vesivett.

poemsofthedead:

so-treu:

feministfuck:

undercoverterrorist:

brazenbitch:

world market like shiiiiit

this is like every drum circle i have ever been to

 You know, some white people actually just like to play the djembe. And some white people know that they can’t keep a beat but they play anyway because it’s fun. Not every white person plays the djembe to look “cultured” as your tag says. White person + djembe doesn’t automatically equal “arrogant ass who wants to be “one with the African tribes” or whatever some people think of us white folks who own djembes.

yeah…….but see, in it’s native context, if you can’t play the djembe well, you’re not going to play it, period. at least not publicly. so i consider white folks banging away at djembes with no basic knowledge of specific rhythms (let alone the dances that go with them) to be arrogant asses. there’s also a basic respect with which you’re supposed to approach the djembe, it’s not something to be fucked with or taken lightly. so yes, i consider white folk banging away at djembes with no sense of history or decorum to be a form of cultural appropriation, and on top of that y’all got the audacity not to even be able to keep a damn beat? fuck outta here.

This is true for many non-white cultures too. Like, the drum circles in Native ceremonies are NOT meant for outsiders to just come up and bang about on. There are manners, preparations, and knowledge that goes with it. There are things that a Native has to do to prepare themselves before getting near the drum, there are things done to prepare & honor the drum itself. For many of us, the drum is in a sense a living being. In some cultures the drum is so sacred that only it’s owner can ever touch it outside of it’s covering. In some cultures there are drums that are specific to one gender or another, drums that are learning drums for children and different drums that are honored gifts given at a certain point in one’s life. In my cultural tradition, the drum is linked to our heartbeat. It is sacred. It is not a toy, not a game, not something we do just for “fun”.

Semi off-topic, I’d love to talk with others sometime about the luxury white people have to do things for “fun” and acting foolish/silly, when for many POC we would be accused of “disturbing the peace”, “being a nuisance”, or “being obnoxious” for going around infiltrating spaces, putting our hands on shit, and behaving like that. It’s just interesting how white people can’t take shit serious that means something deep to us, and no one’s gonna talk about how they’re acting like fools and getting in everyone’s way in pursuit of their “good time”.

(Source: blck-grrl, via poemsofthedead-deactivated20120)