Kenan Malik In Defense of Cultural Appropriation (2017)
Nobody owns a culture, but everyone inhabits one, and in inhabiting a culture, one finds the tools for reaching out to other cultures.
The accusation of cultural appropriation is a secular version of the charge of blasphemy. It’s the insistence that certain beliefs and images are so important to particular cultures that they may not appropriated by others.
Seventy years ago, racist radio stations refused to play “race music” for a white audience. Today, antiracist activists insist that white painters should not portray black subjects. To appropriate a phrase from a culture not my own: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Social Cooling explained:
If you feel you are being watched, you change your behavior. Big Data is supercharging this effect. […] Social Cooling describes the long-term negative side effects of living in a reputation economy. A culture of conformity. Have you ever hesitated to click on a link because you thought your visit might be logged, and it could look bad? More and more people are feeling this pressure, and they are starting to apply self-censorship. This is called a ‘chilling effect’. […] Social [media] pressure is the most powerful and most subtle form of control.
The same explained through a video where Frank Pasquale explains how algorithms are racist.
