(no subject)

My thoughts on cultural appropriation are driven by my opposition to a kind of fatalism I see in authors like Chang-rae Lee. To them, the culture of your biological parents is your nature and your destiny. You must live by their rules, or else you’re denying yourself, which will inevitably leave you as a hollowed-out husk of a person. Cultures can’t be mixed, nor can they be learned, and they certainly can’t be escaped. Whatever culture you inherited by blood will remain with you until you die.

If you think this sounds suspiciously similar to those “race realist” nutjobs, you’re not wrong. The only difference is which specific culture they see as inherently tied to their own bloodline.

(no subject)

Blogger I’m unfamiliar with: “Do you have any idea what the word gaslighting means? Because what I said is nowhere near gaslighting . . . Literally saying “I’m pretty sure op wasn’t mocking people . . .” isn’t “gaslighting”. People on this website need to stop calling “stranger disagreed with my interpretation of a situation” gaslighting it’s gross and muddies the definition of a literal abuse tactic.”

Blogger I normally respect: “I tagged it as gaslighting for a friend who was triggered by feeling belittled by your response, and prefers to avoid these kind of discussions. I am however not going to keep engaging with you as your refusal to see why another person could be made upset by this kind of thing is tiring and I don’t have the mental energy to expend on this today. Have a good day.”

Me: What the flying fuck.

Seriously, what an incredible combo of “I’m not here to educate you,” “Your very presence is an act of bigotry in ways you don’t understand and must humbly apologize for,” and “as the subject of bigotry, I cannot possibly be the asshole here.”