I Prefer My Culture in People, Not Just Clothes
The VERY hot trend for Spring/Summer 2010 is the (very creatively named) “Tribal Print.” Designers from Oscar de La Renta, Gucci, and the ever beloved Marc Jacobs have provided this season’s fashionistas with colorful stripes, funky ziz-zags, and exotic indigenous prints. 
I am sure that the inspiration for these “tribal” pieces did not just come from a drug-infused dream; it came from the diverse people who roam the streets…from the rhythmic beats that underlie the music we pump through our MP3 players. What interests me about the “Tribal Print” trend is that while many of us will be heading to H&M to purchase the imitation designer pieces (I really can’t talk…I recently purchased a cotton zebra print dress from H&M), 64% of people support the new Arizona immigration law.
The law, enacted earlier this year, allows police officers, “when practicable,” to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization. The bottom line is if you look illegal, and you’re not carrying a U.S. passport or your immigration papers (better have big pockets, immigrants), you can be locked up.
There is nothing right or fair with this law. Yes, it is illegal to be in this country illegally…pause. But when exactly is it “practicable” to believe that someone is in this country illegally? (… further pause…)
Aside from the fact that the law blatantly codifies racial profiling, what troubles me is that while we are so quick and so excited to pilfer the music, the fashion, the foods of other cultures (how many Asian fusion places are there in NYC?), we are just as quick to dismiss and demean the very people who have brought us that culture.
I th
ink I may have to take a trip to Arizona, draped in my H&M zebra print dress and march in an anti-Arizona immigration law protest rally. All to show-off how much I prefer my culture in people, not just clothes.
