Asian Group
Related: About this forumHow many of you here would be comfortable being called "Orientals"?
Maybe they will listen to you since they wouldn't listen to me.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1043678
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)And no, I am Asian.
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)BTW, I love the fact that you take so much pride in your heritage.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)I still consider myself Japanese, even though I was not born there. But I guess I am really Nikkei jin nisei. I am also 1/4 Korean, a fact my mother would remind me since she is Half Korean, and very proud of her heritage. She even has mastered the art of making Kimchi!
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)Kind of like "Negro."
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)agent46
(1,262 posts)a designation that was used by the old British imperialists in the 19th century. Using it now is an anachronism.
-KittyKat-
(6 posts)I think some Brits may use "oriental" nowadays to describe East Asians because "Asian" means South Asian. I wouldn't mind being called oriental.
LeftishBrit
(41,212 posts)Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)especially China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. I've never considered the term to be insulting.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)in one of the older episodes. To me, it just sounds so country.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)"Asian" is for humans.
I am not sure about non-human animals.
get smart
(1 post)The Orientals (Latin meaning east or where the sun rises) are to the East, as Westerners are of the West. The word was not originally used to insult but to distinguish people of the different hemispheres. In fact, it was originally used to refer to Eastern lands and people with riches history, culture, knowledge, and wonders. The meaning of words change according to perception and usage of a time. I believe in modern times it has been settled to refer to people with specific physical features. If I say I'm an Asian would you know whether I'm Arab, Indian, Middle Easterner, or a person with Chinese features? I hear and find it more insulting to call every person with Chinese features (lack of distinction is problematic), whether he or she is Koreans, Japanese, Thai, etc., as Chinese. It would have been more accurate to call such a person Oriental than arbitrarily labeling them Chinese. Oriental encompasses all ethnic group of people that share the same black hair, olive eyes, etc., features common in that geo location. Why should the Chinese be glorified or blame for all Oriental looking peoples actions?
I see Oriental referring to a group of people with features typical of those in and from a specific geo-locationit is not a class. Westerner is not a class--it refers to people with features typical of a specific geo-location. I prefer and it is more accurate when someone who do not know the ethnicity of a black hair, olive eyes, slight hint of yellow skin person not call him or her Chinese but Oriental, as Asians do not refer to just the Oriental people. When you stop looking at the word as an insult, maybe due to some past experience, and change the perception instead, then the word would not be you dont like it to mean. How can change progress if we do not change what needs to be changed.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)using the word Oriental is like using "Colored" for African Americans. Personally I hate it. I am ASIAN... I am Japanese-Korean-American and my family comes from Asia. Like it or not, that word you prefer to use is outdated and archaic. You can use it if you want to, but among Asian Americans you will not make many friends.. Also you will notice this GROUP is called the ASIAN group, not the ORIENTAL group.
Your choice, just know that I as an Asian woman, hate the word. Oh and welcome to DU, Yokoso!
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)I have only heard people use the term to refer to the region of the world where I am now living, and its people, but never in a denigrating or derogatory sense. If they wanted to be insulting, they would use a truly derogatory term that wouldn't be confused for anything else. Perhaps it is different on the West Coast.
juliathesexworker
(14 posts)meh does not bother me