There is nothing wrong with everyone enjoying each otherâs cultures so long as those cultures have been shared.Â
Eating Chinese food, watching Bollywood movies, going to see Cambodian dancers, or learning to speak Korean so you can watch every K drama in existence is totally fine. The invitation to participate in those things came from within those cultures. The Mexican family that owns the place where I get fajitas wants me to eat fajitas. Their whole business model kind of depends on it, actually.Â
If you see something from another culture you think you might want to participate in, but you donât know if that would be disrespectful or appropriative, you can justâŠask. Like. A Jewish friend explained what a mezuzah was to me, recently. (Itâs the little scroll-thing near their front doors that they touch when they come into their house. It basically means âthis is a Jewish household.â)
âOh, cool,â I said. âCan I touch it? Or is it only for Jewish people?â
âYou can touch it or you can not touch it,â she said. âI donât care.â
âCool, Iâm gonna touch it, then.â
You want to twerk, twerk. Iâve never heard a black person say they didnât think anybody else should be allowed to twerk. Just that they want us to acknowledge that they invented that shit, not Miley fucking Cyrus.