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Drawing the line between cultural appreciation and appropriation has always been a difficult one for white people. One area of confusion seems to be with Asian languages, particularly East Asian languages, and I am here to clarify to the best of my ability. Studying the language
is NOT appropriation. You can study the language, learn its history, its grammar, its functions, practice speaking it, etc., and that is cool. It’s important living in a pluralistic society to familiarize ourselves with the unfamiliar, and being interested in the language of an
ethnic/racial group other than your own is fine. That’s not where the issue lies. The issue lies when your appreciation of a culture that does not belong to you begins to seep into your everyday lives as though you are a member of, as though you belong TO and this “other” culture
belongs to you. It’s not yours. Wearing our traditional clothing/headdresses and getting sacred writing tatooed for the “aesthetic” and “yellowfishing” online (also includes blackfishing and any other kind of account run by a white person designed to look like a POC or black
person is running it) is APPROPRIATION. Some poc/black people giving you the OK to do these kinds of things is not representative of how we feel as a WHOLE. The parts do not equal the whole. One poc dm’ing you that it’s okay to design your online presence in a way that
intentionally, yes intentionally (you know what you’re doing), markets you as a race other than your own even though you are WHITE is not representative of how we feel as a WHOLE. Stop seeking validation for your inappropriate behavior from POC who likely have a lot of
internalized self-hatred, an effect of decades of systemic racism and inequity in America, and HEAR the voices of POC who ARE telling you your behavior is weird and fetishizing and disrespectful. If you appreciate our culture so greatly, know when to step away. Know what is NOT
yours to touch. You don’t get to put your grubby paws on everything you see that you like because that leaves fingerprints, and OUR cultures aren’t yours to leave marks on. That’s all I have to say, and any white person typing out an argument in response to this should just stop
because I’m going to block you. I don’t have time to waste on those who can’t step outside of themselves and hear others. I don’t have time or energy, and frankly I just don’t care to hear your bad take, so I’m just going to block you, so don’t bother. That’s all.
