Is most talk of "cultural appropriation" total nonsense?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yes and I'm seeing this talked about on liberal sites mostly. Talking about it on DU is a surefire way to get everyone to call you an idiot.

Of course most people who engage in it are liberals. How many people with dreadlocks are Republicans?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Gotta agree with BRTD here. The idea that cultures shouldn't borrow from each other is incredibly reactionary.

[Slow Learner]

Yes (fycking white male).

[bagelman]

Yes (sane, not racist)

[KingSweden]

Gotta agree with BRTD here. The idea that cultures shouldn't borrow from each other is incredibly reactionary.

Well, that, and having "bento box day" for lunch is not somehow stealing and denigrating Japanese culture. Perpetuating negative stereotypes is different from adapting features of other cultures into the mainstream, especially in a melting pot society like the United States.

[Famous Mortimer]

Yes (fycking white male).

[dead0man]

obviously

I can see taking issue if someone is mocking another culture (unless it's something that deserves to be mocked), but celebrating or enjoying another culture should be encouraged, not discouraged.

[Derpist]

I'd love for my culture to get appropriated but it is already too late.

[Mr. Reactionary]

I like pizza and burritos. Information should be shared, not restrained.

[Intell]

Yes.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

People need to learn to say 'this particular example of cultural borrowing rubs me the wrong way for such-and-such a reason' without feeling the need to construct some sort of absurd theoretical framework for it to be a grave affront in.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Like I see why some people get irritated with it (like when middle class people slum it - OH LOL LOOK AT ME IM DOING WORKING CLASS THINGS HAHAHA NOW BACK TO NORMALITY) but yeah the label is thrown way too much.

[Lurker]

It seems bizarre to me, admittedly from the little I've read about it. Is this (mostly) an American thing, or are there equivalent debates elsewhere too?

[dead0man]

It seems bizarre to me, admittedly from the little I've read about it. Is this (mostly) an American thing, or are there equivalent debates elsewhere too?

a minority of young American (and Canadians) bitch about a lot of stupid things because they have nothing else good to bitch about.  I'm sure they exist in Europe too, but they probably stand out a little less.

[ingemann]

It seems bizarre to me, admittedly from the little I've read about it. Is this (mostly) an American thing, or are there equivalent debates elsewhere too?

a minority of young American (and Canadians) bitch about a lot of stupid things because they have nothing else good to bitch about.  I'm sure they exist in Europe too, but they probably stand out a little less.

They exist, but they're not part of a native movement, they're mostly individual who has imported their ideology from USA through either the internet or having studied abroad, rather than part of any kind of movement. They're mostly ignored, but sometimes they write a  essay in some newspaper or takes part in talk radio show.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Yes (sane, not racist)

[Maxwell]

I think there is a difference between lovingly being influenced by a different culture and just taking it wholesale in terms of an art form. It's the difference between (early) Eminem and Vanilla Ice, respectively.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

No, and this is exactly why

[dead0man]

Come on, that looks stupid no matter what color the person's skin is.  But people have the right to look stupid.  It's why God invented neck ties.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I always thought the Eurotrash outfit Rednex was distasteful tbh (in the sense that it's a rich bunch of smug Swedes hamming up the overwhelmingly poor White Appalachian culture as some sort of hilarious joke for financial gain.) I guess that could be cultural appropriation a white culture.

[Pyro]

There's truth to it, but it does get overblown.

[Bigby]

You people get it. Looks like this is a classic case of the horsheshoe theory.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Like I see why some people get irritated with it (like when middle class people slum it - OH LOL LOOK AT ME IM DOING WORKING CLASS THINGS HAHAHA NOW BACK TO NORMALITY) but yeah the label is thrown way too much.

I always thought the Eurotrash outfit Rednex was distasteful tbh (in the sense that it's a rich bunch of smug Swedes hamming up the overwhelmingly poor White Appalachian culture as some sort of hilarious joke for financial gain.) I guess that could be cultural appropriation a white culture.

[Kingpoleon]

I'd love for my culture politics to get appropriated but it is already too late.

[dax00]

Yes, it's insane. Also, #DeportBieber.