Boston Art Museum Cancels Event Celebrating Japanese Culture. Because YOU RACIST!

The moral of this story? Don't celebrate or learn about any culture other than your own. But also feel guilty about your EEEEVIL white privilege and racist culture and flog yourself daily for the sins of your European ancestors.

I think that's what I'm getting from liberals here. They're kind of sending mixed signals and it's hard to keep track of who they're mad at right now.

According to this, the Museum of Fine Art Boston had planned an event known as "Kimono Wednesdays." The event was inspired similar events that took place when the painting "La Japonaise" by French artist Claude Monet toured throughout Japan. Wherever the painting went, people showed up wearing kimonos similar to the one worn by the woman in the painting. So the people at the Boston museum thought "Hey – that'd be an awesome thing for us to do too!" And they had it all planned and advertised – come enjoy an evening of Japanese culture and fine French art! Multiculturalism at its finest!

But because we can't have nice things and the appreciation of other cultures in America is suddenly somehow racist and imperialist (I'll come back to that), protesters threw a fit and now they're just going to have the kimonos on display and people will not be allowed to wear them like they did in Japan.

The museum said it had hoped to create an "interactive experience," helping museum goers appreciate the rich details, embroidery and fine materials of the garments. It said similar events took place when the painting, depicting a woman in a kimono, traveled throughout Japan for an exhibition.

   

But protesters have held signs at the Boston museum's events, calling them "racist" and "imperialist."

   

The museum says kimonos will now be on display Wednesday evenings for visitors to touch, not try on.

Okay – several things. First of all – do these protesters understand the irony of accussing Americans of being imperialistic against Japan? Have they ever HEARD of Japan's own imperialistic history and the terrible things they did? I'm not defending Japan's history in the slightest – but it would be nice if these social justice nitwits would do a little research into these cultures and countries that they're accusing Americans of insulting and being racist towards.

Second of all – the painting is FRENCH. So, if you want to get mad at anybody for appropriating the wrong culture, get mad at Claude Monet. Who is one of the most famous classical artists in the history of art and whose artwork is routinely displayed at prestigious museums around the world. But he freaking painted a woman in a Japanese kimono! A western European white man is objectifying Asian culture! Oppression! Enslavement! Racism! Bigotry! Moooooooom, he's looking at me! He's breathing my air! Make him STOP!

Yup. We're going down the two-year-old temper-tantrum path. That's about where these social justice protesters are in my estimation.

(h/t Weasel Zippers)