Cultural appropriation in writing?

Bedrockgames · Mar 26, 2014

Zombie_Babies said:
I explained that. In another post I also suggested what may replace it: a single culture that's the result of all cultures blending. This requires that everyone give something up, though, and I don't see that ever happening.

Okay, but what does that look like. I am just having difficulty understanding what a blend of all cultures in the world is or means. Mechanically how does that work? By what process do you decide what to keep and what to remove? I am not sure i see the merit in this idea.

Zombie_Babies · Mar 26, 2014

Bedrockgames said:
Okay, but what does that look like. I am just having difficulty understanding what a blend of all cultures in the world is or means. Mechanically how does that work? By what process do you decide what to keep and what to remove? I am not sure i see the merit in this idea.

I have no idea. The merit is obvious, however: If everyone has the same background there's less crap to fight over. It's easier to see people as the same/equal. There's a less easy path to other folks.

Bedrockgames · Mar 26, 2014

Zombie_Babies said:
I have no idea. The merit is obvious, however: If everyone has the same background there's less crap to fight over. It's easier to see people as the same/equal. There's a less easy path to other folks.

i am not at all sure that is true at all. Really you are just proposing the creation of a monoculture, the process of doing this requires the destruction of existing cultures (destroying good and bad elements). Can't think of anything more othering than telling people they need to stop being who they are.

Tonguez · Mar 26, 2014

Zombie_Babies said:
Missing the point. You don't have to have one culture conquer all others for varying cultures to be let go. But hey, if you're down with perpetual war, mistreatment, abuse and the readily available justification for all of those (and more terrible things) that culture provides, whatever. I mean, if that's your culture ...

Srsly, why is the first place your mind took you 'one culture to rule them all'? That's nothing I even implied. We can blend cultures to form a single cohesive one. Anyhoo, that this is what you thought says more about you than me.

You said the notion of culture needs to "die in a fire" to which I agreed (admittedly facetiously), the notion of cultures dying in a fire is inherently destructive and oppressive, very much in the maner of imperialism.

That you recant now and instead call for a blending of cultures into a single cohesive hegemony is on the face of it a positive step, but as Mr Bedrock points out who decides what cultural elements are worthy of inclusion? How does this blending of cultures proceed without becoming Assimilation?

I was simply recommending that, as I believe my culture is sufficiently worthy, if you wish to abandon yours then mine can remain as our shared monoculture.

PS as we are currently sharing thoughts on a forum dedicated to DnD, using a shared language, doesn't that imply the 'blending of cultures' is already happening anyway with no fiery death required?

Bedrockgames · Mar 26, 2014

Tonguez said:
You said the notion of culture needs to "die in a fire" to which I agreed (admittedly facetiously), the notion of cultures dying in a fire is inherently destructive and oppressive, very much in the maner of imperialism.

That you recant now and instead call for a blending of cultures into a single cohesive hegemony is on the face of it a positive step, but as Mr Bedrock points out who decides what cultural elements are worthy of inclusion? How does this blending of cultures proceed without becoming Assimilation?

I was simply recommending that, as I believe my culture is sufficiently worthy, if you wish to abandon yours then mine can remain as our shared monoculture.

PS as we are currently sharing thoughts on a forum dedicated to DnD, using a shared language, doesn't that imply the 'blending of cultures' is already happening anyway with no fiery death required?

Also culture includes a lot of different things. To participate in such an evaporation of culture, you would have to lose your beliefs, your ideas, your identity, your traditions, your music, your games, etc. D&D would certainly need to go, because that is a cultural feature, and an obvious source of division among edition warriors. You would be losing all this in order to avoid "othering" and conflict. And it isn't clear at all that you achieve this.

But the bigger issue here is culture can't just evaporate, it must be replaced with something. So zombie is still stuck with the problem of one group spreading its culture and destroying others (even if that group is just a cluster of academics who identify the five good cultural qualities that should be perpetuated).

This just seems like an outrageous proposal.

Tom Strickland · Mar 26, 2014

It is interesting to read some of the well-reasoned statements in the recent discussion.

Additionally:

Zombie_Babies said:
The whole notion of culture needs to die in a fire.

Several things in fiction and reality throughout time have been consigned by individuals, groups, or legal authorities through use of force to "die in a fire."

Books:

Fahrenheit 451

Civilizations (and humankind):

The Terminator Series

People:

- Burning of live human babies on the statue of Moloch in ancient times

- Burning alive of "witches" and "heretics"

- Burning of "criminal" men, women and children routed into buildings and prevented from escaping

Nellisir · Mar 26, 2014

Weird. It's like no one has ever heard of hyperbole before. :erm:

Kramodlog · Mar 27, 2014

Nellisir said:
Weird. It's like no one has ever heard of hyperbole before.

No one!? I've heard of it and obviously so have you too!

I demand a retraction, good sir.

Tonguez · Mar 27, 2014

Nellisir said:
Weird. It's like no one has ever heard of hyperbole before.

Hyperbole is akin to sarcasm and progenitor of escalation which leads back to calefaction

Nellisir · Mar 27, 2014

Tonguez said:
... calefaction

Huh. That was a new one.

Cultural appropriation in writing?

Bedrockgames

Legend

Zombie_Babies

First Post

Bedrockgames

Legend

Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow

Bedrockgames

Legend

Tom Strickland

First Post

Nellisir

Hero

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow

Nellisir

Hero

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