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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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 Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| mc_jc wrote: |
| I love how people assume I'm white... |
So....my point exactly. Why would I be middle-class and suburban? I might be lower-class and rural or upper-class and urban.
Were all of my other assumptions correct? Only missing one isn't bad. |
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brento1138
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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This got me thinking... Why is "Oriental" offensive? I thought that was just what the British labeled the Eastern area of Asia, as "the Orient" and call the inhabitants "Orientals."
How / Why did this become offensive?
To me, it doesn't sound offensive at all. To say "I'm going to the Orient" just means "I'm going to East Asia." But I clearly remember I mentioned someone looked a bit "Oriental" and a friend of mine (a very very liberal and politically correct white girl) got upset and said it sounded like something a redneck would say.
I just wonder, how did it get this way? What made the term "Oriental" a word only for bigots and racists? I kinda like it. Sounds ancient, mystical, interesting, exotic... if anything, I think labeling someone as Oriental is a compliment.
So I wonder what is next in line for unacceptable words: black, white, native, Caucasian, African, Chinese, Korean, Male, Female, ... maybe they'll all become offensive one day and we'll only be allowed to call someone 'human'! |
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mc_jc
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Were all of my other assumptions correct? Only missing one isn't bad. |
So are you from a city on the East Coast?
You do an excellent job of hiding behind your anonymity. |
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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| mc_jc wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Were all of my other assumptions correct? Only missing one isn't bad. |
So are you from a city on the East Coast?
You do an excellent job of hiding behind your anonymity. |
no, i'm from a city on the west coast. |
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murmanjake
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| mc_jc wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Were all of my other assumptions correct? Only missing one isn't bad. |
So are you from a city on the East Coast?
You do an excellent job of hiding behind your anonymity. |
I'm from the east coast, but far east. Haven't heard Paki used one way or the other, but then again I'm not from the most racially diverse or shipping oriented area.
Mc_Jc are you talking more like Boston area, NYC? |
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mc_jc
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Mc_Jc are you talking more like Boston area, NYC? |
Exactly!
Then again, I�ve heard it used by my friends and relatives around Philly and Baltimore too.
The gist of what I'm saying is that a term is not necessarily negative everywhere. Terms have different meaning depending on the context and where they are used.
A good example of this is F**. In Britain, it�s a cigarette, but in the US, it refers to a homosexual and a 'tube' in the US is nothing more than a hollowed-out cylinder while in Britain it�s the subway. |
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methdxman
Joined: 14 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 12:19 am Post subject: |
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| brento1138 wrote: |
This got me thinking... Why is "Oriental" offensive? I thought that was just what the British labeled the Eastern area of Asia, as "the Orient" and call the inhabitants "Orientals."
How / Why did this become offensive?
To me, it doesn't sound offensive at all. To say "I'm going to the Orient" just means "I'm going to East Asia." But I clearly remember I mentioned someone looked a bit "Oriental" and a friend of mine (a very very liberal and politically correct white girl) got upset and said it sounded like something a redneck would say.
I just wonder, how did it get this way? What made the term "Oriental" a word only for bigots and racists? I kinda like it. Sounds ancient, mystical, interesting, exotic... if anything, I think labeling someone as Oriental is a compliment.
So I wonder what is next in line for unacceptable words: black, white, native, Caucasian, African, Chinese, Korean, Male, Female, ... maybe they'll all become offensive one day and we'll only be allowed to call someone 'human'! |
The U.S. is a country full of pussies that's why oriental became offensive.
That and because educated people usually follow *beep*-ass politically correct standards and uneducated people don't, or don't find out about them. By the time some *beep* said that Asian should be used instead of oriental, the rednecks and dumbasses never got the memo.
So you only hear rednecks and dumbasses use the word "oriental" in the U.S.
All oriental means is "eastern" just like "occidental" means western.
Nothing is offensive unless you mean it to be offensive. If some redneck comes up to you and says "Hey I'm gonna kick yer oriental ass." That probably has some racist undertones. But if someone says "Hey, you meen the oriental guy?" he just sounds dumb.
Also, there's nothing more ridiculous than a white person getting all angry and distraught over racism. Calm down. |
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AmericanBornKorean
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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| I've never heard the word oriental used negatively, and I only recently found out it was supposed to be offensive. I've been called chi*k and gook before, and it put me into a rage. Oriental? meh.. |
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SinclairLondon
Joined: 17 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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Many Arabs and Lebanese settled in Latin America because they boarded boats for the Americas from their homes, thinking there was only one America. Fortunately, they couldnt have documented their ignorance on twitter at the time.
Most people are ignorant about Pacific nations, non-Spanish speaking Latin American nations, Caribbean nations (except 3 or ) Central Asia, Easten Europe and the dark continent. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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| SinclairLondon wrote: |
Many Arabs and Lebanese settled in Latin America because they boarded boats for the Americas from their homes, thinking there was only one America. Fortunately, they couldnt have documented their ignorance on twitter at the time.
Most people are ignorant about Pacific nations, non-Spanish speaking Latin American nations, Caribbean nations (except 3 or ) Central Asia, Easten Europe and the dark continent. |
My parents had a friend from Romania who managed to sneak out during the Cold War through an elaborate operation. He chose a place to live in America by choosing a place with the same latitude that was near water, like Romania, hoping it would have the same climate. His plane touched down in February in none other than Detroit, Michigan.
He's never quite lived that one down, though the whole spending 20 hours hanging underneath a train to escape earned him a bunch of respect. |
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misher
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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My parents had a friend from Romania who managed to sneak out during the Cold War through an elaborate operation. He chose a place to live in America by choosing a place with the same latitude that was near water, like Romania, hoping it would have the same climate. His plane touched down in February in none other than Detroit, Michigan.
He's never quite lived that one down, though the whole spending 20 hours hanging underneath a train to escape earned him a bunch of respect. |
Crazy. I got one for ya.
My uncle escaped the Berlin Wall right after it went up and how he did it he still won't talk about. According to my Aunt he then apparently gambled in West Berlin and got enough money for a one way ticket to Canada. When he had to choose a destination he didn't have a clue so he pointed to a place smack dab in the middle which he though couldn't be so bad. Winnipeg (Winterpeg). He eventually entered Medical school and became a flight surgeon through the Canadian military but when he looks back on his decision on where he chose to emigrate, he just shakes his head. |
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