Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don't belong to everyone.

[OneBro]

12. I wouldn't call it cultural appropriation.

If I understand your point correctly, I agree that young people may have a more difficult time navigating the nuances surrounding the history of the word n*gger. America intentionally does a horrible of teaching history to its youth, especially any history that puts America, white people, or christians, in a negative light. Thus, while a you may inherently know that n*gger is a bad word, it might very well be confusing when rap lyrics pass the word around like its a 40 ounce. In a world where Kanye is ignorant enough to believe slavery was a choice, it is more than just conceivable that a white youth might wonder "what is the big deal" with the "n-word."

Intelligent people certainly disagree with me, but I'm not a fan of recent cultural appropriation outrage. America's "culture" is an amalgam of many peoples' respective "cultures," religions, creeds, habits, norms, styles, biases and so on. It is one thing to steal a recipe, call it your own, and sell it as our own, but if a white guy wants to open a Mexican restaurant or soul food restaurant, I have zero problem with it. The real, underlying problem is whether non-white people have access to the resources necessary to do the same. Anger at white women in braids or wearing a kimono to prom? Nope. I'll save my outrage for when one people ridicules the culture of another people. THAT bothers me.