is the word "Oriental" a derogatory word?

[FuzzyDunlop]

The Moral Police. Don't mess with them.

bunch of PC bastards

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

I think its more context really. The term Oriental was probably used in a less than favorable light in the past so its seen as derogatory.

Do you have an example?

 

[SockHaser]

Do you have an example?

Nope 100% guess Gotta start from somewhere though.

 

[Svnla]

If you are afraid of offending someone with the words you are using, then you are already putting up labels.

Asians have a skin thick enough so that they are immune to this semantic. The ones bringing up the labels are usually the whiteys.

This.

And they (Asians, most of them, not all of course) are too busy to improve their lives instead of yelling and blaming on everyone else but themselves like other minority group(s).

 

[zerocool84]

I'm not Asian so I can't comment on what Asians find offensive.

 

[mugs]

BUT STILL
there is almost as much Russia in Asia, as there is the rest of Asia!

I don't think you seriously believe anyone would ever think "Asian" refers to a Russian person, but the area in the green circle accounts for about 40 million of Asia's population of 3.9 billion and Russia's total population of 140 million.

When used to describe a person, most people would understand "Asian" to refer to a set of ethnicities which does not include Russians. Similar to how people understand "African" to refer to dark-skinner Africans, not the many white people who live in Africa. Some people choose to be obtuse, particularly in discussions of politically correct terminology, but outside of Internet discussions you'll find that people know what these things mean.

This.

And they (Asians, most of them, not all of course) are too busy to improve their lives instead of yelling and blaming on everyone else but themselves like other minority group(s).

I've seen plenty of complaints about discrimination from Asians on this forum, particularly with regard to college admissions and scholarship policies.

 

[thecrecarc]

I don't think you seriously believe anyone would ever think "Asian" refers to a Russian person, but the area in the green circle accounts for about 40 million of Asia's population of 3.9 billion and Russia's total population of 140 million.

When used to describe a person, most people would understand "Asian" to refer to a set of ethnicities which does not include Russians. Similar to how people understand "African" to refer to dark-skinner Africans, not the many white people who live in Africa. Some people choose to be obtuse, particularly in discussions of politically correct terminology, but outside of Internet discussions you'll find that people know what these things mean.

This depends on if your "Russian" means the Russian peoples, which are eastern slavic and could be called European, or the citizens of Russia, which is very, very broad.
Despite the comparatively small proportion living in the asian part of Russia, there are still many "Russian" citizens that are asian. For example, the Buryats living in the area above mongolia are clearly "Asian" and "Russian".

 

[Lifted]

I never refer to people as Asian, but I do refer to Asia quite often since the company I work for has offices and other interests there, from the Middle East to China.

As for lumping people together, it's really not so hard. The only thing Oriental does (which is a left over from the British colonial days - hence the distaste for it) is lump together East Asians, and possibly South East Asians (not 100% on that).

• East Asian - Chinese, Mongolian, Korean, Japanese.
• South East Asian - Burmese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Cambodian, Malaysian/Singaporean, Indonesian, Filipino.
• South Asian - Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, etc.
• Middle Eastern - everything west of India and China.

Since Oriental potentially leaves out everything outside of East Asian, there really is no benefit to using it regardless of the racist/colonial overtones of the word.

 

[esun]

I think it depends on usage. If used in a negative context or said in a derogatory manner it would be offensive (but so could other terms). Otherwise I don't think it's a big deal.

And just because "Asian" may also include certain middle eastern countries, India, and Russia, when used in casual conversation about a person's ethnicity it is understood to refer to east and southeast Asian countries.

 

[Svnla]

.....<snip>....
I've seen plenty of complaints about discrimination from Asians on this forum, particularly with regard to college admissions and scholarship policies.

Were those valid complaints? How do you feel if you have much higher standardize score, better grades, more extra curriculum activities, more and better in everthing for college admission yet could not get in Ivy League schools because you were not the "right" minority? I remember one Chinese student sued one of the schools because of that (ABC showed it IIRC). Another thing, note that I said "most" and NOT "all".

I am talking about not taking own personal responsibility and duty but instead blaming own failures on everyone else but self.

 

[Lifted]

BUT STILL
there is almost as much Russia in Asia, as there is the rest of Asia!

You left out the entire Middle East which is also part of Asia.

 

[TuxDave]

If you call me oriental I'm going to think that you came from another planet or something. It's just very unusual to the point where I'd be curious if you've even seen another Asian before. (Asian being the more common term)

 

[mugs]

Were those valid complaints? How do you feel if you have much higher standardize score, better grades, more extra curriculum activities, more and better in everthing for college admission yet could not get in Ivy League schools because you were not the "right" minority? I remember one Chinese student sued one of the schools because of that (ABC showed it IIRC).

I am talking about not taking own personal responsibility and duty but instead blaming own failures on everyone else but self.

Depends on what you consider to be a valid complaint. I'm white, so I could make the same complaint - but I never have. Being white in this country is pretty awesome, so I'm not going to complain that other groups are given a helping hand in some areas. Being Asian is pretty great too - Asians have a higher median income than whites in the US. On the other hand, Asians don't usually make it to the highest levels of wealth. So if Asians want to complain about being stuck in middle management, that's a valid complaint.

 

[BoomerD]

No.

Nope...not at all. I call them all Ornamentals...

 

[Svnla]

Depends on what you consider to be a valid complaint. I'm white, so I could make the same complaint - but I never have. Being white in this country is pretty awesome, so I'm not going to complain that other groups are given a helping hand in some areas. Being Asian is pretty great too - Asians have a higher median income than whites in the US. On the other hand, Asians don't usually make it to the highest levels of wealth. So if Asians want to complain about being stuck in middle management, that's a valid complaint.

I do believe those are valid complaints. For example, let say you busted your tail at work but someone else got the promotion due to he/she was the "right" minority/help out/ or other silly reasons and NOT because of hard work or sweat equity, you would not be a happy camper ( I don't care if you are white/brown/black/green/purple/whatever race).

But if you did drugs and then got caught and got fired, then you complained of "being single out/being pick on/fill in the blank excuses", then that would NOT be a valid complaint IMO.

 

[Perknose]

But still, why is the word 'Oriental' derogatory? When did is become demeaning, and who the hell decides that it has become demeaning?

Mugs told you why even as he stated he personally thought it was silly to abandon the term.

You even subsequently quoted him, you just didn't seem to take what he'd said in:

Like other seemingly-innocuous words (e.g. "colored"), it is considered derogatory partly because of the time period in which it was commonly used. Also, it is Euro-centric (orient literally means "east," because the Orient is east of Europe).

 

[Kirby]

Meh, none of my "oriental" friends care, nor does my girlfriend. She would rather you call her oriental than Korean or Chinese.

 

[sandorski]

Chipanorean, new word we can fall back on.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Oriental is the best flavor of ramen. And it tastes like real Orientals!

 

[BoomerD]

Oriental is the best flavor of ramen. And it tastes like real Orientals!

What? It tastes like pork?

 

[bdude]

What? It tastes like pork?

gross old man..

 

[Leros]

Meh, none of my "oriental" friends care, nor does my girlfriend. She would rather you call her oriental than Korean or Chinese.

I find that interesting as most Asian people I know get kind of annoyed when you get their country of origin wrong.

 

[Toonces]

I find that interesting as most Asian people I know get kind of annoyed when you get their country of origin wrong.

Call an Irishman, English; an Austrian, German; or a Pole, Russian and find out how annoyed people can be when you mix up their country of origin.

 

[Svnla]

Call an Irishman, English; an Austrian, German; or a Pole, Russian and find out how annoyed people can be when you mix up their country of origin.

Or someone from South America such as El Salvado as Mexican. I thought the girl that I had a crush on would kill me .

 

[grrl]

A cut and paste from Wikipedia to follow up on mugs and Perknose:

(Edward) Said is most famous for describing and critiquing "Orientalism", which he perceived as a constellation of false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward the East. In his most famous book, Orientalism (1978), Said claimed a "subtle and persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo-Islamic peoples and their culture." He argued that a long tradition of false and romanticized images of Asia and the Middle East in Western culture had served as an implicit justification for Europe and the US' colonial and imperial ambitions. Just as fiercely, he denounced the practice of Arab elites who internalized the US and British orientalists' ideas of Arabic culture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Said#.22Orientalism.22