I ask this having been to events with national/ethnic dress, food, and other cultures. What can a white American say their culture is? It feels that for better or worse it’s been all melted together.
Trying to trace back to European roots feels disingenuous because I’ve been disconnected from those roots for a few generations.
This also makes me wonder was their any political motive in making white American culture be everything and nothing?
One reason I think there might be no “white culture” per se is that things that white people invent tend to spread to other people, and become part of their cultures. Like, most people I know in real life who play classical (i.e. classical western) music on piano are asian, for instance. I’ve never once seen a white person say, “you can’t play that, because you’re not white. That’s offensive.” In contrast, I could imagine a white person playing an erhu might be told off.
If white people were defensive of their culture, that might change. Perhaps if the great replacement theory or whatever it’s called gets taken seriously, it’d be different. (Edit: by this I mean, if those white nationalist conspiracy theorists actually think that white people are going to be erased by other cultures then they’d act in such a way. But since they don’t seem to be, it seems like it’s clear they’re not only racist but also full of shit.)
If you see a number of people from Asian cultures playing classical music originating from Europe, does that mean it has become part of their culture? What if they are appreciating music from another culture? What if their families originate somewhere in Asia but they feel no connection to that place? Or what if there are more extracurricular opportunities for European-style orchestras than for other kinds of musical ensembles from other cultures?
The Great Replacement Theory is a racist and antijewish lie.
Edit: a white person who put in time and effort learning to play the Erhu, understood a reasonable amount of its history and context, and showed real respect for it would be fine.
Yes, it can become part of one’s culture to appreciate another’s culture.
I thought by adding “or whatever it’s called” would make it clear that I’m aware that the theory is a racist and antijewish lie, but I guess that was not enough. How should I have worded that differently?
What would it mean to take the time and effort to learn to play the Erhu, understand its history and context, but somehow not show real respect for it? I am asking because the first two things seem very measurable and observable things one can do, but the last one sounds like something that critics can decide arbitrarily however it suits them.
It’s possible, sure, but you’d have to do a study. As I mentioned, there are plenty of ways to interpret it.
Ah, OK! I think “if white people were defensive of their culture” is what threw me.
To begin with, there can always be some jerk out there who gives you a hard time no matter what, or who has had so many bad experiences with ppl thoughtlessly appropriating culture that their mind is just closed and they react badly. You’d just have to defend it and let reasonable ppl see that that person is wrong to call you out. That aside, I think showing respect means that if an instrument is sacred for some reason (I have no idea if the Erhu is), you don’t play it in a profane or silly way. Outside of that, using an instrument as like a way to make fun of the culture would be bad (e.g. playing it whenever a stereotyped character appears on screen). Just my two cents.