I would like the Asian population to chime in here on this one. I never use this word, but I have heard others use it while describing "Oriental food" or "Oriental clothing." I just recently found out that most Asians consider this word insulting. I was under the impression it was the same as using the word Hispanic.
Do you take offense when someone uses this word in a non derogatory manner to describe something that is Asain?
The reason some people consider the term offensive, I think, is because it carries with it generalizations, as opposed to simply a skin color descriptor.
Someone who is Japanese might take offense if they do not appreciate themselves or their cultures grouped together with Koreans for example, or whatever other eastern Asian group.
Similarly, if you were an American who lived in Japan and people referred to you as an "Occident", you may find that you would be offended, because you identify with being American, not just what the word Occident means, which include Europeans and other countries. If someone generalized you to be an "Occident", you may feel your uniquely American identifiers are overlooked and disrespected (like individuality, capitalism, English language or whatever).
Personally, if someone uses the word Oriental when referring to a person, then I assume two things:
1) Lower level of education or mastery of language
2) Less intelligent or lower cultural enrichment
Either way, I don't think people using the word mean to use it derogatorily. If they did, it would be the context that determine it.
