I’m so glad they got Ted Chiang – a wonderful writer of science fiction and thinker about technology, in my opinion – to write this essay. My favorite line was this:
Generative A.I. appeals to people who think they can express themselves in a medium without actually working in that medium.
“Rich kids should go to public schools. The mayor should ride the subway to work. When wealthy people get sick, they should be sent to public hospitals. Business executives should have to stand in the same airport security lines as everyone else. The very fact that people want to buy their way out of all of these experiences points to the reason why they shouldn’t be able to. Private schools and private limos and private doctors and private security are all pressure release valves that eliminate the friction that would cause powerful people to call for all of these bad things to get better. The degree to which we allow the rich to insulate themselves from the unpleasant reality that others are forced to experience is directly related to how long that reality is allowed to stay unpleasant. When they are left with no other option, rich people will force improvement in public systems. Their public spirit will be infinitely less urgent when they are contemplating these things from afar than when they are sitting in a hot ER waiting room for six hours themselves.”
I went to a market recently that was absolutely swimming in appropriation of First Nations religious and cultural items.
I’m talkin white people selling rattles and dream catchers, white people banging First Nations style drums, white people teaching talking stick workshops, that kinda shit
So what do you do when you see this crap? How do you show your disapproval in a way that makes them give a shit?
I’ll tell you what I do. The point is to show them that appropriating Indigenous cultures will lose them customers.
When I see fakey Native art I say something like “Oh wow, you make dreamcatchers! What nation are you from?” (Use tribe in the states)
I used to ask point blank if they were Native, but I’d nearly always get some Cherokee great grandmother bullshit, or even “I’m not sure, I could have some Native in me!”
Most of the time they don’t know what I’m talking about, because they’re not Native and don’t know that this is a very normal thing to ask when meeting another Native.
When they ask me what I mean I say “I mean your tribe, which First Nation are you from?”
This is the point where they sheepishly mumble that they are not First Nations.
I let my face fall and say something like “Oh. That’s disappointing” or “Wow. Unfortunate.”
I let it get awkward. And then I leave, shaking my head in disapproval.
You may feel like you need to educate them on cultural appropriation but here’s the thing: it’s 2025. They know. Brenda the middle class reiki shaman is FULLY aware that her smudge fans are stolen culture. She doesn’t care. The only way to make them care is to hit them where it hurts: the wallet.
Make them think that you would have purchased what they are selling if it was AUTHENTIC.
If you wanna go the extra mile send an email to the organizers, in your best white people voice, and tell them that you are disappointed that they are facilitating culture theft.
Go out and make Brenda uncomfortable!
not to be a snitch, but if this is happening in the US you can also straight up report Brenda for a fine up to $250k under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.
ALT
