Josh Welch (Twitter)
A white high school student decided to dress as a thief for Culture Day as a nod to cultural appropriation.
Josh Welch, a senior at Springbrook High School, shared an image of his costume on Twitter Oct. 4.
“Dressed like a thief for culture day because white people steal everyone else’s culture,” he wrote in the caption.
Since Welch posted the image, users have liked it nearly 70,000 times and it’s garnered close to 39,000 retweets.
dressed like a thief for culture day bc white people steal everyone else's culture pic.twitter.com/XnY4juY9fh
— welch's grape juice (@jotswa_welch) October 5, 2016
The 17-year-old from Silver Spring, Maryland told BuzzFeed News he came up with the idea after perusing the internet “trying to find an aspect of white culture to poke fun at for culture day.”
Describing himself as a “huge advocate for social justice,” the teen told The Huffington Post he wanted to make a “bold statement.”
“So I decided to use humor to get my point across, but I never imagined it could be this ubiquitous.”
Many people found the take hilarious.
Brooke said called Welch “one of a kind.”
i'm actually dying!! you're one of a kind josh 😂😂 love and miss you kiddo @jotswa_welch https://t.co/Znt8TzCQ92
— br☮☯ke (@broookebttrfld) October 6, 2016
Avacado also gave him praise.
A MAN. https://t.co/QDTLJtdbuD
— avastar (@_avastarrr) October 5, 2016
And @tee_aww_knee used a DJ Khaled GIF in her response.
@jotswa_welch You smart. You loyal. And… pic.twitter.com/6u0DhsgX4i
— ♌ (@tee_aww_knee) October 5, 2016
But others thought Welch’s costume was offensive.
Ty Snowdon took the time to educate the student on white contributions.
@jotswa_welch
You mean white culture like medicine, science, technology, antibiotics, the Internet, computers and transport?— Ty Snowdon (@TyLikesSalad) October 5, 2016
@MAugust25delte called Welch’s tweet “ignorant af” after explaining Italians have “beautiful culture.”
https://twitter.com/MAugust25delete/status/783798318333734912
Meanwhile, Princess attempted to show Rihanna stealing white culture.
@jotswa_welch
black ppl wanna steal white culture SO ba d??????‼️????
y can’t they just embrace their blackness? S Ad!!! pic.twitter.com/Cbjp5Kun7E— princess (@kuzasix) October 5, 2016
Regarding the unfavorable reactions, the teen admitted to BuzzFeed some called him racist but mostly earned positive feedback.
“Being at a predominantly liberal school, everyone thought it was hilarious,” Welch told HuffPo.
However, he did fight back against criticism on Twitter.
Welch said the people calling him racist are “ignorant.”
i love the people calling me racist…y'all ignorant.
— welch's grape juice (@jotswa_welch) October 6, 2016
Then, he attempted to quiet the storm of controversy.
to quell the criticism I've received and people I've offended, I did not intend to make a blanket statement condemning an entire race
— welch's grape juice (@jotswa_welch) October 6, 2016
