Honest question: how exactly is just using the name of a group of people (marginalised or not), without any epithets or modifiers, disrespectful or offensive? (“because some members of that group have said so” isn’t valid).
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@tripu I would take issue with some american company using the Serbian name despite never knowing or caring about Serbia in any way. It would separate Serbia from her cultural identity and traditions. I can see how someone could take issue with the ASF using their name and identity in such a way. Now, I don't know if this is the case and I would err on the side of caution when dealing with these things.
Someone naming their company or product “Serbia” is either making up a backronym (neutral meaning) or displaying at least some level of knowledge and/or appreciation for Serbia the country (positive meaning).
How could one possibly “separate [a country] from [its] cultural identity and traditions” by simply using the name of the country to designate a non-profit organisation based in the other side of the world?
How in Earth would “Serbia Vacuum Cleaners Corp.”, headquartered in Vietnam, hurt Serbian people in any meaningful way?
@tripu Emotions are a funny thing, they're not rational. It feels wrong because it does. "Serbia Vacuum Cleaners Corp." sounds appalling to me precisely because it has nothing to do with its namesake, Serbia the country, the people and the Serbian ethnic identity. It's also highly unlikely to be accidental, adding insult to injury.
@tripu Knowing nothing about the culture, making stereotypical caricatures and imposing romantic (or otherwise) expectations onto it is where I draw the line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.
I think that criterion is impossible to match in practice.
My challenge to you: if I knew you just a little bit, I bet I could make a long list of “cultural items” that have their origin in groups/cultures/countries/languages that are foreign to you, and that you “use” without “knowing [anything] about [them]”, “making stereotypical caricatures”, or “imposing […] expectations”.
We all do, all the time. It’s OK.
@tripu We all do to a certain extent, I agree. This is a very fine line, incredibly undefined and hard to do so. I however reject the premise that just because something is messy and difficult to traverse we shouldn't even try.
It’s not messy or difficult. It’s impossible and damaging. You would have to strip your mother tongue of many loanwords. Your culinary palette would be impoverished. The items of fashion, art, music, etc you consume will shrink. Memes, nuance, humour, etc would suffer immensely.
@tripu I agree that cultural exchange is a good thing. We love it around here, we take pride in people wanting to know more about our culture.
I disagree, however, that the Washington Redskins changing their name had such a dramatic effect as you described here.
This is a prime example of the thing you just denounced as impossible.
Of course that one sports team changing their name is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
What I say is impossible is to broadly apply those stringent criteria to always avoid “cultural appropriation” and offence towards groups or individuals. To never use cultural items when we “[know] nothing about the culture, [make] stereotypical caricatures” or impose “expectations onto it”.
