Does anybody believe in cultural appropriation?

I asked my Mexican friend if it would be cultural appropriation if I wore such a garment. She just looked at me with a puzzled look not really understanding what I was asking.

No, cultural appropriation is a very (US) American-centric way of thinking by people who have mostly never even experienced another culture. If one travels you’ll realize that every culture adopts pieces of other cultures and that globally, this is quite natural.

(AI rendering of me that I used as my profile picture during Day of the Dead in Mexico. This year I celebrated Dia de Muertos in Mexico City. Absolutely no one made me feel excluded just because I’m not Mexican).

Ive been pretending to be okay and acting as normal as possible, but Im actually completely heartbroken after a recent breakup. Its painful and really affecting me, to the point where I cant concentrate at work, Ive lost my appetite, I cant sleep, and It feels as if my whole world has been turned upside down. I loved him so much. He said so many cruel things to me and it made me realize he must not have loved me the way I loved him, or he wouldnt have said such horrible things. How do I handle the heartbreak and why cant I accept that he didnt love me and just forget about him?

When I first moved to Mexico I didn’t fully understand this. One evening I was in downtown Mérida and a few people were selling guayaberas and a shop owner invited me inside of his shop to take a look. For those that don’t know, a guayabera is a linen shirt that usually comes in white or other light colors that is worn in several countries in Latin America, but especially in places with a tropical climate.

Cultural appropriation isn’t a thing and if it were, almost everyone on the planet is guilty of it in some way. The mixing of cultures is actually a wonderful thing, especially when it lends to better understanding and empathy.