no fuck you you can’t wear henna for fun
when my mother came back to america from her brother’s wedding with henna her manager told her to either get rid of it or get out
i saw her scrub her hands raw with bleach because we couldn’t afford any less…
So just because some schools have racist policies everyone else isn’t allowed to be a part of a beautiful tradition? Because your mum was accosted by some prick boss everyone else in the world gets to forfeit henna? How about instead of throwing hands in the air and saying ‘if I can’t do it no one gets to do it!’ We say ‘fuck you system/boss/school your wrong and flawed’ and if you have to work within bullshit ignorant working restrictions to keep your job etc then tell your boss/ school in advance that henna is going to be a part of the ceremony you’re going to and if they still have a problem then weigh your options.
It’s a shit but it doesn’t mean no one else gets to do it because workplaces and school environments are ignorant. They’re ignorant because people in positions of power haven’t experienced the culture/learned the history. Everyone needs to experience culture no matter what the race or the culture. It’s how we learn about our place in the world, how we learn to treat others as they wish to be treated. If we cut that off then the circle of ignorance isn’t broken. If the person trying the tradition is slapped back like ‘no you’re not allowed to have fun doing that’ then they won’t have fun, they wont associate it with anything positive, they won’t embrace it. If the person having a go at the tradition happens to enjoy it and have fun doing it then all the better because they’re all the more likely to accept it and support it later in life if they’re given an opportunity to make a decision involving say employees or students.
I’m sorry that happened to you and your family. It is bullshit and wrong but saying no-one else can do it for fun is an unproductive demand.
bettercalllacho