I hear all this uproar all the time about people who use cultural appropriation, yet sometimes I just don’t see what the problem is. I get that it has been done for malicious intent before and I’m not defending that or suggesting I agree with doing it for such purposes, but is, for example, a chef cooking a certain dish that originates from a land that is not his own, or other examples, really worth the same uproar?
Cultural malice can certainly cause offense, but to me cultural appropriation is a distinctly different offence, due specifically to willful ignorance. When cultural symbols have a very specific meaning, and are misused as vaguely exotic, people of that culture, who know those symbols and see them being used ignorantly and improperly, and now know that you didn’t really care about their culture, couldn’t even be bothered to ask anybody or look up how to use them authentically.
As a non-example, I don’t consider it cultural appropriation when culture when I eat tacos, assuming I eat them for the same reason the Mexicans do – their people’s food is better than my people’s food.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Mexican food that’s popular in the US is not very authentic. For example, historically Mexicans didn’t smother everything with cheese, especially not cow milk cheese.
There are absolutely authentic Mexican restaurants, but those are quite often hole in the wall joints that most white people will ignore. But they’ll have some of the best food you’ve ever eaten.