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Frater Seamus's avatar

As a musician, I have engaged in cultural appropriation on a regular basis for decades. I have joyfully appropriated blues and reggae and jazz, even klezmer music on the rare occasion it has been on the sonic menu. I even remember a time when musical appropriation from all corners of the globe became a genre, we called it "World Music" and all the new agers thought it was the greatest thing and Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel were masters of the form.

And don't get me started on food. LOL

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Music is a perfect example.

Of course, the 'doctrine' only goes one way. A Norwegian band isn't 'allowed' to play a didgeridoo, but Yoyo Ma can play the cello…

Okay, now you're getting ME started 🤣🤣

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Jacqueline Rendell's avatar

How dare you, Frater?!!

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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

nothing more fun than experimenting with different things in the fridge ! thanks to Mexican, Indian, and many other immigrants (I am originally from Belgium) for spicing up the bland cooking of Georgia USA.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Spice is the spice of life.

Spice is the variety of life.

Variety is the spice of life.

They all kind of mean the same thing!

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Freedom Fox's avatar

I'm all about all the cuisines! Except for zee bugz that impoverished, malnourished peoples of the world eat and our would-be masters would have us eat.

Building on my clothing comment yesterday, I described as hippie-Latin American fusion. I'll add that my wardrobe includes Moroccan hoodie Thobes, African and Indian Dashiki shirts, Indian Kurta's and Sanskrit print shirts, Latin American Guayabera shirts, linen pants, Chinese ramie fabric pants, etc. And often paired with hippie-inspired bead necklace and feather earing custom creations.

It's always funny when someone sees the feathers and very politely, somewhat apologetically, culturally sensitively questions what Native American tribe I'm from when they see my whole ensemble, or ask about my lineage connection to the regions these types of clothes are associated with.

My response is often, "I'm a culturally appropriating MoFo!" with a big smile plastered on my face!

Note: As per yesterday's comment, the questions are always from white people. Blacks dig it, give me mad props for not being a typical vanilla White boy. Latin's dig the Latin, Muslims don't know what to think about the thobes, curious double takes from Indians when I'm wearing a kurta or Sanskrit print. But, I'm a culturally appropriating MoFo! It's how I roll!

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Right on!!

And yeah, it’s always the white people (and hardcore leftists of any type) who care. Especially white women, who have the lowest in-group affinity of any surveyed cohort.

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Freedom Fox's avatar

And young. Cashiers, clerks, waitstaff, etc. Even young men, not just women. They've been so horribly indoctrinated. It's like they're looking for permission to notice something different and their minds go to political correctness, cultural appropriation as a no-no. I'm in your face with cultural appropriation. It's a "does not compute" moment for them. Tilt!!!

I should/could have a different response that's more inviting of them to discard their mental handcuffs than just laughing and brutally calling it out. Hmmm? Teachable moment in that communication that extends the concept I'm exemplifying?

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Tilt!

Pinball metaphor FTW!

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Christopher Cook's avatar

"Teachable moment in that communication that extends the concept I'm exemplifying?"

—worth a try!

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Freedom Fox's avatar

Open to suggestions.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

This method is frequently effective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rasAydzK4rk

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Freedom Fox's avatar

Right!!

I was thinking more along the lines of this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Mi_LCWVbI

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James Goodrich's avatar

I was on another sub stack this AM. And the subject was mental health and the way people are diagnosed and treated and basically how it has very little success if any in actually fixing people. My mother was full Italian. She married my father who had an English heritage. My Italian mother had a sister that they say was the most beautiful of them all. Not to bring up a depressing subject but a man raped my aunt, so I’ve been told, sending her to a mental facility where they kept her with horrible treatments and all for her whole life. My grandfather, a full blooded Italian, culturally appropriated this fellow and he was never heard from again. So you see there are all different types of cultural appropriations some are purely justice. J.Goodrich

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Christopher Cook's avatar

"My mother was full Italian. She married my father who had an English heritage."

—Mine too.

"a man raped my aunt, so I’ve been told, sending her to a mental facility where they kept her with horrible treatments and all for her whole life."

—Horrifying!

"culturally appropriated this fellow and he was never heard from again."

—Sounds like maybe the guy reaped what he had sown.

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Mac's avatar

Damn straight, everyone gets to donate, you live here, pass something worth while on, now some of you can leave your culture in the toilet you found it in, or go back to where your culture originated.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Learn from the best; leave the rest.

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Iris Weston's avatar

Sounds like a really fiery wakeup call! I'd have added some pickles and capers to that but I can't figure out who I would have appropriated them from... Oh well. (crunch-crunch)

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Christopher Cook's avatar

ChatGPT says,

"Capers come from the flower buds of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa), a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region. Pickled cucumbers come from the cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus), originally from South Asia."

Are you genetically any portion South Asian, or from any ethnic group from on or near the Mediterranean?

If so, figure out the exact percentages. You may only eat those foods in amounts concomitant with those percentages.

If not, you're a racist if eat any.

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Iris Weston's avatar

Right, racist it is then.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Same here!

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An K.'s avatar

LOL!! Yes!!!! Thank you!!

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Gastroillogica's avatar

It’s cultural appropriation only if you end up serving it for 30€ at terminal T4 in Madrid, or as part of a 365€ menu at your restaurant decorated with flying pigs.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

I think there may be some knowledge I lack that would help me understand what you mean. I have never been to Madrid, and the only flying pigs I've seen was when I was listening to Pink Floyd.

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Gastroillogica's avatar

Never heard of DiverXO?

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Nope. Is it yummy?

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Gastroillogica's avatar

Imagine you’re a chef with three Michelin stars, several lowkey “affordable” eateries (in Dubai, posh mall’s and airline terminals). You are white, middle aged, and male.

One day you discover “ethnic” cuisine and start making all of your plates with this style. Oh, of course you travel to “third world countries”, taste their food, and then go home in the above mentioned restaurant catering for affluent white customers and serve them your “newly discovered” fusion food.

Whorls that taste good, or should we think this is cultural appropriation?

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Christopher Cook's avatar

There may be ways of doing this that are tacky. But the doctrine of cultural appropriation, as it is generally applied, is evil.

Everyone is always appropriating things from everyone else. The hill people learned to make barbed fishing spears from the river people. I learned about sweet Thai sriracha from my Thai neighbor. Everyone got penicillin from a Scotsman. Cultural sharing is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Can it be done in a tacky way? Sure. But any term beyond "tacky" is just more Cultural Marxist nonsense.

Unless we are prepared to tell Yo Yo Ma that he has to put down the cello and is only allowed to play traditional Chinese instruments. Or that he is only allowed to play those instruments invented by his Han ancestors, or Chin ancestors, depending on who his parents ancestors were and how granular we want to get. If we carry the notion of cultural appropriation out to its logical conclusions, all we get is hate and evil and racism and things that drive humans apart rather than bring them together.

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Gastroillogica's avatar

Don’t you think there is a different between you, learning from a person and making your own “fusion” sandwich, and a Michelin chef selling someone else’s food?

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Shanna Ellison's avatar

I too often pillage food myself. I blame my Nordic ancestors 😂

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Christopher Cook's avatar

I will Viking your Panang, your katsudon, and your sloppy joe!

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Rat's avatar

My favorite phrase is «all culture is appropriation».

Speaking of naan, the word isn't Indian, it has been appropriated from Persian into dozens of languages from Komi to Thai. The Persian sphere of cultural influence is quite wide.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

"My favorite phrase is «all culture is appropriation».

—I LOVE IT!

"it has been appropriated from Persian"

—Yep, that's what I saw in the etymology!

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John David Truly's avatar

In the glowing words of Jill Biden “See Say Pahdway”. That was some sort of bizarre cultural affrontpriation.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

"It's okaaiyy when we do it, y'all."

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Charlotte Pendragon's avatar

Savory embrace,

Cultures dance on a plate,

Whateverish tacos thrive.

🌮😋😍

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Christopher Cook's avatar

The smoky spice,

It does entice,

So I ate it twice!

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JaseFace's avatar

My personal favorite is ' A Tribe called Red' (Name appropriated from hip-hops 'A Tribe Called Quest') who are a first nation band, who play a mix of hip-hop, reggae and other music appropriated from black culture, who slagged off their own white audience for cultural appropriation for homage-dressing up like members if the band- in their traditional tribal gear. 'Pot Calls Kettle Black' in massive face-plant the OP should appreciate https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/a-tribe-called-red-redface-indian-costumes_n_3576884

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Gross. But entirely unsurprising. If it weren't for double standards, they'd have no standards at all.

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Jacqueline Rendell's avatar

Ooh la la!! You're so SPICY!! LOL!

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Christopher Cook's avatar

That is correct.

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Ol' Doc Skepsis's avatar

OK. Fine.

I'm making sushi tacos for dinner.

So there. 🤪

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Christopher Cook's avatar

My wife would be happy….

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Geary Johansen's avatar

Sriracha sauce is gorgeous- I have it with everything which one would normally have tomato sauce. It's also great with tempura prawns. It's lovely with tuna mayo pasta, especially with sliced antipasto peppers, salty black olives and salad onions. Many pro chefs have taken to mixing it with mayo as a condiment. Finally, it's lovely as an ingredient barbecue marinades. If the meat you're marinating is lamb, add sliced and crushed anchovy paste.

In the UK, the best Sriracha sauce company is Source Shop- but be sure to order the Sriracha Chilli Sauce rather than the more watery version, because the Sriracha Chilli Sauce has the consistency of a good tomato sauce, although it's slightly more coarse.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Have you tried Shark, from Thailand? Sweeter. Delicious!

https://importfood.com/products/thai-sauces-condiments/item/sriracha-sauce-shark-brand

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Geary Johansen's avatar

I like Sauce Shop because they are small business. When one of our national supermarket chains dropped them and tried to push a cheap inferior product on its customers, they sent me a a thank you note for ordering through Amazon with a picture of a 40s to 50s couple, outside their industrial unit. I imagine they really felt the pain when the supermarket dropped them- Amazon still hasn’t included them as part of the Prime delivery package, and their lead times through Amazon aren’t great.

The national supermarket has since resumed stocking their product…

https://www.sauceshop.co/products/sriracha

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Christopher Cook's avatar

I'm not seeing them on Amazon at all right now…

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Geary Johansen's avatar

Probably only available in the UK version, as they are a UK-based firm. Even then Amazon tries to hide them- they’re not stocked.

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Christopher Cook's avatar

Weird that Amazon would try to hide them!

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Geary Johansen's avatar

It’s not so much that they try to hide them- they just bury them quite far down the page (in the UK). In the old days, it used to be all about the buy boxes.

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