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.”