Check Your Assumptions

In a multi-racial, multi-cultural society such as our own it seems anachronistic and discriminatory to make value judgments about rhythmic (or arhythmic) movements. Indeed, it reminds me of the journals of the European explorers, who derided the art and culture of other societies simply because it differed from their own. To wit: talking of "taking over the dance floor" is bizarre and suggests a simulated cultural aggressiveness that accentuates "racial identity" at the cost of tolerance and multi-cultural integration. If you don't like the way people are dancing at a club, or if they copy your moves, or bump into you, or for any other reason, there's no reason to go there and impose your values. You have no greater claim of ownership of that space than anyone else. Furthermore, symbolic violence against an image depicting someone who is of the same race as people who just irritated you has dangerous associative properties. If I was disrespected or frustrated by a group of latinos, it would not be appropriate for me to burn a Mexican flag. Among other obvious objections, because there are many spanish speaking countries other than Mexico and it's an ignorant assumption, equally ignorant as the assumption that lumps all caucasians together as a monolithic, monocultural group.

Finally, I would just say that dancing is a recreational activity that varies in form from individual to individual and culture to culture and attempts to judge forms as "superior" or "inferior" displays a cultural insensitivity at best and veiled racism at worst.

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