And speaking of t-shirts

MIA is Sri Lankan, iirc, so I think that might be part of the non-Western vibe to her music, because, well, she's not exactly Western. But Vampire Weekend are a bunch white Ivy League kids, who don't seem to be ripping off actual African music so much as Graceland.

But American Apparel? Even if they weren't so icky and unethical, their clothes are tacky and run small. (Lame was never a good idea, especially not for high-waist leggings.)

I don't think the argument is about whether or not zebra print in and of itself is racist. The print itself isn't racist. However, what is about this new line of clothing is that it's called Afrika--essentially distilling an entire continent made up of hundreds of different cultures into one homogeneous aesthetic. Some of the people on the feministing comments already made this point, but I think it bears repeating: you would never, ever see a clothing just called "Europe." You might see a clothing line inspired by Celtic designs or by Italian art, but you can pretty much guarantee that the line would narrow it down to those specific cultures.