Epic Racism

[Zellie Crescent]

Je ne parle Francais pah.

Il s'agit d'un petit voilier jaune. That's all I can remember from high school, kinda sad really I liked French class. I might get one of those roseta stone things.

[Pizzacommando]

I'm surprised she didn't complete the asian racist mantra by saying she was afraid for her life cause, ya know, they all know kung fu

[Seshat]

I know kung fu - and fifteen other Asian words. :P


If 'Oriental' is offensive in my part of the world, I'm unaware that it is. However, I'll check with a couple of friends I know who are Asian/Asian descent, and who will take the question in the spirit in which it is asked. And just in case I run into an Asian from a part of the world where it is offensive, I'll try to excise it from my working vocabulary.


I like how she tried to justify her bigotry with 'I like Chinese food'.


Edit to add: out of sheer curiousity, is someone able to explain (in small words due to my limited understanding) just how 'Oriental' became offensive? If whoever answers judges that it might become a Fratching-worthy topic, please redirect the answer either to PMs just to me, or to Fratching. I'm not interested in starting debates, and definitely not in 'it should/shouldn't' be offensive. Clearly, it just plain IS.
All I want to know is how/why. And it's purely personal academic interest.

I can quite understand the offense caused by words like - forgive me, please - 'chink' or 'slant-eyes' or any of a hundred more than any Asian and most of the rest of us can think of.
But to me, 'Oriental' simply means 'originating from the area bounded by the Chinese/Soviet and Chinese/Indian borders, the Indian Ocean, the somewhat arbitrary line between Indonesia and New Guinea, and the even more arbitrary line between the Malay Peninsula and the Phillipine Archipeligo, and the Pacific Ocean'.
Just as 'Occidental' means 'originating from Europe, ideally Western Europe, and in some vaguely defined socio-political ways, from the colonies founded by Imperialist Western Europe'.

Hrm.
Actually, 'Occidental' is even more racist a term than 'Oriental'. At least with 'Oriental', the line between Indonesia/New Guinea and Malay/Phillipines follows a clear biome division; and all the rest of the bounded area has a spectrum of cultural similarity and geographic continuity.

Oh hell. I'm intellectualising like crazy. I'll shut up now.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I like how she tried to justify her bigotry with 'I like Chinese food'.

It gets better, because what she classifies as "Chinese food" isn't really. It's super Americanized Chinese-inspired food!

If you want real Chinese food you either need to be lucky enough to live near a major city with a Chinatown, or go to China.

[fma_fanatic]

I imagine that woman would hate me if i whipped out my iPod, called up a kpop song and started singing along with it. She's very much a bigot, but she feels she can explain it away. It just makes her look more the fool.

I also seriously doubt the women she's complaining about are spending 20 minutes in the shower.

[MadMike]

She's very much a bigot, but she feels she can explain it away. It just makes her look more the fool.

Yep. If you have to say "I'm not a bigot", you probably are one.

[Moosenogger]

What do you want to bet that "20 minutes" actually means "5 minutes or less?" Sounds like this lady just doesn't like the three "Oriental" women taking up all of HER hot water.

Add her racist hatred with an SC's regular inability to process the passage of time and you get a doozy of a moron.

[Fudgethatkay]

I imagine that woman would hate me if i whipped out my iPod, called up a kpop song and started singing along with it. She's very much a bigot, but she feels she can explain it away. It just makes her look more the fool.

I also seriously doubt the women she's complaining about are spending 20 minutes in the shower.

Nado...lovey dovey dovey uh oh oh oh...

[sms001]

What would she have done if one of our Asian lifeguards or supervisors was the one who took her complaint?

Nothing. "They stick together." would go though her mind, and she'd wait until a non-asian was available to help.

Holy crap. What the hell makes her think that's even remotely okay.

Understand GuardingYourLife, that this isn't directed at you. We've ALL been so flabbergasted at this sort of behavior that we get caught flat-footed and don't know what to do. In fact, I admire the fact that you tried to generalize with the staff sweep option several times. But what makes people think this is ok is that they don't get called on it in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. "Ma'am, you're (generalizing, stereotyping, profiling, being prejudiced, being bigoted) and that's simply wrong. I will make sure that no one breaks the rules, but I will not zero in on a specific group."

What do you want to bet that "20 minutes" actually means "5 minutes or less?"

lol. Was thinking the exact same thing. Being a racist SC doesn't exempt you from being a Sucky Customer Standard Time© SC as well.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

This is how you have to deal with Orientals: (Note: Don't know how it is where you live, but saying that is just about as offensive as calling someone of African descent the N word)

That term is used pretty much exclusively by older folks. I've never heard somebody my age refer to Asians that way.

Then again I've never thought of it as offensive as such, but I don't use that term to describe Asians anyway. I always thought the real offensive terms for them were pretty much the same ones you'd hear coming from Archie Bunker's mouth in an average episode of All In The Family. Just because they are far more direct.

[Teskeria]

*sigh* How long before we stop this crap? You'd think our species would know better by now, but noooo.... Same old racist crap.

When we run into an intelligent race from another planet. Then that attitude will be directed toward 'them' and all people from our planet will become 'us'.

[Brojekk]

I don't get it. I love the sound of the Japanese and Chinese language.

Me too. Two of my favorite languages, I just wish I knew how to speak them.

[Sapphire Silk]

Oh helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll no.

I'm white as milk, but if she pulled that I'd go off in Mandarin, Japanese, or Korean just to piss her off.

Ugh.

Baka ne is the only bad word in Japanese I know. I'll just have to stick with English I guess, to tell this SC what a raging bigot bitch she is.

"There are ways to behave in public."

Oui, madamoiselle. Je ne savais pas que les Etats-Unis avaient adopté une loi contre le parlant une autre langue. Sortez, ou je vais appeler la police et leur dire que je vous ai vu jeter un oeil dans les jeunes enfants.

Uhm. What the hell did you just say?

"Je ne parle pas Francais." (Very close though )

I said "Yes, miss. I was not aware that the United States had a law against speaking another language. Get out, or I will call the police and tell them I saw you peeking in on young children."

This happened in Canada

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

If she lives in Vancouver, I think she might be a happier person if she just got over that right quick, eh?

[fireheart]

Uhm. What the hell did you just say?

You pretty much answered your own question with the quote underneath that.

Little hint: Etats-Unis is the United States.