Why white people need to stop saying 'namaste'

originally posted by: Dark Ghost

I guess all you can do is...laugh?

. I grow weary of minorities being offended at every opportunity they can.

lol, yeah, but i'd have said " i grow weary of the devout religious (regardless of wich faith) being offended at every opportunity". this is just like those "keep christ in christmas" nutters who get all bent out of shape when people celebrate xmas without making it all about baby jesus. shes upset that an aspect of her religion as been commercialized and that non belivers are participating, though to my knowlege white folk can be hindu too so there was no legitimate reason for her to bring race into her argument.

a reply to: dogstar23

Sort of like non-soccer players wearing adidas or puma. Just makes you look like a poseur. I don't think it's wrong just lame.

Peole can do what they want as long as they don't harm others - true freedom and all.

These SJW and PC morons obviously jumped the shark and are just going into ridiculous extremism with their views.

I agree that they are taking a totalitarian view that if you don't agree with them that you are some how racist and that only their view is the correct one. They are not generally rational thinkers who are willing to have an intelligent conversation.

As Joe Rogan puts its paraphrasing here - the PC and SJW movement allows assholes to jump on a cause and hide behind it and be as much of an asshole as they want without fear of being called out

a reply to: tothetenthpower


You really seem to be angry at folks who went to college. Weird. Those are the people who become doctors to heal you. They become the officers who lead are military. They are the engineers who build the infrastructure you are communicating on right now, College graduates grow your food, build your cans, teach your children to read, and fly us to the moon.

Why so angry?

a reply to: tothetenthpower


You really seem to be angry at folks who went to college. Weird. Those are the people who become doctors to heal you. They become the officers who lead are military. They are the engineers who build the infrastructure you are communicating on right now, College graduates grow your food, build your cans, teach your children to read, and fly us to the moon.

Why so angry?

From OP's article :

Whether marketed as an exercise class or a way to connect with your spiritual self, the commodification of yoga in a way that is entirely dismissive or ignorant of its roots or connections to an existing religion is appropriation at its worst. Bhaktha puts it simply in his artist statement: "The act of selectively choosing what works in popular Western contexts, while ignoring aspects of yoga's core philosophy and historic practice is telling. It shows an ironic attachment of one's ego to a desire for ownership over an ancient practice of material denouncement that emerged from an altogether different, South Asian tradition."

Understanding history and culture is great. However, it's not necissary with yoga. Yoga is a tool. Meditation is a tool. Tantra is a tool. Ect.. Ect.. They become integrated with religion for whatever reasons. However, they are still just tools.

I was considering the author's opinion on "namaste" for awhile, but she seems so focused on having a culture OWN something.

It's about questioning whether your practice of yoga is claiming space away from people of colour to whom yoga is more than a part of their daily routine

By this logic, any devoute practicionars of eastern meditation techniques would be infringing upon a culture's identity.

If anything, one should be wanting to explain the culture behind yoga practices. Not trying to own it and create barriers out of some hate for british colonization or something.

There is no hindu spirituality, chiristian spirituality, or _______ spirituality. It's all ownership nonsense that has divided humanity forever.

What would happen if all those white people in yoga class were wearing Chinese clothing, had dreadlocks and Japanese tattoos, and ate fried chicken and Matzo for lunch before Namaste-ing all around. Would this concentration of cultural appropriation cause a rift in the space-time continuum?
The United States, Australia, and many others are literally melting pots of cultures. Cultural aspects come and go; language, food, music, superstitions, etc. Some survive, some are modified, some disappear. No imported culture is off limits to any inhabitant. The young lady who was offended by a yoga class should go back to India and practice yoga with people of her caste, wear only a Sari, pray to the Rat God, and paint the "push-to-start button" caste mark on her forehead every morning. She can again enjoy the weather, food, sanitation, transportation, religion, culture, and government that she found so lacking that she left them.
Every time I have to listen to some immigrant whining about how crummy the US is and how much better where-ever-they-came-from is, I ask why they came and, if it is so unbearable, why they don't go back. Don't come looking for a new life and expect everyone to accommodate you when you bring your old life with you. While you are at it, learn English; generations of immigrants learned English, adapted, and blended in. You can do it, too. Namaste.

a reply to: Spookytraction

Everything in the human experience is subject to a sliding scale. You don't have to agree with where I draw the line on this particular issue, but character assassination is a little much, wouldn't you say?

Again your words speak for themselves - you rationalized your thinking to your boyfriend using the strength of numbers; you already were invested having studied Hindu culture since the age of 12. In your way of thinking size does matter - as "you studied the culture"

So? Why does population size matter? Isn't cultural appropriation still cultural appropriation?" "Maybe, but I think there's a gradient, and I think it's n= the number of people you're going to piss off by cherrypicking and warping parts of their religion so that your clients can get that warm-fuzzy mystic vibe."

So its all about not offending, the greater number must have the higher ground, at the same time there can be no higher ground because you wander off into moral equivocation -

I suppose you also asked the millions as to whether they were offended by you use of "namaste"

as opposed to the millions upon millions of contemporary Hindus

based on your logic and words I said

Nice to see your ethical values are based on a sliding scale

How does pointing out your inconsistency amount to a character assassination?

definition:

Character assassination is an attempt to tarnish a person's reputation. It may involve exaggeration, misleading half-truths, or manipulation of facts to present an untrue picture of the targeted person

Do you defend other religions iconography or symbolism with such fervour? When at the age of 8 or 9 we saw in school how cows were sacred in India and we thought it was funny how people were starving and yet cows were not to be slaughtered. We know better now and we wouldn't bring up the subject to a Hindu.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Who cares? In America you can rip off people's cultures, you can practice your families culture, you can complain about it or you can support it. That's why America isn't all that horrible of a place. You can do all those things as you please because no one is allowed to impede on others free will. The woman is allowed to complain about it just as much as we're allowed to do with her customs as we see fit in our own lives.

Mods...close this thread for non issue.

Namaste (whatever the hell it means to you)

a reply to: lydie15

That's an interesting point, but if these people feel bad about the way they live in western societies, do they ever wonder why people from all over the world are flocking to those very same western societies? If its so bad we have to be ashamed of it why do Indians and Pakastani's want to come here?

The more I think about this, the more it occurs to me that what really aggravates this Indian woman is that the only Yoga classes she can go to are all full of white women. What she would really like is to have a Yoga class that's comprised only of Indian women...............and that's o.k. with me.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

This is the same as white people being offended by an Asian learning how to use the drive thru in China. People should be FLATTERED that someone thinks highly of your culture and wants to imitate it or even embrace your customs. No culture is going to do things the exact same way you do nor will it have the same significance to them as you, but we should be proud not angry.

Yeah, and women need to stop doing yoga. Some yoga basics:

It's from India.
It's over 5000 years old.
It was practiced by guys.
In some sects, you could only practice if you were a Brahman, a renuciate, or a young male.
Women were not allowed to practice yoga until the early 1900's and even then many were discouraged from doing active postures.

Link

That's just one opinion. Now there's feminists claiming that women invented yoga all along. Whatever.

People -- do whatever makes you happy and ignore others. Who the hell cares what someone else thinks about you, as long as you aren't making the world a worse place, or a world in which you wouldn't want to live in.

Sheesh.

I guess she is just annoyed at the materialistic views of western yoga practicioners. Most want to feel good and just need a reason they can believe in to feel good. Which is why sometimes foreign religions can be appealing, because it doesn't come with the history like Christianity. She doesn't take it lightly and resents others for doing so. But at the same time if I am correct and she would become the instructor, the class would quickly be abandoned because all these superficial women can't deal with well whatever hinduism is. Of which I am quite knowledgeable and there's a lot of insane stuff in it.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: Spookytraction

Everything in the human experience is subject to a sliding scale. You don't have to agree with where I draw the line on this particular issue, but character assassination is a little much, wouldn't you say?

Again your words speak for themselves - you rationalized your thinking to your boyfriend using the strength of numbers; you already were invested having studied Hindu culture since the age of 12. In your way of thinking size does matter - as "you studied the culture"

I'm afraid I don't follow you. I studied a lot of cultures, but I do come from a perspective that numbers matter. What's the connection there?

So its all about not offending, the greater number must have the higher ground, at the same time there can be no higher ground because you wander off into moral equivocation -

I'd understand and sympathise with the lone Thor worshipper, but I think the aggregate impact of misappropriating the beliefs of a contemporary religion practiced by millions is greater than that of misappropriating the beliefs of a few guys wearing Thor's hammer. You are free to disagree, and I won't malign you for it.

I suppose you also asked the millions as to whether they were offended by you use of "namaste"

I'm rather afraid that's not feasible, but I'd be happy to take a straw poll from my Hindu friends and acquaintences, if you like.

based on your logic and words I said, "Nice to see your ethical values are based on a sliding scale."

How does pointing out your inconsistency amount to a character assassination?

My values are internally consistent, aligned with my morals, and rational. You attempted to paint me as an unethical person because I don't structure my ethics in black and white terms. I allow for gradiation and subjectivity.

Do you defend other religions iconography or symbolism with such fervour? When at the age of 8 or 9 we saw in school how cows were sacred in India and we thought it was funny how people were starving and yet cows were not to be slaughtered. We know better now and we wouldn't bring up the subject to a Hindu.

I'm not defending her religious iconography. I'm defending her right to feel as she wishes about people who don't subscribe to her religion appropriating the practices and symbols of her religion cynically, out of ignorance, or with an eye to making a profit.

I'm sick of non whites telling whites what they can and can't do in English. Every foreign accent is a microaggression and sometimes I need a safe space after I call customer service numbers.

Isn't that ironic coming from an Aryan Nation.

Lol yoga thugs.

This really is getting absurd. I have chosen to ignore .... whatever you want to even call the ridiculousness of people getting offended for any and every little thing imaginable. I don't know PC can encompass all that I'm witnessing lately, but it's no longer an issue I can fully ignore.

It's affecting my everyday interactions. I've pretty well kept to the same person I've always been over the years, and the culture has become so warped that how I act is no longer acceptable to many in my area. I was okay appearing a bit quirky some years ago, but recently (like as in mostly in 2016) I've been increasingly encountering people going off-the-rails for me doing things which is not in the least bit offensive to anyone except the dull-witted fools.

I don't know what exactly is going on, but this retarded programming must be coming from somewhere. Are teachers and university professors shaping the psyches of this new bunch to be complete and utter pussies or something?

You dont like America, then dont move here. I think its dumb when yoga people go "namaste" but its racist as **** to say white people cant say it. Well how bout this, indian people need to quit saying wal mart amd whatever else is American. Stop appropriating our western culture!!!

As a white 51 year old male, I gave up giving a crap what people think about me long, long ago.

I do yoga. I even do tai chi, upon occasion. I play baseball, not very well, but that's another story, for another time...

I have artwork from all over the world, and I understand it. If I enjoy doing it, and no one is getting hurt, you've nothing to say to me about it. It's none of your business.

If I choose to say "namaste" after a yoga session, I really don't give a flyin' frike if it bugs you or not. It's my life to live, not yours. Think what you like, say what you like, it doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot to me.

Namaste...

a reply to: seagull

Hey I'm right there with you, but seriously the frequency of people being offended and causing a scene in a public setting has gotten to the point where I'm dealing with my actual life potentially being compromised. I'd like to act as if reputation meant little to nothing, but in reality having your reputation marred can bring some negative consequences. I'm glad I haven't owned a vehicle recently, for fear the tires would be getting slashed.