A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATION FOR NON-BELIEVERS

An oldie but a goodie. This is Rajeev Balasubramanyam in McSweeney's:

1. Your new friends Bob and Rita come to lunch and you serve them idlis, like your grandmother used to make.

2. They love your south Indian cooking and ask for the recipe.

3. You never hear from Rita and Bob again.

4. You read in the Style section of the Guardian about Rita and Bob’s new Idli bar in Covent Garden… called ‘Idli.’

5. You visit Idli. The food tastes nothing like your grandmother’s.

More here.  [Thanks to Pramathanath Sastry.]