The questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread IV

[Love]

Why do girls fall for .. ... .... holes

 

[holy king]

they dont. well, they dont do on a larger scale than guys fall for manipulative arseholes.
that's because arseholes exist, and someone is going to fall in love with them.

it's just selective perception on your side.

 

[King of Town]

How do people whistle with the technique of putting two fingers in their mouth? I've never been able to do that.

 

[Catharsis]

Is the word 'Oriental' considered racist when used to describe a person?

 

[Masada]

*cowers in the politically correct minefield* I would think it might be a touch offensive?

 

[Yeekim]

Is the word 'Oriental' considered racist when used to describe a person?

If they want to pin that tag onto you, they will. Regardless of your choice of words.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Yeah it would. It would be just as racist as African-American But I wouldn't worry about it and aim for effectiveness in your description. I don't view it as offensive.

 

[King of Town]

I'm pretty sure Oriental is used to describe a thing, not a person. Thats the way i think I've haerd it used mostly.

 

[Catharsis]

I should perhaps add (because this politically correct minefield is big enough for everyone) that I'm not asking this question in order to improve the effectiveness of my hate-pamphlets. But I'd never seen the term as racist before until I read it somewhere on the Internet recently (might have been in the Funny Pics thread on this site, actually).

It just seems strange to me that it could be considered so. Like if an American says to a Frenchman, 'You look European', that's not offensive, is it? And I would have thought it much more offensive to say to a person, 'You look Chinese', if they were actually Korean. Just like if you told that Frenchman that he looked Swedish.

 

[holy king]

i think that's offensive more like calling a frenchman english.

also i like to imagine that calling a korean japanese is like calling a frenchman german.

 

[RedRalph]

Is the word 'Oriental' considered racist when used to describe a person?

It certaintly isnt here or in the UK, but supposedly it does in the USA (I have no idea why)

 

[Brighteye]

It certaintly isnt here or in the UK, but supposedly it does in the USA (I have no idea why)

This. When I say it in front of Americans, they get angry. When I say it in front of Chinese/Malaysian/Japanese people they don't notice.

 

[King of Town]

Yeah I know a lady from Laos who calls herself Oriental. She doesn't know why white people don't use that word.

 

[RedRalph]

Why do birds suddenly appear?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Because, just like me, they just want to be, close to you.

Wait ... that's not it. They'd not suddenly appear from your point of view if that was the case.

 

[holy king]

probably worm holes.

 

[Phlegmak]

How do people whistle with the technique of putting two fingers in their mouth? I've never been able to do that.

I can't do it either.

 

[Mirc]

Is the word 'Oriental' considered racist when used to describe a person?

I'm glad that I read about it in CFC because I had no idea that anyone considers it offensive.

What exactly is offensive about it? It's just the Latin for "eastern"! It's like finding the word "Australian" offensive, since "australis" is Latin for "southern".

 

[GoodGame]

I'm glad that I read about it in CFC because I had no idea that anyone considers it offensive.

What exactly is offensive about it? It's just the Latin for "eastern"! It's like finding the word "Australian" offensive, since "australis" is Latin for "southern".

I think it's one more cultural identity issue in the Western world, and possibly has some negative connotation from being used during more racist times (19th C.) while it may not have racist intentions. Once the Politically Correct revolution hit, 'oriental' was out.

Modern culture, having surrendered to political correctness, seems to like to downplay racism by identifying 'general' ethnicity with the name of the landmass. And modern culture has mostly forgotten Latin, and doesn't esteem it much except in the Sciences, so even if it was the correct land mass term once, it's not current usage. Regardlesss of the Latin origins, Australia is in popular conception the proper name of a continent, as is Asia, America, Africa, etc.. Oriental hasn't been the term for the continent, so it was convenient to drop its usage. Go figure.

 

[Ulyaoth]

It'll go over better than calling someone a chinaman at least.