Driveby shame

Scrolling through Facebook (I know, a colossal waste of time) I tripped over an image that a guy I knew in driver's ed like 12 years ago liked that was shared by another person from one of those pages that is a cause, not a person. It was titled "casually racist whites bingo."

I'm guessing you could figure out what sort of stuff was on it, from alllivesmatter to reverse racism to "I don't have white privilege because I'm poor." It's an interesting rhetorical method where they don't even have to address any of the arguments, they can just group them up and shame them all together by inclusion.

One of the squares that tripped me up was the one that said "has 'dreadlocks' or defends whites with dreads." I'm Caucasian. I have dreadlocks. Not "dreadlocks" thank you very much.

So, am I being casually racist? I guess I don't even know. I try not to write about racism because in reading about it, it seems like there is no place to stand and discuss any of it without somehow being offensive to someone, save abject apology for white privilege or whatever.

But dreadlocks? I know we consider them as having come from Africa and being part of that culture, especially related to Rastafarianism, but historically, they're multicultural. There is evidence for dreads from ancient Greece, Islam, Hinduism, and Africa. Obviously some hair types work better than others.

I get mixed reactions to my dreads. A lot of people, of differing backgrounds, say they love them. Some just stare, or seem disbelieving.

So how am I being racist by how I do my hair? I didn't weave in fake dreads, it is my real hair and it really is locked. Is it just seen as co-opting someone else's culture without knowledge or respect for it? Like wearing traditional African or Indian clothes without the matching heritage? I guess some people might find that offensive, but I feel trying to put a total lockdown on a style is potentially overreach, especially if it isn't done in a mocking or offensive manner.

And trying to claim a multicultural hairstyle that really anyone can wear (albeit with some effort) as a baseline racist thing seems like casual overreach of this bingo game. Or is it arguing that just because I'm "white" and not Greek, Muslim, Hindu, or African, I can't wear dreads. Multicultural except for my background?

All in all, it's a hair style. And I did it because I thought it looked cool and didn't want to pay for haircuts anymore, or brush and style my hair. As far as I can tell, I did it without stealing from anyone or demeaning anyone else, but that's where all this gets tricky, right? So many times this argument is framed entirely in the eye of the beholder. But I hardly owe it to a bingo game meme.