Twitter's Dragging Someone Who said Eating Sushi Is "Cultural Appropriation"

This Twitter user started an online controversy for claiming that Sushi has become a "colonizer's food" and is swearing off eating it.

Mustafa Gatollari - Author
By

Jan. 25 2021, Updated 2:33 p.m. ET

sushi cultural appropriation cover
Source: Getty | Twitter

If a chef came up to you and said that they wanted to prepare you a dish that consists of the slimy foliage that sticks to your leg when you're swimming in the ocean, cold white rice, and raw fish, and it's often served with a green paste that sets your nose on fire and paired with a watery brown sauce, you'd probably curl your nose up in disgust. But sushi has become a beloved dish that's popular all over the world.

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The popular street food that is believed to have been introduced to Japan sometime in the ninth century has been deeply associated with the country for hundreds of years. The generally healthy food can be prepared in a variety of ways and packs tons of protein, omega-3's and vitamins depending on the vegetables that are used in the meal's construction.

According to one Twitter user, however, they are swearing off of the dish for good because it's a "whitewashed colonizer's food." They published their opinion of the food and said that whoever eats the stuff is "culturally appropriating Asian culture" if they decide to scarf it down.

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sushi whitewashed food
Source: Twitter

It didn't take long for throngs of people to retweet Fiona's opinion and respond to their tweet. In the threaded discussion, the topic of Sushi's origin came up, with debates as to the food's country of origin.

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Others seemed to agree with Fiona stating that many people eat Sushi not just because they believe it's delicious, but because "of their fixation with asia thinking they're cultured..."

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Others pointed out the way some cultures have "appropriated" Sushi and put their own twist on it as well, like sushi "pizzas" and "cups" in Brazil.

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However, there are lots of other people who thought that Fiona's claim that eating sushi is "cultural appropriation" was entirely bogus. Some stated that just because someone's ethnicity is different than the food they're eating doesn't necessarily mean they're promoting "whitewashing" or the mitigation of another culture.

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While others castigated Fiona for not being "woke" themselves after digging into their Twitter history and seeing that they claimed that being "Latinx" was the "same" as being Asian, along with some other questionable fetishizations of "Asian people."

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Other Asian and Japanese people chimed in stating that they eat food from other cultures and that they disagreed with Fiona's tweet stating that enjoying sushi as a meal is akin to "cultural appropriation."

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And throngs of other people sarcastically commented that they would be unable to eat all of their favorite foods now because they're ethnically not from the same region as the meals that they love originated from.

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Then there were those who pointed out the fact that Japan had colonized other countries too. 

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Others stated that "food...is how people and cultures come together." There are tons of think pieces written about the communal aspect of food and "breaking bread" with folks as a great unifier, so Fiona's claim that eating sushi is "cultural appropriation" and is a divisive meal goes against that long-held belief.

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What do you think? Will you be swearing off sushi now? Or do you think that Fiona is simply tweeting out of pocket? It seems like Fiona's tweets may have offended some folks on Twitter as their account is now temporarily restricted. Was it for the sushi comment? Or the fact that people were pointing out some of their previous tweets about Asian culture?

cultural appropriation sushi
Source: Twitter
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