this is my favorite thing tyra banks has ever said

YUP. 

(Source: fuckyeahfamousblackgirls)

missmaceymouse:

I’m just gonna throw this out there….

I am Mexican and as long as you are not PHYSICALLY HURTING OR EMOTIONALLY BULLYING me or anyone else in my ethnicity (or anywhere for that matter), I am okay with you picking up bits and pieces of my culture and incorporating it into the complex map of a being that is you. 

If you say “vato” or “cholo” in everyday language, I am not going to think you are making fun of me or the origins of those words.. but I may think you sound a little silly depending on the way you use it. I also advise you to be careful if you use it to describe someone who may not feel comfortable with you yet (same as guys not calling each other bro unless they are actually bros…). —please note this was just an example of something that someone could choose to take interest in i.e. language-

I understand that you could have an interest in particular portions of my culture but because your interests are vast and many, and because you have your own culture that takes up part of your person and personality makeup, I do not expect you to totally delve yourself into my culture and represent it 100% accurately. You may even take it and transform it to mean something new for you, because who is right to judge that? If it makes you HAPPY.. and you are not physically hurting or emotionally bullying anyone… it can’t be that bad. 

Also note that emotionally bullying can mean taking something and purposefully transforming it into something you know can be perceived as hurtful and putting it out into the world. You do not have to direct it at someone for it to be bullying. 

This is in response to the abundance of posts I have seen floating around reprimanding others about their incorporation of others’ ethnicity and culture into their own. I know it is hard to see people not truly understanding who you are, where you come from, and what you represent.. but by demanding they cease it completely you are doing the exact same thing to them. Educate them, kindly, about it. Ask them what interested them in insert culturally specific subject here. Make friends. Be nice. To everyone of every shape, size, religion, ethnicity, eye, hair, and skin color. We live in a beautiful conglomeration of a world that has the elite honor of communicating with each other by means no other generations have had before. HONOR THAT.