Am I right to be annoyed by this? (Cultural appropriation?)

[TheincredibleBookEatingManchot]

Or maybe I don't have the right to be annoyed?

A couple I know who are white British have named their dog a Sanskrit word, which is used in Hinduism and Buddhism. Also the woman wore a bindi at their wedding. Maybe it's just because I don't like this couple anyway so anything they do annoys me but I feel weirdly personally annoyed and kind of bitter about it.

I am ethnically half Indian but culturally completely white British and my Indian family were all Christians (and now atheists) so I have no claim on anything Indian/Hindu/Buddhist; it's not my culture they're appropriating.

But still I kind of feel like if I named my pet a word from an Indian language or started wearing bindis then my Britishness, my belonging in this country would be called into question, but this couple, with their pale skin and light hair are secure in their Britishness, no one's going to start questioning their identity or tell them to go "back" to India, so they get to use things from Indian culture to make themselves look interesting and exotic.

And I don't. But I don't want to. So am I unreasonable to be annoyed at them?

I don't think I've expressed myself very well but not really sure how to make myself clear.

Quite possibly I am unreasonable and this has nothing to do with me.

"As for the person who talked about food. Cooking different cultures' food at home is fine, it's when a white person makes money off selling a cook book of those recipes that it becomes cultural appropriation."

That's wrong. It's cultural appropriation of the White person makes money from recipes which they pass off as their own. If they sell books of recipes that they've learned about through their travels, or by researching the food of another country, that's not cultural appropriation.

If I watch Saturday kitchen and James Martin showcases a dish from Indonesia, I'm not thinking 'go James, you great Indonesian cook!' I'm thinking 'wow, that's a great recipe.'

I think you should get a life op.

Not just the OP.

I am a white woman. My father was Indian. I'd be pretty upset if I wore a bindi and someone laughed at me.
My (white) mother wore traditional Indian clothes at formal Indian events. Should she not have?

Confused. Is the friend a Hindu or Buddhist? Do names belong to cultures? Crazy! So much attack and negativity - leave them alone - unless they start becoming hostile to others' beliefs. Religions don't belong to a certain race.

Retroflex you can't become a Hindu. You have to be born one. If the name is religious then yes it is appropriation. Just like when Clark's called their shoes by the names of Hindu gods. Disrespectful and borderline racist

A sari is clothing

It is not representative of a belief like some headdresses (Native Indian) or a bindi etc

Good point @heyjude12

Here is an article about it from an Indian site about the names for the shoes

m.rediff.com/news/dec/08shoes.htm

Amazon selling toilet seat covers with Hindu gods images on them

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.indiatoday.in/amp/trending-news/story/boycott-amazon-trends-online-after-website-sells-shoes-and-rugs-with-images-of-hindu-gods-1526789-2019-05-16

After much thought, the answer to your question OP is, 'don't talk bollocks' and 73% of voters agree.

Hope that helps to clear your mind.

Retroflex you can't become a Hindu. You have to be born one. If the name is religious then yes it is appropriation. Just like when Clark's called their shoes by the names of Hindu gods. Disrespectful and borderline racist

The world becomes harder to navigate the more I learn. You can become a woman by believing you are but you can't be a Hindu because it's an immutable biological reality; and shoes can be racist.

www.wikihow.com/Convert-to-Hinduism

Similarly understanding cultural appropriation is understanding the difference between an English person wearing a kilt (fine) and an English non Hindu woman wearing a bindi (not fine).

If it is a religious difference I can see some sense in it and would include Christian iconography in the same category.
But is that really cultural appropriation or just religious abuse? If it is done in a respectful way linking in with the religious intent is it that?

Sanskrit is a religious language, it’s the language of the the Gods for Hindus religious ceremonies are performed in Sanskrit, our religious texts are written in Sanskrit, so naming a a dog after a Sanskrit word is rather eye raising but not offensive as long as the couple appreciate the gravity of the Sanskrit word.

Cultural appropriation is a real thing for many ethic minorities we experienced prejudice in one form or another. It was only a few decades ago when Indians were called Paki’s on television (an episode of Only Fools and Horses comes to mind). When white people used to say curries are smelly because of all the garlic and onions and spices etc yet it’s now the most popular take away because it’s now deemed as cool. Indian culture has always been pillaged for its knowledge and culture. I bet most here would think that the Pythagoras theorem is Greek but it was initially discovered by ancient Indian mathematician. Early medicine was practiced in India which included the first cataract op, and blood transfusion. Yet all these things are still believed by many to be a western concept. Most of modern society would not exist if it were not for Indian discoveries the greatest being the concept of zero which pervades the very essence of humanity. The point I’m trying to make is that we as ethnic minorities have fought hard to protect our identity and culture because for decades the western world has been drumming into us that the western way is cultured and that our ways are barbaric and unchristian. A classic example is the Gregorian calendar it’s a Christian calendar that’s been imposed on all cultures i.e. it’s 2020 yrs since the birth of Christ!

It’s 73% because most people on this thread can’t see past their white privileged bubble. I understand why as it just doesn’t affect you. Yes it is cultural appropriation because when a caucasian person names their pet or child an ethnic name it is considered exotic, when a person of colour does it is often ridiculed. ‘How do you pronounce it ? I’ll call you x instead etc. When a black woman wears box braids she is seen as unprofessional but when Kim Kardashian wears them (as she recently did) they are suddenly cool, acceptable even. Someone way upthread said black women wearing weaves could be seen as appropriation. It is not the same thing. Black women have to assimilate by wearing weaves or straighten their hair in order to be taken seriously in the workplace. SMH. YANBU

@Designjunkie nice way to be racist by accusing us all of racism. Good work.

I’m wearing jeans, which I appropriated from American culture.

Or even French since the original material is from the town of Nimes.

@MullinerSpec is Sanskrit a sacred language in the same way as Latin?
A language that used to be spoken but gradually fell out of everyday use apart from in religious situations? Or was it always only for religious purposes?

@GiveHerHellFromUs

‘nice way to be racist by accusing us all’

You are very us and them. Must be subconscious.

@MullinerSpec

Sanskrit is a religious language, it’s the language of the the Gods for Hindus religious ceremonies are performed in Sanskrit

Agreed. I’m not Hindu but I would never do this (naming a dog with a Sanskrit name). It’s basic respect. That’s someone’s whole belief system, why appropriate it for your own means.

You do all realise there are far more important things going on in the world to be worried about ?
This is just a game of one upmanship of who is the more offended on behalf of others

Tell you what, you get offended by everything.

I'm going to keep on enjoying things from all around the world and talking in a language which quite merrily borrows words from other languages and is descended from other languages anyway.

Sanskrit is the mother of all languages spoken in India, such as Hindi, Gujarati etc and is the language spoken by Hindu Gods. The modern languages spoken in India are an evolution of Sanskrit. During religious ceremonies the mantras are spoken from religious texts such as the vedas which are written in Sanskrit. Some English words are also derived from Sanskrit such as Shampoo! There is currently ongoing debate that western languages derived from Sanskrit (Aryan invasion theory, buts that’s another topic!) and yes Aryan is Sanskrit word meaning noble!

YABVU. Who really cares? I wear what I want and name my pets what I want. If people want to analyse that, then go ahead. I’m not giving it headspace because it’s ridiculous.

Thanks @MullinerSpec that does seem to make it like Latin or maybe ancient Hebrew and Greek.
Interesting to learn more.

It always used to surprise me how defensive and annoyed some white people become around topics that touch on cultural appropriation and race, and their rabid desire to tell people of different ethnicity that they've got it all wrong. All that disingenuous "world's gorn mad" and "black women straighten their hair, see?" and "we should all just hug and appreciate each other" nonsense.

It's been mentioned before but this explains it so perfectly.

Why I'm no longer

It's unlikely but someone with those opinions might read it and have their eyes opened.

And you're not being unreasonable at all.

YANBU OP but sadly most of mumsnet doesn’t understand cultural appropriation, or even, it seems, racism.

Live and let live, its not harming anyone is it?
We live in a multi cultural society, so its likely their way of showing appreciation of a culture they admire.
Get a life!