But can’t we just call that racism? “Haha, I’m an Indian” is just racist. Making a new term of cultural appropriation then leads to all sorts of things getting that label that aren’t problematic. A lot of it I think actually veers back into racism. Like as a white guy, can I eat, for example, Cherokee dishes? Can I open a Cherokee restaurant? I’m not pretending to be from their culture, I just like the food and think other people would too. If I can’t do these things, you are reinforcing that Cherokees are a different group than all other Americans, which is where racism comes from. Being exposed to other cultures is how you combat racism, that’s why cities tend to be less racist.
But can’t we just call that racism? “Haha, I’m an Indian” is just racist. Making a new term of cultural appropriation then leads to all sorts of things getting that label that aren’t problematic. A lot of it I think actually veers back into racism. Like as a white guy, can I eat, for example, Cherokee dishes? Can I open a Cherokee restaurant? I’m not pretending to be from their culture, I just like the food and think other people would too. If I can’t do these things, you are reinforcing that Cherokees are a different group than all other Americans, which is where racism comes from. Being exposed to other cultures is how you combat racism, that’s why cities tend to be less racist.