cultural appropriation
@qualia Oddly enough this exact thought has been on my mind a lot this week, since I came back from New Mexico with a TON of sagebrush for that purpose.
Collecting my own has become my best effort to address the appropriation issues too. Seeing those little sage kids in the store, with their native-feishizing packaging, makes me feel super-gross, as does, frankly, the fact that I only encountered the process via newage routes, despite (because of?) growing up in NM.
cultural appropriation
@qualia @qualia Another way to complexify this is to consider that "burning plant matter for ritual purposes", broadly, is pretty universal. Mugwort, frankincense, dragon's blood, and on and on, across the world.
If I want to practice this in a bioregional way, using the fragrant plants around me, and those happen to be white sage and cedar... what do I do? Importing something from elsewhere could be seen as a different sort of appropriation.
cultural appropriation
@indi @qualia Here's a fresh layer of textural complications: the practice of burning cannabis as a religious sacrament appears to date to multiple cultures, but there's also a really compelling argument that it's been a core element of spiritual alchemy since the seventh century. Do I have to break down the history of alchemy every time I want to talk about pot in ritual context so I don't sound like a Trustifarian? I talk enough already when I'm high, don't I? =n.n=
cultural appropriation
@indi @literorrery me too me too
cultural appropriation
@qualia @indi In all seriousness, I don't think there's really getting away from the fact that we're the product of culture that has engaged in a ton of historical appropriation, to the point that even trying to craft something ex nihilo risks some form of appropriative use. It feels like all I can do is acknowledge that fact, boost the original voices as I can, and try to rectify what pain I can as I go. =x.x=
cultural appropriation
@literorrery @qualia Yeah, this is what I keep wanting to say, there's some equivalent of "no ethical consumption under capitalism" here. Or, ultimately, it's PART of that. What we're doing here is all harm-reduction.
cultural appropriation
@literorrery Not EVERY time, but I'd be interested to hear it, myself. ;)