THIS!!!!: Appropriation—that is, said wanton culture jacking—is malignant because it reduces people to exotic artifacts. Artists collecting the paraphernalia of black (and Asian and Native American, let’s be real) culture—the way the Sultan Of Brunei might collect vintage Lambos or diamond-encrusted Air Forces that he’ll later gift to Usher—makes those twerking girls framing Miley onstage or Lily Allen in a video something other than human. And that view of people has repercussions: Large swaths of white America can be only be okay with Mike Brown and any of the other men, women and children lost to police violence this year if these individuals are seen as “thugs,” “threats” or anything else besides people. It creates a new, unspoken three-fifths clause, where taking a black life is seen as not that big a deal to far too many people.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 17:16:08 +0000
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