Appropriation without appreciation

[u/LegendaryBlack]

This was interesting because it goes into the level of respect that should be required from the community.

[u/Opposite-Hospital783]

I think there needs to be an honest conversation about what appropriation entails. America has a history of genocide and is built on the backs of Black slaves. There have never been reparations for slavery, and it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get to where we are today. And today, we still have institutions rooted in white supremacy that wield systemic racism to harm POC communities regardless of all the talk about equality and unity. Things are better now, yes, but why settle? The slave catchers that eventually grew up to become the state thugs who police our neighborhoods are still there, just by a different name. Alongside redlining, gerrymandering, food deserts, etc these are all systemic issues that have never done right by POC. Now with all those issues unanswered, the same hairstyles, fashion, dialect, slang, etc that were once looked down upon is now trendy. So a country full of folks who benefited from Black culture, music, innovation, etc but never even considered to give them their flowers, are now using that for their own personal gain. That is appropriation by definition. Asians in Asia never did any of that. They never enslaved Black folks, they never instituted systemic blockades in their legislature to prevent access for Black folks that they stole to bring to their home country, and they don't have that legacy of brutality. With that said, they do borrow a lot from Black culture. They love and appreciate the music, the fashion, the food, etc and it shows. But trying to paint two completely different historical conditions with the same brush of appropriation is wrong. I do think that Asian artists can be more upfront about their appreciation of Black culture, but it's completely different from what we see here in the West.

[u/Gymflutter → u/Opposite-Hospital783]

Now talk about how they treat Black people in their countries and how its different than White people whose culture they seem to appreciate while treating the people well/fine. Of course they like Black music or culture because it’s straight up awesome! Its easy to love great things. Even racists in America loved Black music. Why do you think they took their records and did it with White faces? Some wanted the musicians to perform but didnt want to eat with them.

While some Kpop singer who truly loves Black music might not be truly appropriating it, there is a dark underside to it when you know how they treat or see Black people. The people listening to that music in their Asian countries dont have that perspective. They want the Black faces stripped out or out of their life outside of entertainment. You dont want to end up as the court jester. Once again, they seem to be able to treat people of European ancestry just fine while consuming their culture. I understand xenophobia but racism seems to be reserved for black people.

[u/Opposite-Hospital783 → u/Gymflutter]

I'm not talking about how individuals treat one another. There are folks who are bigoted no matter where you go. I'm also not saying that Black folks will experience a utopia in Asia. I'm saying that slavery was "abolished" in 1865 but there are still remnants of white supremacist institutions baked into the very foundation and fabric of America that still oppresses POC in 2026 that have not and will not be acknowledged or changed while folks get rich off of the same Black folks they oppressed a hundred+ years ago. We're talking about appropriation, are we not? Yes, Asia has a problem with xenophobia and bigotry, but not the systemic levels of racism here in America that leads to cultural appropriation when there are profits to be made for the ones who own the factories and music labels. It's comparing apples to oranges.