Why we as overseas Asians should not follow Asia-Asians on how to react

No I wouldn't do a dissertation on topics like this, it's just more of an interest or hobby. I'm just sharing my thoughts.
To me, it doesn't make sense to emulate Asians in Asia as a guideline to how we as overseas Asians should react or respond. They live in a different context to us where they are the ethnic majority. Experiencing White power structures is something most of them will never have to deal with, at least directly, so they do not get it.

With all this pho appropriation in mind, I personally think it is possible for Whites in the West to adapt cultural elements of other cultures in a respectful way. By liaising and consulting the Vietnamese community. By including Vietnamese chefs. By showing he has done his research around pho. For example he said Hoisin and Sriracha should not be added. Well that's just his arrogance speaking.

The interview could have been a Q&A format, like:

Q: Should Hoisin and Sriracha be added?
A: In Hanoi, condiments like Hoisin and Sriracha sauce are traditionally not added. However, in Saigon, it is popular for these optional condiments to be added according customers taste. At Bon Appetit, we spend hours upon hours to perfect the pho broth, so hopefully you will enjoy the time and flavour that has gone into it and won't need to adjust it, but feel free to add other condiments to suit your taste!

The above answer would communicate to me that the person has done his research, isn't telling Vietnamese people how pho should be eaten, and isn't acting like he knows better than Vietnamese themselves. It's a respectful answer that isn't condescending and acting like one type of pho is the "correct" version which may be insulting to many Vietnamese people who are not from Hanoi. Better yet they should have got a Vietnamese person to answer the question.

Posted by: thewalrus

to cultural appropriation?

Like this is such a naive mindset to adopt, to emulate Asians in Asia in how to deal with cultural appropriation and microaggressions i.e. by not caring, by condoning it, and such forth.

Like obviously Asians in Asia are not going to care about cultural appropriation or sociological issues in the West. They don't live here? It is not their issue and it is not their fight. So by trying to be "authentic Asian" by not caring, I find it quite amusing because this is your society that you live in, and not theirs.

Asians in Asia live in environments where they are the majority / dominant ethnic group so it is easy for them to brush off White power structures to one side, ignore it, or dismiss it as "fake Asians just being butthurts" because they have NO EXPERIENCE in White dominant societies. But for us as overseas Asians it is impossible to ignore it because we actually live here and have to experience it, they have the luxury of not having to ever deal with these issues.

For instance do you honestly think an Ao Dai seamstress / vendor in Hanoi or Saigon is going to care about some spoilt White American expat who wants to appropriate the Ao Dai, or do you think she is more interested in making a living?

So whenever people are saying "but these Asians in Asia said it's okay" or "my Asian friend said it's okay", that does not always actually mean it's okay. Cultural appropriation isn't about finding as much individuals as you can to agree with you. And what is okay and what is not is highly contextual and requires working through a framework of analysis.

Don't you think that we are culturally appropriating too like when we use western tech like the internet, use English or eat western food yet there is no westerners complaining that their inventions should be exclusively for them.

Also Asians and Arabs migrating to the west are status seeking money grubbing parasites we bitch and moan when Westerners come to our countries yet we see nothing wrong when we come to their countries to dilute their already declining race with our massive overpopulated home countries supplying a never ending flow of immigrants to the West whereas they can't do that to us.

Respectfully, my Chinese Shawdy who has the same birthday as me, you have a point but they also have a point too.