Recently I got into a “debate” so to speak with someone about the use of populate pop culture references or quotes. For example , “put some respeck on my name”, “bae” , “go offs sis” etc. (for reference it was under a topic about the kardashians so I suppose this “outrage” may be misdirected). Anyway, the person I was speaking with said that “culture vultures” use of AAVE in memes, quotes or sayings was offensive.

It’s my understanding that POC contribute a lot to “pop culture”, it’s also my understanding that they often go unnoticed or unrecognized. However, my question is, should popular phrases, terms or “vocabulary” that originated from POC culture, be limited to only POC? Or is it fair to assume majority of people who reference pop culture know where their favorite quote originated?

Hope this makes sense.. thoughts?