A 20-year-old woman, Carmen Figueroa, is being charged with disorderly conduct, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. According to court documents, Figueroa assaulted a member of a visiting Central Maine Community College basketball team over “cultural appropriation.” The victim was a white student who was wearing her hair in braids. Apparently, Figueroa — who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y.— had a problem with the victim’s hair.
The term “cultural appropriation” confuses me to some extent. My interpretation of the term is that it implies one culture stealing ideas, music, fashion, or otherwise from non-white cultural groups. According to Oxford, the term “carries connotations of exploitation and dominance.”
It’s absolutely ridiculous to justify a violent crime by citing something like cultural appropriation. In any case, Figueroa took issue with this young woman wearing her hair in braids. Apparently, that hairstyle belongs to certain cultural groups, and they should be the only ones allowed to wear their hair that way. According to the charges, Figueroa kicked and stomped the victim while she was on the ground — over her hairstyle!
Read the rest of the piece at OpsLens.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran.
If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
