PC Out of Control. Obama Signs New Law

[Felya]

What about lumping Western Europe or Eastern Europe together then. Same principle, there have been some pretty bitter bouts in the past.

West and East are directional markers. You are litteraly complaining that there is an east and west to Europe...

[Deleted]

The Orient is a place as well, you even state that in your reply, yet you apply completely different rules to the terms. If Oriental is ignorant and shortsighted, then so are the terms Westerner, Middle East, Far East, etc. by YOUR definitions.

Do you know why you are struggling to come up with a reason for why that one term is ignorant which cannot be applied to all the other terms? It is because it is completely arbitrary, there is no logical justification to not use the term Oriental if you are okay with use of those other terms.

It has been argued that it presents a Eurocentric worldview, but it is actually a Jerusalem-centric worldview - we are on one edge and people from the opposite side of the world are on the other edge.

It's not a place. It's how a part of the world was perceived by Europeans at an ignorant point in history. That part of the world being the East and Southeast, not the Orient.

It'd be like me calling the US Bibleland - which would also be ignorant.

[Machismo]

Its not even about the words really, he's just using the incident as a springboard/opportunity to complain about Obama.

Of course he is. Unfortunatel for him, everyone always calls him on it whenever he tries to push a bullshit narrative.

[ls-]

I really like how non-Asians in this thread are trying to protect Asians from term Oriental, are saying it's bad, offensive, etc., though Asians occasionally use it themselves in English language, and not in a bad way, like Oriental shop, restaurant, people

This whole situation is hilarious Reminds me of white students in USA, who were offended by cultural appropriations on behalf of Mexicans

[willtron]

West and East are directional markers. You are litteraly complaining that there is an east and west to Europe...

I wasn't complaining. There very much is a Western and Eastern Europe. Especially eastern, countries like Romania, Poland, Bulgaria etc get lumped into this category, it's mostly used in the media as a way of differentiating between the different categories of European states.

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The East, the Middle East and the West are places. The Orient, unless you are French (and I don't think you like them enough to be one), is a term applied to an imaginary region largely composed of Japan and China, and was popularised at a time when POC were treated as lesser.

It's not commonly regarded as offensive in the UK, as we (general) tend to use Asian as the catch all for Indian, Pakistani etc.

What you didn't mention is in the UK if we're specifying countries east of India, we'd say Oriental.

[Espe]

It is not just jail time.

Then you still have freedom of speech.

Glad I could clear that up for you

[Kalis]

It's not a place. It's how a part of the world was perceived by Europeans at an ignorant point in history. That part of the world being the East and Southeast, not the Orient.

How is calling it the East okay, but calling it the Orient not okay? They both mean the same thing.

It'd be like me calling the US Bibleland - which would also be ignorant.

It is nothing like that, it would be like saying Americans are Westerners...which they are.

[urasim]

have you heard of a compass

West isn't a region.

That's your whole point. That oriental is an "imaginary" region.

When I pointed out that west or east isn't a region you went on to say "have you heard of a compass" as if that counters what I said. How fucking ridiculous.

[Kalis]

What you didn't mention is in the UK if we're specifying countries east of India, we'd say Oriental.

Half the Chinese takeaways would have to change their name if we decided it was offensive.

[Espe]

Also note that he had nothing to do with creating the bill/legislation. It passed BOTH REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED houses of Congress with zero "no" votes. So why in the hell are people wagging their tongues and shaking their fingers about "political correctness" when this was about as resounding an endorsement as any bill in Congress can get.

Conservative victim complex cannot be contained, even when it is stuff their representatives all voted for.

[Deleted]

What you didn't mention is in the UK if we're specifying countries east of India, we'd say Oriental.

Thought that was implicated, my bad. It's not like I go off on someone that uses Oriental here.

We have to look beyond our salty shores in discussions like this though.

[Machismo]

Then you still have freedom of speech.

Glad I could clear that up for you

It's not pure freedom of speech, and freedom is rarely pure in any country. It's true that America has a higher bar for freedom of speech that pretty much everywhere else, but it is still far from absolute.

[Espe]

It's not pure freedom of speech, and freedom is rarely pure in any country. It's true that America has a higher bar for freedom of speech that pretty much everywhere else, but it is still far from absolute.

So sorry you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, you still have freedom of speech. You're not going to be jailed by the government for expressing an unfavorable opinion. The first amendment is still a thing. Is that really so hard to comprehend?

[Edgelord]

This is actually a good thing.

Now if we could just get liberals to stop saying "Colored people"...Ooops, my bad. It's "People of color". Totally not racist.

[AwkwardSquirtle]

Nah man, Congress is going to have to scour the entire Library of Congress to hunt down all those words and rewrite them using the original format!

Find and Replace tool too hard.

[willtron]

Half the Chinese takeaways would have to change their name if we decided it was offensive.

We'd have to change it to 'Asian, no the other one'

[Deleted]

How is calling it the East okay, but calling it the Orient not okay? They both mean the same thing.
It is nothing like that, it would be like saying Americans are Westerners...which they are.

You're not French, so Orient is a term commandeered to mean something different to the East. I'm well aware of the origin of the word, much like Negro just means black.

Orient assumes mystery and dragons, mountains, fancy architecture with lots of red paint and what not.
Bibleland assumes a country with their views largely influenced by the Bible.

Neither are particularly accurate for large parts of the demographic they would be applied to.

[willtron]

This is actually a good thing.

Now if we could just get liberals to stop saying "Colored people"...Ooops, my bad. It's "People of color". Totally not racist.

I'm white and find the implication of my lack of pigment highly offensive.

[Edgelord]

I'm white and find the implication of my lack of pigment high offensive.

I suggest we make a new identifier for you. Transparent person of no pigment.

[willtron]

You're not French, so Orient is a term commandeered to mean something different to the East. I'm well aware of the origin of the word, much like Negro just means black.

Orient assumes mystery and dragons, mountains, fancy architecture with lots of red paint and what not.
Bibleland assumes a country with their views largely influenced by the Bible.

Neither are particularly accurate for large parts of the demographic they would be applied to.

Those two examples are what it conjures up for you. I bet if you go ask 100 people what they think of when you say 'orient' they aren't going to describe Mists of bloody Pandaria.

And because it's a french word we can't use it? Well then, I best stop eating aubergine.