In Defense of Joe Biden: Why is the word 'Oriental' a racist word now?

National Review ^ | 09/29/2014 | Josh Gelernter

[chasio649]

Filipinos don’t exactly feel Asian or Oriental...They enjoy their Spanish and American influence...they have their own thing going on.

[Starstruck]

Oriental assumes a basis in the west since Asia is only east from Europe or the Americas

Sorry, but when I think Oriental my mind goes west.

[marron]

The Left depends heavily, as one of its tools of control, on manipulation of guilt. To do this they have to keep inventing new thought crimes.

Then they offer themselves as absolution. Align yourself with them and you are redeemed.

[muir_redwoods]

Japan called itself that in reference to China. Viewed from China, the sun did seem to rise over Japan. I think it was a way of countering the Chinese reference to the Japanese as the “Island Dwarves”

[latina4dubya]

The Orient means the East. It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Middle East (aka Near East) or the Far East, in relation to Europe.

that is my understanding... it can include even parts of North Africa... India to Thailand... all inclusive... and that may be why it is offensive... because it is lumping all those ethnicities altogether...

[clintonh8r]

bada-BING!

[kenmcg]

Give us a break with this political correctness crap. Now that we use the term white Americans, black Americans, its time to call Asians, yellow Americans and Hispanics, brown Americans. Now we need a color for Arabs.

[csmusaret]

Somehow I just don’t picture India being in the Orient.

[alexander_busek]

For "Orient" and "Occident," the German language offers two wonderfully evocative words: "das Morgenland" and "das Abendland," respectively.

Regards,

[SeekAndFind]

Do Germans call Asians Asiaten? or Orientalisch?

[skimbell]

Let’s just call it the “O word.”

[kinsman redeemer]

There's an interesting story behind the use of the term "Orient." Whether it is true or not, I leave to you.

Sometime in the Middle Ages, the Pope declared (because he does these things) that only a certain kind of map could be used to portray the known world. These were called "T in O" maps.

Here's one now:

People like to orient maps so that North is at the top. Notice that "Asia" is right up top on the Papal-approved map?

Coincidence?

[Verginius Rufus]

Speaking of Germans, Metternich said that “Asia begins at the Landstrasse” (a street in Vienna leading in the direction of Hungary).

[Verginius Rufus]

I think the idea was to make the map look like the letters O and T. For orbis terrarum?

Nice clean map but a little lacking in detail. It's hard to make out the "boot" of the Italian peninsula, for example.

[Mears]

” he’s likely to think you’re refering to a muslim........”

—

Or an Indian.

.

[Verginius Rufus]

We need to reclaim the word "Orient" from the politically correct busybodies.

Maybe renaming universities with "East" in their name as "Oriental" would be a start.

Oriental Tennessee State University
Oriental Connecticut State University
Oriental Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Oriental Kentucky University

[Rockitz]

Joel, Joel, Joel.... It’s only racist if a republican says it. Come on, get with the program!

[GOPJ]

Liberals are into ‘intellectual fashion’ non-thinking... You don't have to know anything - you learn the “sound of cool”. Buzz words separate the ‘in’ kids from the losers... AND better yet, it allows the ‘cool kids’ to be total idiots. I think it was started in newsrooms...

[Fiji Hill]

Do Germans call Asians Asiaten? or Orientalisch?

It seems that they usually refer to them as Asiaten, although I haven't heard that term very often in conversation, broadcasts, etc. "Morgenländer" (orientals) seems to be more of a poetic reference, as is "Abenländer" (occidentals).