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MUERTOS

                                             November 3, 2009

The Sunfish, having developed in
interest in things Mexican, decided         SUN_FISH
she wanted to attend the 2009, "Day of
the Dead" procession in San
Francisco.

  I didn't comment on the "Mexican"
  angle at first, because I'm not
  that clear on the history of the
  "Day of the Dead" customs, but I        A wikipedia remark
  had the impression that it wasn't       hints that the San
  exactly *traditional*, more like a      Francisco version
  modern mutation of a set of             is diverging:
  traditions.
                                              "Similar traditional and
  And the SF "Day of the Dead" is             inter-cultural updating of
  as much or more a white hipster             Mexican celebrations is
  affair as it is a latino one.               occurring in San Francisco"


      She seemed a little (but only a little)
      dissapointed by the proceedings, and
      I wondered if she might be objecting       Though she didn't
      to all the whiteys-in-whiteface.           really admit that this
                                                 was it... and after all
         I talked a little bit                   it would be a bit much
         about what I thought of                 for a whitey to go
         the problems of authenticity.           around complaining
                                                 about all those other
             FIRE_DANCE                          whiteys who are
                                                 interested in your pet
             FILLMORE_GOES_SOUTH                 adopted ethnicity.

                    CHINATOWN

  On my way home, a worker
  leaving the library (closing
  at 9pm), who I would guess
  was latina, loudly remarked         While I'm guessing:
  "this is so annoying!               lesbian, dyke.
  look at all those white
  people in 'Dia de los Muertos'
  makeup!".

       Some obvious remarks:

       Would it be better if they
       were ignorant and contemptuous           And some obvious counters:
       of latin culture?                        there's an asymmetry in
                                                power between the dominant
       How would the latina woman               culture and this minority.
       feel if she were told she were           Some sort of "cultural
       not allowed to participate in            protectionism" might be
       WASP culture?                            justified as a shield against
                                                the dominant culture.

                                                    But there's no reason to
                                                    assume that the latin is
                                                    inherently weaker, and
            But the fear would be                   the adoption of this
            that the newcomers                      ceremony by the
            might be clueless                       hipster-vanguard might be
            about some subtleties:                  a sign of the latin
            a rapid influx can                      beginning to take over
            threaten to overwhelm                   (or at least strongly
            what was good about                     influence) the dominant
            the original ceremony.                  culture.

                   BURNING_CRITICISM


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