Civic Cipher 122521 What is a Culture Vulture (Part B)

ten year present term because his breaks failed. He ended up creating an accident that killed I believe it was for people. I'll just read this. I got this from beet dot com. Again. This is a Cuban truck driver. But we're standing in solidarity here and give you some ways to support him. This twenty six year old truck driver was found guilty on December sixteenth, of twenty seven counts of vehicular manslaughter after the breaks that this truck

failed killed four people in Denver and twenty nineteen. The sentence has been met with overwhelming disagreement from all sides, including the victims' families, mostly because it was an accident, but also it was the maximum penalty he could have received.

A lot of folks pointing out how other people in that predicament got away with probation or you know, small jail time, that sort of thing, and he's getting prison like even bigger than football numbers, prison time like more than mass shooters get, you know, And this shows I think how the sentencing system is so open to interpretation that at least like this anyway, In addition to the truckers protesting and standing in solidarity with him, protesting and

boycott in Colorado, you can sign a petition on change dot org and add your voice to the list of folks that are trying to get his sentence commuted. So once again, his name is ro Gale rog E l Aguilera Mederos and you can check that out on change dot org. Before we move on, I just want to read this. He left an emotional address to the judge. He says, quote, I was working hard for a better future for my family. Please don't be angry with me for saying I was not out robbing a bank or store.

I was not out shooting up crowds or a school. I was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I was working and I lost my break. Truck drivers know this hard moment. When you lose your break, there's nothing you can do. I'm begging for forgiveness. I've never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life. I think those words are important. So if you want to help out and become a better ally, you can do that once again. Change that org Roguel Aguilera Mideros, all right.

want to talk about. We want to make bigger splashes with this program and with this opportunity and with the listenership that you are providing us, you know, the listener and we recognize that being a black show that is consumed by mostly non black people, we have an opportunity to make things, give things a bit more feeling. And so, in looking and trying to figure out how to define culture vulture, what I what I discovered is that that term exists outside of a black world. Who to thunk?

You know? The Oxford Dictionary has a definition for it, and then of course we have our own definition. So I kind of put this together. So allow me to read. According to Urban Dictionary, a quote culture culture is someone who steals traits, language, and or fashion from another ethnic or social group in order to create their own identity. And believe me, it goes beyond traits, language, and fashion.

You know, it goes into speech, It goes into so many little things that are even hard to kind of pinpoint, but you know it when you see it. Right. However, according to Cambridge Dictionary, it means someone who is very interested in music, art, theater, and and the like, especially

to an excessive degree. Right, So if you've heard this term culture culture and never associated it with Black folks or you know, Native folks especially, or you know Asian people, you know that sort of thing, then we would like to reintroduce this term to you with you know, perhaps a little bit more perspective, a little bit wider view. So some of the things that I believe are examples of or born out of society kind of adopting. Adopting is me putting it generously, but adopting parts of a

culture and normalizing it for the masses. And then you ultimately end up in individuals having friction in the workplace, on the street, or whatever as a result of that. You know, you might be a culture vulture thinking you saw Kim Kardashian do something. Because Kim Kardashian is not black, you didn't think you got it from black people. But if you trace it back to where Kim Kardashian got it from, then you realize that it came from black people.

And so if you encounter a black person when you're at the mall who accuses you of, you know, doing these sorts of things, We're going to help make that connection for you here and right here we have an example body sculpting. Right, So historically Black women have always been known to have curvaceous figures, right, just kind of built differently. That's not to say that we're not human. You know, there's people from all different types of the

world that will build differently. There's some groups of folks really tall. You know, if you go to you know, Samoa, you're going to find one type of person. If you go to you know, northern Africa, you're going to find a different type of person. You know, all human, you know, but different types of people. And so Black women for the most part, have historically been known to be more curvaceous.

Bring about you know, music videos where that figure is celebrated, you know, in the in the nineties and the two thousands, and then you know, society at large kind of adopts this as kind of an additional beauty standard. You know, it's it's a valid beauty standard. You know, may not love the skin, but the you know, the shape that works. Now, all of a sudden, then you see this boom and body sculpting. Of course, that coupled with the advancements and

technology and medicine and cosmetic surgeries. This is a possibility. And so you find people who are not known to have a certain type of shape naturally now having this shape, and then black people in this example looking at those people and saying, hey, you know, in the past, we would get ridiculed for looking like this. We would get made fun of, we would be denied opportunities, we would be told, you know, we look ghetto, We would you know whatever. But when you do it, you know, all

of a sudden, it's fine. You haven't paid the price for this. You haven't felt the pain of what it feels like to not be a victim of your genetics in a world that decided that before you were even born, right, you were just born. Saw some stuff, saw like okay, guys like this. Okay, well I don't look like this, so let me go pay a little bit of money. Now I look like that. Cool, everything's good, everybody's happy.

And again we're talking about a disconnect here. So body sculpting is one such thing, but it goes beyond that. Hairstyles is a very easy one. Now I want to talk about this. You I have a lot of hair, you know, you know it's a radio show. So you guys can't see me. But you know, Q keeps his hair a little bit shorter than I do. I have it reaches for the sky over here. So I'm really into hairs as a as a statement. I believe that's

a great way to describe it. You know, I don't really do anything with my hair has let it do what it does, but it makes a statement if you were able to ever see me. I know, same class, doctor Westernberg, class that I was in. I know that in some tribes in Africa, braids were used two identify different tribes, different statuses in the village, you know, different status within your family. You know, the way you would braid your hair. We're talking about like what would be

considered cornrows. I don't want to call them French braids because those braids have been around since there were humans, long before France existed.

had to let your natural hairline be. Look at pictures of MLK, look at pictures of Jesse Jackson, look at look at all these pictures and no edge ups there. Obama was the person that did that. So when someone else comes along and says, hey, that looks cool. Drake a heart in his hair, I think I'm going to do that too, you know, and you know you see Drake do it, but you got to recognize that Drake is black, or even if he's half black, we call that black. You know that, and and you call that black.

That's where it came from. That one drop rule. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please google it. If you have one drop of black blood in your body, that makes you black. That is a rule imposed on black people by white people in this country. I didn't make that up. But Drake was not the first person to part his heir. That is something that goes all the way back. You know, we used to partner here in the eighties. You know, it was a cool look we had to part and the tail in the back

and all that sort of stuff. I know, you remember that. Q.

just hanging out, father and son watching his cartoons. And you know, I hear these terms on this cartoon, this kid show, you know, and it's meant to be funny, and you know, when it is funny, it's funny. This is not we're trying to do, is show how a person could be a culture vulture. It's not saying to pay homage or recognize that other cultures exist. Those are

two different things, you know. But you know, you see examples of language that is normal in a house like mine, it's normal in a house like cues, but it's very

much it stands out in a cartoon. Everyone knows that that is a hip hop term, that this cartoon character is a white kid in a cartoon and a dog is using He used a couple of them in every episode because it was funny, right, But you see how language can make its way into other circles, you know, and if you take too much of it, then you start to look like, hey man, do you have are you like? Did you get this? Honestly, you know, I've

had to have these conversations. One of my best friends, you know, my best friend ever in the course of my life, is a white man. Now I've known him since he was a baby, but he grew up with me. Right, I'm four years older than him. He was three. I was seven when we met. His name is Bootleg keV. You know, you're listening to hip hop stations, so you

might know the name. And Bootleg keV is often accused of being a culture vulture, right, but his big brother was black listen to Wu Tang and Snoop Dogg and all that sort of stuff, and so that's what he grew up with. He also grew up with his dad and his mom, but he wanted to be like his big brother and I'm not saying we grew up like I saw him a couple of Now, we grew up, grew up together. My mom did not want me around gangs, and the least gang looking person was this tiny little

white boy four years younger than me. We could play with toys and play video games, and she knew I was safe, and his mom knew that. My mom took me to church, so I was safe. I was older, intelligent, you know, those sorts of things. So we had each other growing up. So again, a person that gets it honestly, right, But I want to go back to the definition here, someone who steals traits, language, and fashion from another ethnic

or social group in order to create their own identity. Right. So, if your identity revolves around a culture that's not your own, now you're in the territory of a culture vulture. But I want to add something here, especially if you make money from it.

and they make money off of other folks culture effectively. Right, there's folks that bring that back here and they start meditation camps and you know, all that sort of stuff, and they make money off of another culture. Right, I get that, But a lot of those folks are not referred to as culture cultures. Some are, you know, and and this is not you know, this is not You run the risk of getting called that and having people

take a stand against whatever it is you're doing. Any time you do this, people tend to be very protective of their cultures, their ideas, their ancestors, you know, their legacy and their posterity. That's just a fact. It's a fundamental part of who we are. We realize that our lives are finite, and all we have is what we were born with, and all we leave behind is, you know, our stories, and so we like to be the author

of our own stories, right and outside. People who don't really get it fully and they're not subject to the tomorrows. They can leave the tomorrows if they so choose. Their children don't have to walk this path ours do. Right, people tend to really think like, hey man, you might be playing with fire there. But I will say this for those folks who do borrow quote unquote from other

cultures and make money from them. One thing that you find with folks who are less often referred to as culture vultures, is that those people tend to give lots of credit to the source. They recognize that they are not the divine, the most connected, the best of you know. They recognize that I am not that person. I am a fan of that person. That person's name is blah blah blah, or you can find that person over here. I'm doing what I do, and whatever success I have,

it's because I've dedicated my life to it. But I cannot dedicate my children's lives to it in the way that this person has to. You know, I recognize that my past doesn't come from it. I had to find it, and at best, there is no legacy that I inherited here at best I had to learn starting at this point to present day, and that is the sum total of my connection. And I'm grateful to be able to live and to participate and to benefit fiscally and fully

dedicate my life to this, you know whatever. But basically falling on the sword, saying before anyone else can say it effectively, I am a culture vulture. I mean no offense. And here's where you find the actual source material. And the reason I know this is because some years ago I got really into meditation and living in Arizona. It's not like there's a lot of Buddhist temples here, you know,

It's just not that kind of a place. I've been to countries where there are there actually is Buddhism is practiced widely. Arizona is not such a place. Right, So when I go into the Buddhist temples, what do I see? People that live in Arizona Mostly white folks, right, And it felt very authentic until I heard them address that elephant in the room. I heard them fall on that sword, and that made it better. Right, I'm not just this way for black people. I'm this way for people, you know,

whoever you are. You know, if I feel like somebody is doing something offensive to what I would consider my brother, my Asian brother. I would not allow that. I would not allow a man to take advantage of a woman. I would not you know, it's not just a black

and white world that I live in, right. But I really appreciated that, and I felt it hard after that to think of those people as being culture vultures, even though obviously the donations went to them and sustained their lifestyle and helped fund their business and their building and you know, get their books sold and so forth. They really pointed back to the source material. A couple more things that I need you to know is that culture vultures can come from any culture, and they can be

to any culture. Right, So it's not just a black and white thing, So you have to be mindful of it. And I want to read off a couple of these other things, some of which might resonate with you. So it's not just hairstyles, language, it's also dress, music, faith, et cetera. Any parts of the culture. You know, it can be. You know, if you wear your hair and locks, you might know them as dreadlocks. We don't call them

that anymore. Or if you have like Chinese symbols tattooed on your body or tribal symbols tattooed on your body. You know, you have to ask yourself the question, what tribe are you from? Right, It's a fair question, and then you start peeling with it. It's not to say don't have it. It's not to say don't do it, but ask yourself the question because a lot of these things, these are concepts of we're really talking about intent here.

You know, I make mistakes. I have made mistakes, and all the travels that I've done, I recognize that sometimes I overstep. I walk on the carpet with my shoes on. I should have known better. I'm so sorry. Right, But there's also again, you know, we're talking about that sense of entitlement that comes with being American, especially with white Americans. It's a real thing.

what do I do about it? He comes, he confers, and I can't speak for all black people, but I can let him know what I would do in those circumstances, and you know, he takes that advice and he does his best, and that's the best anyone can hope for. Now, I don't want to talk too much more about this because I want to get your reaction and your thoughts on the cue. So we got about thirty seconds, but any thoughts before we move.

Why do I dress this way? What type of influences caused this version of me to come to be? Because I wasn't born into this. I didn't like you said, I didn't get it, honestly, people who do that part properly typically avoid that label.

so I'll just read it. Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Chris Krinkle, or simply as Santa, is a legendary character originated in Eastern Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts on Christmas Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending

on whether they are naughty or nice. He said to accomplish this with the aid of christ smiths elves who make the toys in his workshop at the North Pole, and flying reindeer who pulled his sleigh through the air. The modern character of Santa is based on tradition surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas and the English figure of Father

Christmas and the Dutch figure center clause right. So what we see here is the combination of different stories in different parts of the world that have kind of meshed into what we think of as a guy in a red sea or a black belt with a big belly white Beard climb through the sky. The jolly mythical man we know a Santa Claus has been traced back to Saint Nicholas, who was born in the second half of the third century to a wealthy Christian family in modern

day Turkey. As a young man, Nicholas secretly donated three bags of gold to a poor father who couldn't afford to pay his daughter's dowry and was going to resort to selling them into process. For three nights, Nicholas threw a bag of gold into the man's home window, but on the third night, the father discovered that Nicholas was

the person behind the mysterious donations. Nicholas, who was a devout lifelong Christian, became known for his generosity and love for children, and was ordained as the Bishop of Myra. After his death, he was immortalized as a Catholic saint, and the anniversary of his death was celebrated on December sixth. Inspired by Saint Nicholas, a group of French nuns in the twelfth century anonymously left stockings full of fruits and nuts on the doorsteps of poor people's homes at night.

This act of charity soon became very popular and spread across Europe, thus establishing one of the customs in our modern Christmas celebration. Though Saint Nicholas has been portrayed in icons as a white man with rosy red cheeks for centuries, a modern day forensic study of the bishop's bones discovered that he resembled a light brown man of color. Meanwhile, the cathedral built in Bari, Italy and ten eighty seven to honor the saint depicts him as a Middle Eastern

man with very dark skin. According to psychology, today, the Turkish born saint looked more like Osama bin Laden than today's average quote white male end quote or Coca Cola's Santa Claus. Regardless of skin tone, both Saint Nicholas and the man, we recognize that Santa Claus are symbolic of the joy of giving. Santa comes once a year to bring gifts, love and hope to millions of children around the world. In essence, he shouldn't be limited to just

one image or skin color. Instead, He should be embraced as a figure of our imagination and accepted in all forms, whether that's traditional sense or as a modernized version created by the Black Santic Company, Santa remind Us. Santa reminds Us of light and humanity. That's a symbol that doesn't come in just one color. You can learn more about the forensic study of Saint Nicholas and his ethnicity in

the documentary Santa Claus The Real Face. All Right, it's Christmas time, you, Christmas is time, so let's talk about Black Center. We got a little bit of time here. You ever heard any kickback or pushback.

is different. Santa Claus is a concept, right. But you know what I find interesting, James Bond not a real person's that's a I believe it's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that wrote James Bond, or he wrote to Sherlock Holmes. I'm not sure which one, but whatever the case is, someone made him up James Bond, right, and it was written.

tight clothes, with the little underwear on. Right, that's Superman. I know it popped in your head. Offered Will Smith to play Superman. He was like, no, I do not want that problem, right Will Smith? You know he's a good actor.

don't like that, you know. And I think that by us being able to tell a little bit of a story about Santa Claus and his actual roots, one day we'll do the same with Jesus, you know, But at least for now, I feel like it helps loosen that grip on a little bit. Hopefully loosens that grip a little bit on ideas. You know, think about this, If I said the tooth Fairy is coming tonight, what did you think in your mind? Why can't the tooth ory

be black? My older sister's actually writing a movie about that, right, And it's just I just thought it was interesting. So I'm glad we got to talk about Santa Claus. And you know, for everyone listening, you know, we hope your holidays are or we're happy, depending on when you're listening to this show. But you know, that's that's about it for us. We're going to go and enjoy our holiday too, and uh, you know, we're going to say this a

couple more times before the year is over. But we really appreciate everyone that's been riding and supporting with us. You are the greatest Christmas gift to me and Q We have a lot of really exciting things coming in the new year, so please hang on because it's about to get wild around here. We're really excited and and we will be making those announcements of course very soon. And yeah, if you want to know more, you know, hit the website hibg cipher dot com. You get some

more questions, any topics you want us to discuss. Of course you can make the donations, follow us on social media. That's all at Civic Cipher and course download this in any previous episode of the show My Head until you talk next week, y'all. Maybe yeah, Like Yo, we handle them. These brothers are fabulous.