Since it began in 2001, the committee has been working on creating and finishing three pieces of international law that would expand intellectual-property regulations to protect things like Indigenous designs, dances, words and traditional medicines.
Words, huh? Well, if culturally appropriating “words” becomes illegal, I hope it means every hipster d-bag who greets people with “Namaste” can be punched in the nards.
And they’ve been working on this for sixteen years? Good Lord. I bet “working on” these three laws involved a lot of first class international travel and conferences at five-star resorts. And, it being the UN, probably some child molesting.
Speaking to the committee Monday, James Anaya, dean of law at the University of Colorado, said the UN’s negotiated document should “obligate states to create effective criminal and civil enforcement procedures to recognize and prevent the non-consensual taking and illegitimate possession, sale and export of traditional cultural expressions.”
Funny how the UN takes up every left-wing cause, but does nothing about, oh, I don’t know, the ongoing genocide of Christians in the Middle East and Africa.
Whenever I am accused of cultural appropriations by someone who is not of that culture I say, “Who made you the culture police?”
To those who ARE of that culture, I say, “Excuse me, but why are you appropriating my culture by speaking English?”
Let’s make the lawyers even wealthier! Hurrah! But it’s still OK for Li Yundi to play Chopin, right?
Since my ethnic composition is entirely from Nordic areas, does this UN over reach mean I can avoid being offered Mexican or Chinese food? I never have to enjoy fry bread again?
That’s quite unexpected and not very nice from the UN to ban the purchase and/or use of iPhones from so many countries.
Are they this much certain that Apple’s stuff is doomed to become unaffordable for all of those, eventually — (once their genius Global Social Justice has prevailed, that is)?
What would Steve Jobs do?
Dear V the K, you should know:
it’s perfectly OK to persecute Christians. That’s exactly what we are good for, on the receiving end:
blasphemy, defamation, misrepresentation, mockery, viciousness, indifference, mass slaughter.
We just struggle to not give it back.
@5 … if only because we are the only officially potential/possible/actual “oppressors” in this brave new world, of course.
This diversity and multi-culti thing is so confusing.
Are we no longer required to embrace diversity? Or is it only OK to have diversity forced on us?
Are we now only compelled to worship superior cultures from afar? Was Hillary wrong when she said it takes a village? Can we ignore Kwanzaa now?
It’s cliche but I’m OK with this as soon as these diverse cultures eschew whitey drivel such as that found in the Bill of Rights, antibiotics and all the rest.
Which poses this question: why do the noble brownish people in Puerto Rico want to join the US as a state? The US was founded by white devils and all the rest.
Personally, I think we should kick in a couple billion to pay down a little of their debt and cut them loose. They’d be far happier not living under the oppressive thumb of dead white men.
Under the Law of Unintended Consequences this would allow all sorts of mischief.
Did you know that it’s Federal Law that ONLY Native American “artists” can legally produce jewelry combining Silver and Turquoise? It might be construed or “mistaken” for authentic American Indian craftsmanship and arbitrarily-seized as counterfeit contraband. The same with “authentic” American Indian-looking textiles like blanket-throws; “…throw Granny’s crocheting-circle in Federal Prison! They made a throw-rug that might be cultural-appropriation.”
I demand that all non-WASPs give-up wearing preppy Polos and Khakis, and stop using indoor plumbing and penicillin. Back to mud huts and loincloths with the lot of of you!! [/scarcasm]
@16: “I demand that all non-WASPs …”
I demand that all the non-french in Commiefornia stop making/dealing/drinking red wines from Napa Valley.
That’ll teach — at least — Nancy P Lousy and Dianne Freakenstein
Can’t wait to see those hags start shooting at crowds with full automatic assault rifles out of spite only because of their excruciating craving their favorite imports.
Well, since you referenced the word “Namaste,” I can’t resist the urge to share this video (which you may have seen before anyway, but it is still a classic).
Hahaha, Kurt! That made me laugh! Thank you!
The left contradicts and negates itself so much but nothing they do or say possibly ever legitimately work. Have one global order and fully open borders everywhere and embrace diversity but let’s also make sure that not a single culture gets shared and used by any other. Could anyone then possibly even have a government since most governments are modeled after other governments and even ours has elements of governments from the ancient past? Again this is just the left asking for chaos so they can step in when everything turns to chaos and they can save everyone with they’re socio-communist utopia, being the good, wonderful, virtuous people they are.
I am seeing two threads in the article’s arguments. This first, which should have some legal consequences, drifts into fraud. For example, if I say that jewelry that I made with turquoise is actually “Native American” or from X Tribe, that should be actionable as I do not fall into those categories.
If I start saying my work is inspired by Y Culture, and I am not of that culture, that should be all right. Or if I am using words from another culture, especially if there is no good English equivalent, or I am in an area where the words are appropriate, that should be okay too.
The other counter to the protests of the latter case is if my “gender” can depend solely upon my feelings that day, why can’t my cultural group? Am I limited to only my blood lines? How about where I was born? How about where I lived growing up? Who decides these things, and to whom would one appeal?
More crap from people with nothing better to do than spend vast amounts of money debating points that barely matter outside of the fraud arena. When I was young, my family lived in Korea. The Koreans greatly enjoyed the Americans who explored their country, tried to learn their culture, and bought and used their equipment and some clothing. Does this new action mean that those Koreans were wrong to encourage the Americans that way?
KCRob (#7) Once I found out that Kwanzaa was invented in the ’60s by an American, I have completely ignored it. Of course, many of those who celebrate it wouldn’t want me to celebrate it anyway as all my ancestors were people of pallor.
wow a class of crime created by the people opposed to mass incarceration.
Thanks for the laugh Kurt! That video is just so perfect.
Of course, the only way to truly control cultural cross-pollination is to ban all immigration and international communication immediately. Otherwise, people of various cultures will have occasion to exchange ideas, products, services, etc., and appropriation is sure to ensue.