Teen Dresses As Thief For Culture Day, Says White People Steal Everything

A teen in Silver Spring, Maryland made a bold costume choice for a culture day recently held at his high school.

The teen, named Josh Welch, decided to dress like a thief in order to make a statement about cultural appropriation.

He posted an image of himself dressed up in the costume on Twitter, with the caption,

Dressed like a thief for culture day bc white people steal everyone else's culture.

The teen said he was simply trying to highlight white people can be proud of their own culture while also acknowledging the ways they've appropriated the culture of others.

Speaking with Mashable, Welch said,

I got the idea browsing the internet looking for a comedic outfit for a costume, and the idea just hit me.

According to what Welch told BuzzFeed, people at school didn't really understand his costume at first, but after he explained it to them, he was met with a mixture of laughter and shock.

Welch did say one of his more conservative teachers wasn't a big fan of his attire, saying the teen shouldn't have used the costume to make a political statement.

His tweet generated a huge response from Twitter as well, but not all of it was positive. Welch seems to be taking it very well.

He said,

I've been taken aback by the criticism but the positive response has outweighed the negative. I'm a huge activist against social injustice and was shocked and glad my tweet had such a huge response!

The teen said he was simply trying to highlight white people can be proud of their own culture while also acknowledging the ways they've appropriated the culture of others.

Some people really appreciated the message Welch was trying to send with his costume.

But not everyone was happy about it.

Regardless of how you feel about Welch's costume choice, he definitely succeeded in provoking a conversation.