I Don't Understand Cultural Appropriation (new post)

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Now, I know full well what cultural appropriation is, I just don’t understand why it is. In the article we were asked to read, Joy Henderson recounts that she denied a Party City store her business because they were selling costumes inspired by her culture.  I remember another popular instance of outrage over cultural appropriation, this time about a prom dress.
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This was the girl’s response after receiving an incredible amount of hate over her fashion choice.  “To everyone causing so much negativity: I mean no disrespect to the Chinese culture, I’m simply showing my appreciation to their culture. I’m not deleting my post because I’ve done nothing but show my love for the culture. It's a fucking dress. And it's beautiful.”
KEZIAH ON TWITTER

What’s more, this tweet was not at all as controversial in China as it was to the outraged twitter SJW’s. I’d like to quote an excerpt from an NY Times article. “It’s ridiculous to criticize this as cultural appropriation,” Zhou Yijun, a Hong Kong-based cultural commentator, said in a telephone interview. “From the perspective of a Chinese person, if a foreign woman wears a qipao and thinks she looks pretty, then why shouldn’t she wear it?” The entire reasoning behind outcries of cultural appropriation eludes me. Why should a girl be shamed wearing a Chinese dress if the same culture wouldn't care about her cooking Chinese food or playing Chinese music? The article from The Star made the point that people should not appropriate a culture’s dress because it is more than a costume, but rather a piece of their history and because it trivializes that culture’s hardships. I’ve got a proposition for the people who decide what's politically correct then (hey I should write a post about political correctness too). Capoeira was a martial art disguised as a dance, which was developed by West African slaves to overthrow their captors in the 1600s. Should capoeira as a cultural artifact and reminder of a deeply troubling time for that culture, by the same logic, be off limits to all those from other cultures? I think this is a very valid comparison considering its historical significance, far more than an article of clothing inspired by a culture. How far is political correctness willing to go? Should I not learn calligraphy because I might insult the Chinese culture? Should I not live in a home of foreign architecture? Should I drive a foreign car? What surprises me most about the entire concept of cultural appropriation is how far it has deviated from the values of freedom of expression, multiculturalism, and cultural unity that is held so dearly in Toronto. I would urge those who might disagree with my views to educate people on why you take offense to their choice of costume, or do the Christian thing and turn the cheek. They’re not racists anyway, so don’t cry wolf (I mean like unless they ACTUALLY are).

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