My friend and I went walking yesterday. We walked by an elementary school where some young boys were playing baseball. It looked like a Little League team practice since there were a few parents out also. Well, as we passed the field, the kid on first base yells, "Y'all need to go to Weight Watchers". I know this is common for kids to do especially when they want their peers to think they are "cool". But shame on the parents for not reprimanding him for his actions. No one said a word to him

My first reaction was to go and give him a spanking and tell him off. My second was to go up to him crying and tell him how much his words hurt (to make him feel bad....yeah, like that would have happened). Anyway, we just kept walking and ignored them.

Little did they know that my friend had already lost 100 lbs and that I had gone through lap-band surgery. We are making changes to our lived for the better, although it may not be apparent to those that don't know us.

Moral of the story: it is dangerous to make assumptions about any situation without knowing the true facts. But kids can still be mean! GRRR!

My friend and I went walking yesterday. We walked by an elementary school where some young boys were playing baseball. It looked like a Little League team practice since there were a few parents out also. Well, as we passed the field, the kid on first base yells, "Y'all need to go to Weight Watchers". I know this is common for kids to do especially when they want their peers to think they are "cool". But shame on the parents for not reprimanding him for his actions. No one said a word to him .

>>

I can't pass up a snappy answer to a stupid remark:

"Hey Kid! I might be fat but I can lose weight too bad you're ugly!"

................................................

One of the things I love about my school is it is such a melting pot.

Everyone gets along because everyone is from someplace else.

You can't be spanish because you might be Puerto Rican or Cuban, or Haitian or Dominican or Guatemalan which BTW, there is no universal spanish so they "correct" eachother's spanish. It's a fun game and fast friends are made that way.

I LOVED that comment to the kid Tom. (still laughing)

Isn't oriental a rug but Oriental is an insulting way to refer to Asians?

Yes... kind of my point exactly. :confused:

"Hey Kid! I might be fat but I can lose weight too bad you're ugly!"

Allow me to play Devil's advocate. The kids are kids. You're 47. Aren't you a little better than that? Say something to the parents, sure...

I grew up in an affluent area where whites were -- well, if they were a majority, it was a very small one. Half our school was from military housing in southern California which means a lot of mixed families and people from the Phillipines, Samoa, Thailand, etc. I didn't grow up with racism. There was racism, but it wasn't so much "black-white" (as it was in my later highschool). It was very sad and a very transition to move here and have to relearn how the races intermingled. :confused:

Isn't oriental a rug but Oriental is an insulting way to refer to Asians?

No, it is a more specific way to describe someone of far eastern descent when you don't know their nationality. "Asian" is too broad -- it encompasses Indians, Isrealis, Russians, Turks, Saudis, and lots of different people. One of my friends of Chinese descent uses the term "Oriental" to describe herself, so it's clearly only offensive in certain circles. I have an Oriental Shorthair cat. I guess I should start referring to her as an Asian Shorthair. I hope I haven't been hurting her feelings all these years. People are eager to find offense where there is none.

People are eager to find offense where there is none.

Ain't that the truth! Call me white, call me caucasian, call me Italian-American, or call me a WHOP -- I could care less.

People are eager to find offense where there is none.

I agree. Especially with the whole white/black thing. It's just annoying, really. But sure enough, the first time you aren't PC, someone will jump all over you for it. I think that by being such a PC culture, we're causing more harm than we're helping. We're forcing people to remain conscious of the differences rather than just promoting an environment of "being". We're almost making it taboo to rcognize honest and true differences in our backgrounds and upbringings.

Ain't that the truth! Call me white, call me caucasian, call me Italian-American, or call me a WHOP -- I could care less.

But don't forget to call me for dinner!

I live in an area of Indiana which has a lot of illegals. I just recently found out that among the illegal population in our area, they feel they are more readily accepted if they deny being from Mexico and say they are from Guatemala , El Salvador, etc.(Keep in mind the people I am referring to ARE actually from Mexico.) The ironic part is that in this little hick area I live in any Hispanic is automatically called a Mexican and the people who are prejudiced could care less where they are really from.

I live in an area of Indiana which has a lot of illegals. I just recently found out that among the illegal population in our area, they feel they are more readily accepted if they deny being from Mexico and say they are from Guatemala , El Salvador, etc.(Keep in mind the people I am referring to ARE actually from Mexico.) The ironic part is that in this little hick area I live in any Hispanic is automatically called a Mexican and the people who are prejudiced could care less where they are really from.

My friend (from school) who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Brooklyn while still in diapers, spent much of his time in the US Military Service in Silver Springs Colorado (early 1960's) where he met a Mexican/American (born in the USA from legal immigrants) from Pueblo, Colorado and eventually got married. He had to give up trying to explain that he was not Mexican, but Puerto Rican, and why he did not know what the foods (of Mexican heritage) were.

He has now lived in Pueblo, Colorado for the past 40 years and recently retired after working his way up the ladder (to the top) at an insurance brokerage. He has become a de facto Mexican. White people have tunnel vision.

No, it is a more specific way to describe someone of far eastern descent when you don't know their nationality. "Asian" is too broad -- it encompasses Indians, Isrealis, Russians, Turks, Saudis, and lots of different people. One of my friends of Chinese descent uses the term "Oriental" to describe herself, so it's clearly only offensive in certain circles. I have an Oriental Shorthair cat. I guess I should start referring to her as an Asian Shorthair. I hope I haven't been hurting her feelings all these years. People are eager to find offense where there is none.

As an Asian-American I'm only slightly offended by the word "oriental". For the most part people aren't using "oriental" as a pejorative, but I will correct people when "oriental" is used to describe Asian people. It's an archaic term like "negro" that isn't needed, besides I'd rather be reffered to as that "hot Asian chick". (I would've added smart too, but Asian just implies that. Ha ha ha...just being satirical.)

As an Asian-American I'm only slightly offended by the word "oriental". For the most part people aren't using "oriental" as a pejorative, but I will correct people when "oriental" is used to describe Asian people. It's an archaic term like "negro" that isn't needed, besides I'd rather be reffered to as that "hot Asian chick". (I would've added smart too, but Asian just implies that. Ha ha ha...just being satirical.)

As hot as you may be, and yes, I do find many members of the group that was once called Oriental (when I was young) to be very beautiful, let's get back to the question of taste in using the words Oriental and Asian and the purpose of distinguishing the meaning of the words.

Asia is a large continent. When I have used the word Oriental, I was referring to people from China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, both Korea's, Laos, Thailand. Asian would include all those countries, plus India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, many of the 'stans and countries that were part of the Soviet Union, etc.

Question #1. Without getting too deep into analysis of teeth, genes, etc. Is there a term that will include the people from the first group of countries, while excluding the people from the second?

Question #2. Is Oriental an insult, or is it just not the preferred "nom de jour"?

Calling a Black person a Negro is not normally considered insulting, just dated. Calling a Black person an Afro-American or African-American is both not always accurate, nor is it consistent with Irish-American, Italian-American, Polish-American, Pakistani-American, etc. All of those groups would have to be called European-American and Asian-American to be consistent with either Afro-American or African-American. Continents and countries are not the same. Also as I gave an example of earlier, not all Blacks are Americans, so not all Blacks are Afro-American or African-American.

So to follow up on question #2. Is there an inaccuracy or insult implied in "Oriental"? Some people have said that people of as group should be referred to as they want to be referred to, but I have met people who I had in the past referred to as Oriental who were annoyed and people who said that they would rather be referred to as Oriental than Asian, just as I have known people who want to be call Black and detest Afro-American and vice-versa.

I find it almost amusing how some groups are singled out by one characteristic, while other groups are singled out by a different characteristic. Example, a coworker once told me that he saw a Jew, a Puerto Rican, an Italian, and a Black man walking down the street. He could have been talking about 2, 3 or 4 people. He identified one person by his religion, one by his ethnicity, one by his nationality and one by his race. Couldn't one person have been a Puerto Rican who was Black and was a member of a synagogue? Or couldn't the Italian have been Jewish?

We sure can screw things up.

Back to the topic of cruel kids. A couple of years ago I was subbing in a high school PE class for a month. Ya I know, what am I doing teaching a PE class? The PE teachers like me and I don't let the kids get away with anything. Well anyways one day (a mile day) one of the "mean" girls decided to make a fat crack about me very loudly to the whole class. As soon as the class quieted down I said to her, "Oh honey you're just looking at your future if you continue to not run the miles or play in the games, 'cause when I was your age...I was thinner than you." Needless to say she never made a crack like that to me, or to any of the kids she bullied in the school. I know I shouldn't have participated in public humiliation, but it was my last straw with her since parent phone calls and detention didn't seem to work.

You folks are smarter so surely you understand ignorance, right? LOL!!! (Sorry, I too could not resist)(wiping brow and hoping that joke comes off as a funny joke and not a slam)

BubbleButt: It was taken as intended, because I'm smart like that...not because I'm Asian or Filipino, but because I'm a woman. :whoo:

Asia is a large continent. When I have used the word Oriental, I was referring to people from China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, both Korea's, Laos, Thailand. Asian would include all those countries, plus India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, many of the 'stans and countries that were part of the Soviet Union, etc.

Question #1. Without getting too deep into analysis of teeth, genes, etc. Is there a term that will include the people from the first group of countries, while excluding the people from the second?

Question #2. Is Oriental an insult, or is it just not the preferred "nom de jour"?

Calling a Black person a Negro is not normally considered insulting, just dated. Calling a Black person an Afro-American or African-American is both not always accurate, nor is it consistent with Irish-American, Italian-American, Polish-American, Pakistani-American, etc. All of those groups would have to be called European-American and Asian-American to be consistent with either Afro-American or African-American. Continents and countries are not the same. Also as I gave an example of earlier, not all Blacks are Americans, so not all Blacks are Afro-American or African-American.

So to follow up on question #2. Is there an inaccuracy or insult implied in "Oriental"? Some people have said that people of as group should be referred to as they want to be referred to, but I have met people who I had in the past referred to as Oriental who were annoyed and people who said that they would rather be referred to as Oriental than Asian, just as I have known people who want to be call Black and detest Afro-American and vice-versa.

I find it almost amusing how some groups are singled out by one characteristic, while other groups are singled out by a different characteristic. Example, a coworker once told me that he saw a Jew, a Puerto Rican, an Italian, and a Black man walking down the street. He could have been talking about 2, 3 or 4 people. He identified one person by his religion, one by his ethnicity, one by his nationality and one by his race. Couldn't one person have been a Puerto Rican who was Black and was a member of a synagogue? Or couldn't the Italian have been Jewish?

We sure can screw things up.

Wow!!! I knew I shouldn't have outed myself.

Answer to question 1: no. It's regional. In the U.S. if you're talking about Asians, people will probably assume you're referring to people of East Asian, and South East Asian descent. In Europe they may add in a few more groups. As a British Indian friend once said to me, "I'm Asian, but you're Asian squared." She was trying to illustrate how she's considered Asian in England but not in the U.S., whereas anywhere I go outside of Asia I'll always be Asian.

Answer to question 2: It's only insulting if it's intended to be insulting. Other than that I just chalk it up to being outdated. In college I tried to reclaim "Oriental" by using it to refer to Asian stereotypes and cliches. That experiment didn't last very long. My fellow Asian classmates weren't buying into it, and my non-Asian classmates and TA's were always trying to correct me.

Asians who are offended by the term Oriental, are offended because of it's connotations. When I hear Oriental used to describe a people, the immediate images that pop up are dragon ladies, concubines, Suzie Wong and Charlie Chan, even if the speaker doesn't have those connotations attached to the term Oriental. I had a Korean roommate who identified herself as an Oriental, as she explained you're only Asian outside of Asia, but you can still be Oriental in or outside of Asia. She felt this was one way of keeping her identity as Korean from Korea. Outside of Asia and the Philippines I'm considered Asian and/or Filipino, but in the Philippines I'm "the American" or to be precise "the fat American who's charged double for a ride on a jeepney." I now hire a driver when I visit.