And from the outside, it's hard to know what is important and what is just style, you know? No one's saying those warbonnets don't look cool! But that is actually not what they are for.

Exactly!

I've seen some of the babygoth SJWs work themselves up into a tizzy because wearing ankhs is appropriative oMG! And then myself or some other old goth wades in, gives them a brief lecture about the history of the symbol and the background radiation of Victorian Orientalism, and finish up by pointing out that there are a LOT of us who wear ankhs because of the symbolism, and isn't it time for you kids to have your bat cookies and milk and take a damn nap?

wanted to know the best way to DIY one

Do you think just suggesting the canopy with, say, a framework of flowers or something, would be an acceptable variant? There are so many ways to get the effect without getting all grabby hands.

That's what generally happened, like "Hey, how about an arch? Here's some Pinterest links." And generally the people who didn't realize the chuppa was an important religious symbol would say, oops, I didn't know, thanks for the links to the arches and such.

re: ankhs: Throw in some Golden Dawn stuff and really make their day.

And, cultures aren't a monolith

Heh, I actually asked a guy at work about the offensiveness of something (else) and prefaced by telling him he was speaking for ALL of India. He joked about being qualified to be the voice of all memfault-number million of them.

I use this blog with my students to talk about the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation: [link]

It’s a good read and makes the concepts pretty clear, I think.

Very interesting, Pix, thanks for posting.

Are there Amanda Downum fans here? she's having an art contest giveaway for Dreams of Shreds and Tatters: [link]

Have any of you read anythign by Marcus Selfridge? He's coming to speak to my class in two weeks and I haven't read anything by him yet.

Has anyone else here read Station Eleven? It's one of the more unusual (and easily one of the best) post-apocalyptic stories out there. It's surprisingly hopeful and cozy, and I love the conceit of a traveling symphony/theater troupe going from outpost to outpost to put on concerts and perform Shakespeare.

Have any of you read anythign by Marcus Selfridge? He's coming to speak to my class in two weeks and I haven't read anything by him yet.

Never heard of him. What does he write? I can't find any listing for that name on amazon.