A video has emerged online of a black female student and her friend harassing a white man for ‘appropriating her culture’ by having dreadlocks.
The short clip – which has been viewed almost 1.3 million times in less than two days – starts with the female San Francisco State University (SFSU) student asking her mate if he has a pair of scissors, allegedly so that she can cut the dreadlocks off.
Nicholas Silvera/YouTubeThe apparent victim – identified by local news outlet SF Weekly as Cory Goldstein – defends his hairstyle, asking his fellow student: “You’re saying I can’t have a hairstyle because of your culture. Why?”
She replies: “Because it’s my culture.” He then insists that his hairstyle actually has Egyptian origins, and asks if she’s Egyptian.
Nicholas Silvera/YouTubeShe then asks him if he is Egyptian, going on to repeatedly ask: “Where is Egypt?”
When Cory tries to escape the escalating situation by walking up a set of stairs, he’s blocked by oncoming students. The female student continues to accuse him of cultural appropriation.
Nicholas Silvera/YouTubeSince it was uploaded to YouTube, some online users have suggested that the video is staged, but others insist that it is genuine.
Cory took to Facebook, to post: “I just got physically assaulted because I have dreadlocks woe.” He said shortly after that he would not be filing criminal charges, adding: “I did file a formal campus police report and I decided to let the education system deal with her.”
Nicholas Silvera/YouTubeSFSU have since released a statement, saying it was aware of a video made of an incident that occurred on campus.
The statement said:
San Francisco State University promotes the rights of the campus community to engage in free speech, but does not condone behaviour that impedes the safety or well-being of others. We are taking the matter seriously and will promptly and thoroughly investigate this incident through applicable university channels, including our campus student conduct procedures.
