Put a Cross on It: Christianity, Capitalism, and Appropriation

I'm taking a quick break from my series about sugar scams to revisit an old hobby-horse: appropriation and cultural theft. This nightmare of the left won't stop cropping up. People can't keep their hands or their inspirations to themselves, so here we go again. 

Ceci n'est pas un croix.
Why the yin-yang? Keep reading.

For example, it's no secret that Ariana Grande has joined the ranks of pop starlets getting flak for doing something in a weird/inappropriate way. In her "Seven Rings" music video, the actress and Disney Channel alumnus used the visual language of Nicki Minaj or Cardi B to add a little flair and flash to her style. 

Here's the thing - a white girl (Ariana is Italian; despite previous prejudices, Italians have been bundled into the artificial construct that always has been and currently still is "whiteness") talking about buying her hair, having everything, and draping herself in diamonds and consumables has a different meaning than, say, a black woman, Latinx woman, or another person from a similar background making those same statements. And dressing oneself up in the subtle visual language and signifiers of another group for the sake of borrowing their "cool" and prestige is, at best, impolite. 

But this kind of weird impersonation and cultural thievery - not exchange; that would imply some sort of trade and equality, or a voluntary element to the transaction - is common in whiteness. Now, I'm sure it won't escape readers that I, obviously, am white. But I don't intend this and my other musings to represent some kind of internalised self-hatred - instead, I want to ask, why are we like this? And how can we be better? 

Put a yin-yang on it 

(Or rather, please don't.) Anyone who was alive in the 1990s might recall the prevalence of "hippie" imagery spattering the cultural landscape. "Girl power" and other commodified phrases were printed on lunchboxes, jewelry, or bejeweled onto denim clothes. Among the various decorative symbols that attained prominence - the peace sign, smileys, suns, hearts, and a plethora of flowers and daisies - were yin-yang symbols. 

Now, a good friend, Joych Chng (Jolantruhttps://twitter.com/jolantru on Twitter) posted a frustrated note about white people using the yin-yang willy-nilly. Having studied religions of the world in a cursory way, I knew the yin-yang wasn't merely decorative, but had symbolic meaning in Taoism - but I was surprised at the thought of its decorative use being offensive or bothersome. 

A quick Wikipedia research trip affirmed what I already knew about its symbolic meaning, but also deepened my knowledge. Clearly, the symbol has nuances, and it's not just a pretty shape with interlocking curves. It represents several philosophical constructs, and isn't meant to be tossed about. The issue isn't all interlocking designs - after all, there are tons of Celtic ornamental squiggles that look similar, but don't have the association - but rather, that the yin-yang has an actual meaning. 

Throwing it into designs at a whim because it's symmetrical and attractive is a bit like plastering random quotes from "Thus Spake Zarathustra" or "Man's Search for Meaning" onto lunchboxes because they sound pretty, completely disregarding any context. (I'm not a Nietzsche fan, but I did like Frankl's work. That aside, you get the point.) 

What's god got to do with it? 

But then I asked myself - why am I surprised by this? Why would I assume that a sacred symbol needs to be confined to its proper use, rather than proliferating or being thrown around? 

Obviously, I'm culturally Christian, even though I'm a non-believer. I have grown up in a society with Easter, Christmas, and Biblical iconography in abundance. But part of modern Christianity interlocks with capitalism in an unsettling fashion. In addition to proclaiming and recruiting new followers to the religion and philosophies, Christianity makes use of branding in very strong ways. 

It doesn't take any work whatsoever to find something cross-patterned at a local store. Even completely secular items, like jewelry, clothing, wall decorations, and similar things will often feature either directly or indirectly Christian iconography. Anything angel-related or with a cross on it is technically making use of Christian iconography. A sacred symbol is rendered not merely prosaic, but ubiquitous - and purchasing and displaying goods that feature such iconography is accepted as demonstrative of belief. 

Let's sit with that for a minute. Someone who shows off their faith with accessories is performatively more Christian. Capitalism makes strong use of branding as it is - and the cross is just another brand. It's a way to showcase loyalty and affiliation - and more importantly, to demonstrate correctness and adherence to one's beliefs. But even though it's professed to be sacred, it's also completely acceptable to use in totally decontextualised situations. 

What's sacred?

In non-Christian cultures, the sacred actually has a space of its own, sometimes apart from worldly cares. However, remembering that other people don't just slap symbols of their beliefs onto everything in reach can sometimes feel vaguely offensive to Westerners who crash into this conflict of beliefs. 

As the poet Bryan Thao Worra once put it, not everything is meant to be known or shared. We were talking about Lovecraft at the time (Worra's work on transformative interpretations of weird horror is stellar; check it out) but it feels applicable to many other cultural topics. 

 "Well, some things no one on any corner of the earth is meant to know, other than that it's there to not be known, contradictory as that sounds." 

So if any of my fellow folks are going, "Oh no, what do I do with this beautiful thing that I now understand is Bad?" I would say - try to spend some time understanding it. Approach things from other cultures with reverence and politeness. Maybe you already bought the problematic item, sure - but you don't have to buy more, and you can try to research or learn about something. Recontextualise, don't rob. Find out what the thing means. We live in the era of information, with ubiquitous smartphones and internet access, and it is foolish not to make use of those resources. Even a skim-read of an article or two can enrich your life and make you a better person. 

 In the meantime, if someone says you should keep your hands off, maybe listen to them. It's hard not to be offended by refusal when one's grown up with a sense of entitlement - and even had that entitlement rewarded! - but we must be better than our greedy and acquisitive impulses. If we are not, nothing will change, and frankly, that would just suck. 

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people's manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

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