I'll be really offended if this thread was open just to poke fun or degrade Asians in general! Maybe I will open a thread on other race groups like if Arabs like to be called turbin heads or towel heads, or sand nig**ers, or if whites like to be called honkys or whiteys, or hispanics like to be called spic or wetbacks, or blacks....ohhhh you know what i mean! This just a silly thread, just respect that person for who he or she is & learn to know that individual! SHEESH! As an Asian, I had to deal with with all this racist crap from ALL friggin' side, even from other Asian groups, & no one is innocent!
Well, Orientals were offensive back in the turn of the last century, but meanings do change over time (case in hand: the fine-tuning of the definition of corn)
Some of us "East Asians" have a problem with the South Asians (particularily the area around India) calling themselves Asian because they then lay claim to two continents: (1) Asia (2) The Indian sub-continent Sure, it's just a sub-continent...but then where's my sub-continent? If my family is from China, Taiwan, Japan or Korea...I have no sub-continent. It simply isn't fair... To hear the other side of the arguement (for South Asians being Asian) visit http://www.indiansareasian.com Disclaimer: For anyone who can't tell, all this is in jest. I have plenty of Indian or South Asian friends and this is just a play argument we have as you might be able to tell by the humor of the above website. And yes, i know the origin of india getting a sub-continent is due to tectonic plates and its collision is why the mtns are there. As for the word oriental being a "slur", it doesn't bother me much. Whether a term bothers me depends more on the tone of the user, whether he's being aggresive and offensive or not.
Don't call me white The connotations wearing my nerves thin Could it be semantics generating the mess we're in? I understand that language breeds stereotype But what's the explanation for the malice, for the spite? Don't call me white I wasn't brought here, I was born Circumsized, categorized, allegiance sworn Does this mean I have to take such **** For being fairskinned? No! I ain't a part of no conspiracy, I'm just you're average Joe Don't call me white Represents everything I hate The soap shoved in the mouth to cleanse the mind The vast majority of sheep A buttoned collar, starched and bleached Constricting veins, the blood flow to the brain slows They're so ****in' ordinary white Don't call me white
Everytime I hear the word it annoys the heck out of me. Just because its so dated, and I always always always sense a tinge of racism when people use that word. I probably hear the word used to describe Asians more than most people here. I work at a tourist hotel in San Francisco, and much of my staff is Asian. So, I always get a lot of guests when asking for things describing the staff as "oriental"... such as "oh one of the orientals in housekeeping promised to do this or that, etc" And, for some reason... almost 99% of the people who call Asians "oriental", at least in my experience, are from the south U.S. Even though I hear that Oriental is a common term for the British, I have rarely heard them refer to anyone as that.
Yeah my roommate was Indian and we'd(me and our friends) would always laugh when he'd say he's Asian. True, technically he is, but you know Indians is not what automatically pops in your head when you hear the word 'Asian'. Or Russians calling themselves Asian. Its like people from Israel calling themselves Middle Easterner's. Israeli's have their own unique identity in that region.
A second question for Asians: What are the physical difference between a Chinese person, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc.? Are they major or more of a subtle difference? Can you instantly tell if a person is from Laos. Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan (etc.) the same way you could spot a Nordic person (Finland, Norway etc) from a British or Irish person? Or say a Nigerian from a Somali or Ethiopian? I've spent the most time around Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese throughout my life and I feel like I can identify their nations of origin (at times), but my lack of familiarity with the region causes me a bit of confusion particularly with the subtle aspects. I guess similar comparison would be South American nations like Chile, Argentina, and Peru.
Definitely subtle differences.. Especially amoung the EAST ASIANS (China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan). Same goes for South Eastern Asians. But I've met Vietnamese people who could pass for Korean or Chinese. Also CHINESE is very broad because it can be broken down into so many ethnicities. Many Chinese don't look alike with one another. ex: Some look like Koreans, while some look like Vietnamese, and etc. I think Asian people who have been around other Asians(besides their own) enough can get a pretty good guess off when seeing other Asians. Of course this "typical (enter nationality)" look does overlap and you will see some Asians looking more "something else" than their own. Just the way Asians can kinda tell eachother apart. I'm sure South Americans can do the same about other South Americans(something I can not do effectively) and Europeans(same here).
Serious question: Can white people tell the difference between other white people? For example, can you tell whether a person is British or Swedish or something like that? What are the major physical characteristics that set Europeans apart? Because, honestly I can't tell. I'm pretty good at distinguishing Asians apart, but I can't with white people.
Well, a lot of Europeans are easy to spot IMO like Germans (size/ bone structure -- they seem to have sharp features jawline etc.) The Nordics/ Scandinavians are the easiest I think for sure (Swedes, Fins) -- very light complextions, tall, unique eyes. Russians I think are pretty obvious as well because they have just the slightest hint of epicanthal fold (single eyelids) to their eyes. British absolutely have a look about them, but it's difficult to describe. That's just a few that come to mind. Amercans are easy to spot because they are wearing clothes from the Gap.
This is a good point especially when I think about Northern China towards Mongolia and into Siberia -- very unique characteristics there.
Why are asians so bad at driving? I'm not saying this as a stereotype I have a friend who writes insurance policies and he says insurance companies lose 45 cents on the dollar on every policy for asians.
Why are Indians so bad at rapping? I am not saying this as a stereotype I have a friend who writes music and he says music companies lose 45 cents on the dollar for every Indian rap album released.
