"Electronic Dance Music Festivals Fraught With White Privilege"

[MrScorpio]

146. Would it be too much trouble to take in all in context?

"Now, there is nothing wrong with black people who straighten their hair, but there is everything wrong with white people having dreadlocks. The difference is that one group is assimilating into dominant culture, whereas the other is borrowing an important aspect of identity from a marginalized group. There is a lot of pressure in the workplace for black people to cut their dreads; there is the case of Ashley Davis, a Missouri woman whose company implemented a policy banning dreadlocks and other hairstyles. There is also the case of 7-year-old Tiana Parker, an Oklahoma girl who had to switch schools after she was sent home for her locs, a hairstyle deemed not “presentable” by school officials. So it is mocking and obnoxious for white people to wear them. I rock faux-locs myself as a protective style for my natural hair, so I was very offended by every white person I saw wearing dreads."

I absolutely agree with the writer in that context. Because, quite clearly, some aspects of black expression are rejected and ridiculed by the majority whenever that expression is done by black people alone. However, when they're appropriated by the majority while excluding black people themselves, they're somehow accepted.

I'm also quite sure that you're not putting in the requisite thought behind references made in the article regarding the politics of black hair. I did cite another example of this upthread. I hope that got a chance to read it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6563432