Psychic Departure Bunny Lounge

Cultural Appropriation

I know. I am guilty of stealing cultural iconography and using it to suit my asthetic tastes - including my own cultural backgrounds. I like a beautiful Indian sari used as curtains as much as the next person and I get a giggle over "this is what we think of when we think of Polynesia" food & decor, but I was really, truly shocked to see that Fossil has taken what is my favorite beach park (as opposed to favorite camping beach) and used it for one of their faux vintage t-shirt designs. I feel betrayed. I felt like yelling in the store: it's MY beach, not yours. MINE. Don't you go telling everyone about it! Why can't they make up a name like Old Navy does? Why must they use the name of a real, lovely, low-traffic, generally local beach park? Isn't it bad enough that (faux) Hawaiian and Polynesian designs are used on just about everything from doggie jackets to toothbrushes to Bath & Body Works packaging? Why must they steal my beach, too?

Maybe I kid myself that it's still mainly local, as the last time we were there we saw (I kid you not) a few small tour vans. One must have either been on the way to or from the airport because a few of the tourists were (I kid you not times two) dragging their rolling luggage with them as they wandered along the grass near the sand line. It was a silly scene.

Anyway, I digress. I am very nostalgic about Kualoa Beach Park and don't like to see it leering at me from the buxom chest of a young lady who has no clue where the beach is much less knows how to pronounce it. I want to complain but it's personal and pointless (to a corporation). I don't expect a t-shirt at Fossil to make people flock to the beach and this isn't the same thing as that A&F fiasco a few years ago but it's still disturbing. Well, not so disturbing as it is sad.

Here is a lovely QTVR 360-degree view of Kualoa Beach Park. I spy tourists, but you can see how nice and quiet the park is. Despite the lite tourist traffic (obviously to view Chinaman's Hat/Mokoli'i), Kualoa is still quiet. I hope it stays that way.

As I turned to leave Fossil, I noticed that one of the other t-shirts screamed out my cousin's name.

I wonder if she would like a shirt? ;)

Meanwhile, I got my new plates the day before yesterday.

( 11:04 FH | asian pacific americans. )
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