Friends at Odds

I may eventually write a post about the sad misunderstanding and use of the term “appropriation” and how its overreaching need to protect destroys potentially wonderful, inspired, and influential moments in lives of people who explore cultures beyond their own. (I don’t deny the negative implications of actual “appropriation” I am merely saying that I believe it is often used by people who don’t understand how a foreign culture perceives itself and how it is abused. Actually the bigger problem in Japan is that Japanese tend to excuse Westerners for their actions NOT because they think we are appropriating but because they think we are oblivious to their customs and that expatriates ignore the inherent responsibility of a citizen to adhere to a countries rules and social mores. That is why we get away with shit that the regular citizens don’t, because they think we are ignorant.) But right now I just want to glory in the belated present my friend Benjamin Knights just gave me. After a day of hiking for me, and a day of hard work for Ben, he called me into Osaka City to take part in a photo session athttps://www.facebook.com/japanesecosplayphoto/. It is a company run by a Japanese/American couple. The Japanese woman who runs the place took great care to help make us as authentic looking as possible for the price we were paying. She spent a great deal of time, past closing hours to get our costumes looking good. She even allowed us to take the time to go online to study the added strap over the shoulders, holding the sleeves back, that a Samurai in battle would do. Ben and I were filthy, and we both agreed that the dirt and exhaustion would add to that battle-worn characteristic of a warrior. In my scenario, my caption for this photo, Ben and I grew up together, took the same training, fought side by side, but a growing political/social difference began to separate us. And now we are face to face deciding whether integrity of beliefs is thicker than friendship.