Culture and the Fools It Fools
Do the Afrikaners own Afrikaans, Potjiekos, or, Khaki shorts?
Do the Chinese own Sushi, Karate, or, Meditation?
Do Zulus own Phuthu? (While we are at it: Do Zulus own “Arrogance?”)
Should a Non-English man prefer English over his mother tongue — would he be lost, damned, or, a sellout?
Should a Chinese woman prefer Pap and Mogodu over Sushi — would she be dumb, lost, or, brainwashed?
Well, I don’t have a problem with English. What I have a problem with, is a black man’s thinking that his being fluent in Englsih is a sign of him being educated, intelligent, or, both.
Also, I don’t have a problem with a black person preferring Sushi over Pap.
What I
have beef with, is a black man’s thinking that his eating Sushi is a sign of him having arrived, being successful, or, better than other black people who have never heard of Sushi, don’t like Sushi, or, do not afford Sushi.
Granted, somethings are associated with some people. But nobody owns anything.
(That is to say that, while the Japanese might rock when coming to Karate, they do not “own” hands, fists, foreheads, feet, arms, knees, elbows, et al.)
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— September 25, 2011.