Matt Lewis writes for the Daily Beast about two high-profile Democratic politicians and their cultural appropriation.
Elizabeth Warren wants to be Native American. Robert Francis O’Rourke wants to be Latino. But they aren’t. And they’re being hoist on the left’s own petard.
I’m a fan of cultural appropriation. I think it’s actually healthy for the dominant society to incorporate some aspects of other cultures. This makes us more diverse, more interesting, and more tolerant. But many on the left strongly disagree with me on this. They hate themselves for loving yoga, and don’t think two white women should be able to own a burrito cart in Portland. They are adamant about it.
This leads to what some might call cognitive dissonance, or even hypocrisy. After all, the people most inclined to frequent yoga studios and burrito carts in the Pacific Northwest are rich white liberals. You know, the kinds of people who might vote for Democratic politicians like Elizabeth Warren and Robert “Beto” O’Rourke—arguably, the two most beloved darlings of the left.
Should “Beto,” as O’Rourke calls himself, and “Pocahontas,” as Trump calls Warren, get a pass on cultural appropriation? I think not. …
… One suspects that this is just the beginning—that there will be more Warrens and O’Rourkes to come. As whites feel increasingly shamed (for everything from the patriarchy to colonization), and as identity politics and victimhood become the defining signals of virtue (especially within the Democratic Party), it’s only natural that some white people would want to appropriate what is perceived as a more sympathetic cultural identity.
