Social media is an amalgamation of opinions and trends which means that discovering a new word in a serious conversation is just another Tuesday for many. One of the recent words that has gone viral starting from the United Kingdom is ‘Cultural Enricher.’ While the word sounds positive it is actually used in a derogatory manner. Let’s understand the slang word.
Note: The article mentions and includes multimedia of racially derogatory speech which might be triggering for some. Reader’s discretion is advised.
What does Cultural Enricher mean?
In the simplest form, Cultural Enricher means illegal immigrants and refugees. On a broader scale, it is used to refer to people of color.
"cultural enricher" is a greatest urban slang for illegal immigrants, refugees and leftist/Islamic wokes! 😂 https://t.co/KVV5DoUaRQ
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) November 17, 2023
As previously mentioned this is used in a derogatory manner while discussing an event or experience involving an illegal immigrant, refugee, and/or people of color.
In terms of language, it can be considered on the same wavelength as Karen, or YT. Both of these are used to refer to or criticize a ‘white person’ while discussing a situation.
Where did the word originate from?
The word is noted as being used during the World War II as a neo-nazi expression. Its roots can be found in the Swedish language, ‘Kulturberikare’ which was adapted as ‘Cultural Enricher’ in the English language.
White people going into a Black Country is colonialism
Black people going into a white country is cultural enrichment
Have I got that right?
— Sick Of It 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@WayneGb88) January 6, 2024
Due to this the word cultural enrichment is also often noted as being used in a satirical manner. Urban Dictionary has entries related to the satirical use of the word dating back to 2015.
Where it defines it as a term used to describe “an invasion or violence caused by people of different cultures.” Alternatively, it describes it as a term used for appropriating someone’s culture.
How did the term return to use?
The term has never truly faded from use but it has slowly started to appear more frequently on the timeline of people. A post created three years ago on Quora asks about the relation between the word and the UK’s immigration crisis.
https://twitter.com/RadioGenoa/status/1745317404002132298?t=IcS-gF8pEzDNGo27slPU9g&s=19
Many answers criticize Europe’s and particularly the United Kingdom’s policies regarding immigration and refugees stating that there is no enrichment happening from it. They also emphasize that the policies give a false impression that anyone can exploit what their country has to offer.
Meanwhile, recently the term has regained support as the discussions about illegal immigrants and refugees have risen in British politics. Many netizens are seen using the term along with videos of alleged illegal immigrants or refugees partaking in some sort of abusive or indecent activity.
However, it isn’t strictly limited to that. People are also using the term to simply describe a person of color such as saying I saw ‘cultural enrichers’ in the park today.
Is the term Cultural Enrichers racist?
Despite its frequent use for illegal and violent immigrants, one can argue that it is a racist term particularly when used in a derogatory manner. The word is also often used on people of color regardless of their citizenship. Therefore, one can not ignore that it does have a racist background and sentiments connected with it.
