Chinese American condemns “white” girl for choosing traditional Chinese gown for prom. Thousands of followers agree and castigate girl in cruel language for “cultural appropriation.” ‒ News report

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. ‒ H. L. Mencken

In the Boston of 1659, celebration of Christmas was forbidden. Specifically banned were exchanging of gifts and greetings, fine clothing, and feasting. But that was in a Puritan town in the 17th century. That was for theological reasons. The Puritans of that time believed that joyful celebrations, even of the birth of Jesus, were “Satanical.”

But what excuse do we have? This is the 21st century, not the 17th. Many of us have no strong religious beliefs, so theology is of no interest whatever. That is, many of us have no traditional religious beliefs, and traditional theology is of no interest. But many of us are leftists. No, definitely not liberals, but leftist “progressives.” For these people, leftism is a secular religion, so those who disagree are heretics. And you know what they do to heretics.

I am a classical liberal, now called conservative. I believe in freedom, especially freedom of speech and expression. So I find so-called speech codes, trigger warnings, safe spaces, and political correctness in general to be offensive and un-American. The idea that if I disagree with what you say, I can therefore take offense and shut you up is to me budding totalitarianism. In fact, the idea that if I disagree I have a right to be offended I find abhorrent ‒ and ridiculous.

In essence, “political correctness” means that anything that disagrees with leftists is forbidden. Forbidding what we disagree with was acceptable in Boston in 1659. It is intolerable in the America of 2018. Those who tolerate the intolerable are its enablers. Those who tolerate the progressive (in both senses) undermining of freedom must share the guilt when the beautiful structure collapses ‒ which it inevitably will, unless we act now to support free expression.

What is “cultural appropriation” anyhow? The young Chinese American man tweeted, “My culture is NOT your g*ddam prom dress.” In a separate tweet he added, “I’m proud of my culture, including the extreme barriers marginalized people within that culture have had to overcome those obstacles. For it to simply be subject to American consumerism and cater to a white audience, is parallel to colonial ideology.”

But oddly, the tweet was written in English, not Mandarin. The author shows himself wearing American clothes ‒ a baseball cap, a tee shirt, and jeans. Jeans are purely American, invented by Levi Strauss for the miners in gold-rush California. Oh wait, Strauss was a Jew. Does that mean that jeans may be worn by all Americans, or only by Jewish Americans? You see how things can get complicated?

Of course, the baseball cap is quintessentially American. Oh no ‒ it carries the Adidas logo. Adidas is an international corporation founded in Germany by Adolf Dassler, from which the name is derived. So for a Chinese American to wear an Adidas baseball cap is a double “cultural appropriation” ‒ from America for baseball, and from Germany for Adidas. Yes, things can get really complicated.

Presumably the young man rides in automobiles. Is this “cultural appropriation” from Germany, where Gottlieb Daimler invented the first practical internal-combustion vehicle, or from America, where Henry Ford invented the assembly line and mass production?

But suppose the obnoxious tweeter drives an “appropriated” car and is seriously injured in a crash. Should he refuse a blood transfusion? Safe transfusion was made possible by the Austrian Karl Landsteiner, who discovered the ABO blood groups. Blood banking was perfected by Charles Drew, an African American. Since the tweeter is neither Austrian nor African American, must he rely on traditional Chinese medicine?

No doubt the rude tweeter received polio vaccine as a child. But the injectable type was developed by Jonas Salk, and the oral type by Albert Sabin, who were both Jewish Americans. Does this mean that only Americans can receive polio vaccine, or only Jewish Americans, or only Jews? You see where this is going.

And forget about jeans. What about pants in general? Apparently trousers were invented by Chinese horsemen about 3000 years ago. So the young man is permitted to wear pants, just not jeans. But what about the rest of us Americans? Can we wear jeans, but not pants? The absurd descends into the irrational.

Those who seek to be offended will not be disappointed.

Those who look for trouble will surely find it.

Those who see themselves as victims will find sources of victimization daily.

Those who go around looking for what is wrong instead of what is right will guarantee themselves perpetual dissatisfaction.

Those who seek to smother sources of joy will lead joyless lives.

Those who believe their ideology entitles them to bully others deserve to be bullied themselves.

Those who teach young people to be puritanical jerks deserve to be removed from university faculties.

Those who publicly insult a young girl who wants to look pretty for the prom have achieved the zenith (or is it the nadir?) of leftist ideology. They deserve our recognition ‒ and a good smack.

Civilization consists of all the advances made by anyone, anywhere, anytime:

• From Neanderthals who put flowers on graves to Handel’s “”Messiah.”
• From the first caveman in animal skins to the latest Paris fashions.
• From the inventor of the wheel to the designer of the Mercedes S.
• From Stone Age people who splinted fractures to organ transplantation.
• From the cave painters of Lascaux to Matisse and Renoir.
• From the first sharpened stone to the M4 and AK47.
• From smoke signals to the iPhone 10.
• From the first grunts to the Oxford English Dictionary.

All these belong to all of us. That’s the beauty of it. Those who refuse to understand this simple fact are no better than primitive tribesmen who hid what they had made from the neighboring tribe. And they have the pomposity to call themselves “progressive.”

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