UU Group and Cultural Appropriation Articles

(image source)

While on Tumblr, a person I follow posted a link to a really insightful article on cultural appropriation on Jezebel's website. The article is titled: "A Much-Needed Primer on Cultural Appropriation" by Katie J.M. Baker. I thought it had some really informative parts as well as helping people who want to wear Native-inspired clothing. (Hint: you should buy from Native Americans.) I reblogged it on Tumblr, linked it to my Facebook timeline, linked it to OPPSG (which needs to be changed over into PAGBAH, I think), linked it on Cross Quarterly's Facebook, and finally decided to also link it to the UU Facebook Group.

Which brings me to this: I haven't been removed from the Facebook group! Even though I have decided to stop attending monthly meet-ups, they haven't removed me from the Facebook group. I would like to go back to the monthly meet-ups once the current organizer steps down.

Anyway, after I posted that article from Jezebel, the guy declaring he should be able to use the word "Shaman"--whom I've dubbed MoonSpirit--decided to make another post after mine about his views on cultural appropriation:

(trigger warning: racism below, though thankfully no slurs.)

[Pagan Blog Project] D is for Druid

A bit late with writing this. I'm in the process of moving and my schedule has been chaotic. Anyway, time to make some people angry!

[Pagan Blog Project 2014] A for Authors

Specifically: magic, occult, new age, and/or pagan authors.

Woe is Me: Celtic Culture and Eclectic Paganism

This is an article I have been itching to write, but I don't really know how to go about it. Perhaps it is because this is probably the most opinionated piece I have so far written; these are more about my thoughts about something that irks me, but isn't necessarily unmoral or a call to movement.

My problem boils down to this: a lot of people in the pagan community tend to use terms, practices, and holidays removed from their original cultures.

For example, pretend that someone in Europe is celebrating Fourth of July. They have fireworks and are eating outside--but why call it Fourth of July? Why celebrate another country's national holiday when that person is outside the country?

So... Why celebrate Lughnasa without understanding of the culture that created it?

Druidry, Books, and Reflections

"Berrymore" by Kylie Stillman

This reflection spawned from trying to answer a crowd-sourcing question and spiraled into analyzing what I have so far read regarding Druidry and Celtic neopaganism. Coincidentally, Agora's columnist Nimue Brown wrote a related article yesterday called "Books for Druids." I highly recommend reading Brown's article to get an understanding of what books are relevant to aspiring and current Druids as well as a short overview on how to evaluate books about Druidry. 

However, this article is instead my own reading and what I was able to take out of it. A reflection, if you will, on books and articles.