cognitive dissonance, or even hypocrisy. After all, the people most inclined to frequent yoga studios and burrito carts in the Pacific Northwest are rich white liberals. You know, the kinds of people who might vote for Democratic politicians like Elizabeth Warren and Robert “Beto†O’Rourke—arguably, the two most beloved darlings of the left.
Should “Beto,†as O’Rourke calls himself, and “Pocahontas,†as Trump calls Warren, get a pass on cultural appropriation? I think not.
Let’s start with Warren who, this week, decided it would be a smart idea to release a DNA test showing that she has some claim to Native American ancestry.
Regardless of whether her DNA test demonstrates a large enough percentage of Native American blood to justify Warren’s claim (the whole thing seems pathetic and laughable to me), when it comes to the specific question of cultural appropriation, the stinging rebuke issued by the Cherokee Nation is utterly damning: “Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong.â€
More:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/elizabeth-warren-and-beto-orourke-cultural-appropriators?ref=scroll