Needles & Grooves

You're my spirit animal.

Currently.

I have a lot of spirit animals.

Why is this angering? Do YOU want to be my spirit animal too?

Someone has to do it.

@Mather it might be the use of the phrasing “Spirit Animal”. Don’t wanna speak for @Rip_City but I recently learned that the Native community isn’t super keen on that phrasing.

Yes.
I have Tyr to thank for educating me at the beginning of this year.

Okay, I understand the reasoning against using the phrase in certain instances, or really many instances. But I feel like when I'm clearly using it in a satirical self depricating vein, I have a hard time finding where the offense lies.

I understand that there is obviously a far deeper and greater meaning to the term in actual native culture but the same way there is obviously a far deeper and greater meaning to a lot of religious beliefs across many cultures, it's still not something that I feel should be completely off limits to humor when this is clearly me making fun of me, and I don't believe in any way making fun of Native culture.

But I'm also willing to admit that not being Native myself, maybe I'm way off base.

@Mather I used the phrasing in much of the same context until recently. I don’t think you were using the phrase in a demeaning way but I also figured you’d wanna know that it might bum some folks out. What you do with that knowledge is up to you bud!

I appreciate the info, thank you. There are definitely other ways for me to make the same stupid joke...

I find this dialogue kosher (I can say that, I'm a jew)

I will say, reading that article, the title is misleading. It, in fact, doesn't really conclude that the term shouldn't be used. It acknowledges that there is context to be considered and "the problem comes when the concept is misused in a way that trivializes generations of deep Indigenous belief from a host of different cultures."