The Black Sheep Liberal of the Family, Back in the Conservative Wolf Den on Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have similiar problems with my family who is racist against white people. It's awful how they make fun of "white folks" lack of dancing ability, style and even cooking ability. When they go on about how they finally got one of their own in..put me over the edge.

Is this a joke?

Wondering the same. There's got to be more than those type of criticisms floating around that table...

unfortunately racism now-a-days is just as likely to be directed at white people as coming from white people. one of these days we will get past it.

Oh give me a break. That's like saying "nowadays sexism is just as likely to be directed at men as coming from men

All I can do is laugh.

so you don't think white people can be victim of racism?

Did I type that? No, I didn't. I typed "That's like saying 'nowadays sexism is just as likely to be directed at men as coming from men'."

Let me break it down for you in a way you could understand:

Are there men who have been victims/the target of sexism? Yes, there are. However, the vast majority of those who have experienced sexism are women, and that cannot be denied. The number of men who have been discriminated against due to their sex pales in comparison to the number of women who have. It would be ignorant and laughable to say that sexism against men is as big of a problem as sexism against women.

So- are there white people in America who have been victims/the target of racial prejudice? Yes, there are. However, the vast majority of those who have experienced racial prejudice are those who are racial minorities in this country, and that cannot be denied. The number of white Americans who have been discriminated against due to the color of their skin pales in comparison to the number of racial minorities who have. It would be ignorant and laughable to say that racial prejudice against white Americans is as big of a problem as racial prejudice against racial minorities in America.

Do you understand now? Put on your thinking caps, people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Were Asian people once called Orientals as a derogatory term, similar to how AA were once called "coloreds" (sp?)?

This quote shortly summarizes it:

"The basic critique of the term [Oriental] developed in the 1970s. “With the anti-war movement in the ’60s and early ’70s, many Asian Americans identified the term ‘Oriental’ with a Western process of racializing Asians as forever opposite ‘others,’” said John Kuo Wei Tchen, director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute at New York University."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
who cares what he thinks?

Wow, you're probably right. Scholars who spend their lives analyzing the implications of the language we use are probably not worth considering when we are discussing the meaning of words used to apply to other groups. You're right, anonymous grouchy poster. You've convinced me.

dipshit "scholars" are a dime a dozen ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Were Asian people once called Orientals as a derogatory term, similar to how AA were once called "coloreds" (sp?)?

This quote shortly summarizes it:

"The basic critique of the term [Oriental] developed in the 1970s. “With the anti-war movement in the ’60s and early ’70s, many Asian Americans identified the term ‘Oriental’ with a Western process of racializing Asians as forever opposite ‘others,’” said John Kuo Wei Tchen, director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute at New York University."

But how is that different than identifying as an Asian American, or specifically as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc rather than as an American? Doesn't Oriental mean from the East?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Were Asian people once called Orientals as a derogatory term, similar to how AA were once called "coloreds" (sp?)?

This quote shortly summarizes it:

"The basic critique of the term [Oriental] developed in the 1970s. “With the anti-war movement in the ’60s and early ’70s, many Asian Americans identified the term ‘Oriental’ with a Western process of racializing Asians as forever opposite ‘others,’” said John Kuo Wei Tchen, director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute at New York University."

But how is that different than identifying as an Asian American, or specifically as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc rather than as an American? Doesn't Oriental mean from the East?

Google it! Go to the library and check out a book! Phone a friend!

Listen, it has been explained that in America, it's offensive. But it's not my responsibility to type up a dissertation to explain it to you. There are many articles online that explain it, but I'm not going to search them out for you. I don't mean to be rude, but one of my pet peeves is when people ask questions on forums that are a simple Google search away (or Yahoo search, if you swing that way).

[Anonymous]

you saying there are many articles describing the use of the term "oriental" as offensive doesn't make it so. it is not a word that began as a slur, it simply means "eastern", and there is nothing offensive about it in the least. in British English it is the similar to saying someone is South American or South-East Asian, etc.

we just can't decide out of the blue that certain words are "bad" without any rational reasoning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you saying there are many articles describing the use of the term "oriental" as offensive doesn't make it so. it is not a word that began as a slur, it simply means "eastern", and there is nothing offensive about it in the least. in British English it is the similar to saying someone is South American or South-East Asian, etc.

we just can't decide out of the blue that certain words are "bad" without any rational reasoning.

Your post reeks of ignorance, so I'm not sure why I'm even bothering to reply. I guess I'm a sucker for fools. I'll reply to it line by line.

Anonymous wrote:you saying there are many articles describing the use of the term "oriental" as offensive doesn't make it so.

This is where you're right. Saying that the articles exist doesn't make the term "oriental" offensive. History is what made the term "oriental" offensive in America.

Anonymous wrote: it is not a word that began as a slur, it simply means "eastern", and there is nothing offensive about it in the least.

So let me get this straight- you think that just because the word didn't begin as an offensive term, it couldn't possibly be offensive now? Great logic there, buddy! Unfortunately, that's not how the real world works. Have you read any posts previous to yours? It became offensive in the late 60's/early 70's. If you'd take the time to find an article explaining why, you'd understand the reasoning behind it. Then again, you probably thing reading is for "suckers" and "dipshit scholars."

"Bitch" wasn't an offensive word until people started using it in reference to female humans instead of female dogs.

Anonymous wrote: in British English it is the similar to saying someone is South American or South-East Asian, etc.

This is the United States of America we're talking about, not England! It has already been established in this thread that "Oriental" is not an offensive way to identify people in England. In the USA, it is.

Hmm, wonder why that is? Oh, maybe it's because we're TWO SEPARATE COUNTRIES WITH TWO SEPARATE HISTORIES! Damn it, it's a really simple concept and I don't understand why some of you can't grasp it. The history of race in America is different than the history of race in England! There are things that would be offensive in England that aren't offensive here in the USA because we don't have the same history with it.

Anonymous wrote:
we just can't decide out of the blue that certain words are "bad" without any rational reasoning.

This wasn't something decided out of the blue. A previous post mentions that the change in preference from Oriental to Asian occurred around the late 60's/early 70's in America. If you would read, you would know that. Then again, you don't seem like one for scholarly reading...