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Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race,
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Genesis
No, it is not an act of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is about taking something from a different culture and profiting from that in some way whereas when people of that cultural group receive backlash for exhibiting that said part of their culture. Reading a book about a different culture is cultural appreciation and educating yourself.
Teresa
I'm not entirely convinced this is a legitimately forthright question - but in the event it is. Absolutely not, consider it an act of education. You are being curious and seeking information about a topic you don't know about. You are not "doing" anything with something from the culture - simply informing yourself. I hope you read it.
Ian Connel
Yes. But it is also an act of self-flaggelation in response to your innate white privilege and the evils of dead white people you have to answer for because reasons.
Shiraz Engineer
To consider reading this book as cultural appropriation is incorrectly assuming that anyone who is non-white is part of the same culture. We are not. We are all made up of different cultures. Sounds like you would benefit from reading this book.
SQUAWK
I'm not sure that reading any book can be considered an act of cultural appropriation (please correct me if anyone feels differently). As a reader, you are a consumer (of words) and you are free to form opinions about what you read. Cultural appropriation has certainly happened in the writing of books (see Jungle Book, Arabian Nights, Madame Butterfly...and the list goes on and on). However, reading books (even if they culturally appropriated or had underlying racist tones) enables us to have a better understanding of where stereotypes come from and why they continue to persist. I think it's the thought process or dialogue that comes from reading that enables us all to grow. Read this book. Read any book without being worried about cultural appropriation, and then ask yourself whether there were topics/portrayals in these book that made you uncomfortable. Question the authors' motives and use reading as a catalyst to call out cultural appropriation. In reading this book and recommending this book, a few friends have pointed out their discomfort with the title/cover of the book. If you're not comfortable with showing the book cover in public due to concerns about cultural appropriation: 1. Know that peoples' opinion about what you read is not important and not their business; and 2. You can use a book cover or read it with an electronic device.
Rosa
I think you're a troll. How could reading a book be "an act of cultural appropriation"?
Cecilie Jøhnk
On the contrary. Who needs more to know about why it can be so frustrating and exhousting to discuss race with white people, than white people?
It's just a way of letting this journalist speak out without interrupting or answering back or playing "the devil's advocate".
And even if this book may leave some readers angry and feeling unjustly accused, with some time to lull this over, one will become a less terrible person to discuss with, I hope.
ANd maybe some of us can take on that discussion with other white people that has so emptied out Reni's explain-for-white-people-get-up-and-go.
It's just a way of letting this journalist speak out without interrupting or answering back or playing "the devil's advocate".
And even if this book may leave some readers angry and feeling unjustly accused, with some time to lull this over, one will become a less terrible person to discuss with, I hope.
ANd maybe some of us can take on that discussion with other white people that has so emptied out Reni's explain-for-white-people-get-up-and-go.
Kumari de Silva
No, cultural appropriation is when you take something out of context from another culture and exploit it, reading a book is never cultural appropriation because books are part of numerous cultures
Moon flower
Why is it ok to publish racist crap like this? We all know about slavery, we all don't agree that it was good or fair in the slightest. So if you're no longer talking to white people about race then why be passive aggressive about it and expect white people to pay for this crap? No thanks, wouldn't even keep a fire going with this utter racist garbage. Get some perspective.
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