Help me solve a problem. I’m very worried. As you know, I love jiu-jitsu. I’m an instructor. I’m certified by Rener and Ryron Gracie. But I think I might be involved in cultural appropriation. What do I do? I know, I’ll add a reading by Paulo Freire before each class so that the students know they have been oppressed by pedagogy this whole time. Oppressive ideas like “the highest good” need to be exposed.
It is not just me. This is a terrible problem in our society. Thankfully, ASU is leading the way in its mission to impact the community. The terrible problem is cultural appropriation. And it is appropriate that this is highlighted just as Matt Walsh’s new movie “Am I a Racist” comes out. If you’ve seen the advertising clip, Matt has a difficult parenting problem to face. His daughter likes Moana, which is good. It would be very bad if she liked a white princess. But his daughter wants to be Moana for Halloween. That’s not good. That’s cultural appropriation. ASU’s Humanities Institute has events on this that will set his 3-year-old daughter back on the correct path.
Cultural appropriation is such a big problem that this is the second of two events planned for this Fall. Other issues, like what is our highest good, can wait.
The Moana Problem: