Thanks, FF. I've heard the same thing from a couple of my friends. "Asain", they say, is a foolisly inaccurate grouping with no specificity... especially since there are many varied and solidified forms of culture and philosophy. At least "Oriental" focuses them to be from the "Far East". They also say that Oriental is "their" word, but I'm not sure what is meant by that.
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I think the next time someone describes me as white I am going to protest that I am not white, I'm sorta pink with some farmer tan overtones.
Hey, TEd. I currently say that everytime someone says so (without the 'farmers tan' part). The same with any form I fill out that asks the question of what race I'm *in. I'm not in a race and my ethnicity isn't white. "Other" is my usual choice if available, and if it isn't I'll usually not give an answer.
I believe one way to stop formulating racist ideals is to stop asking questions that force inherently racist answers... and even better to not validate some questions with an answer.
Hey, Father Steve, I wonder if this would "fly well" in (your) court: "I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it would incriminate me (force me to validate racism - or - incriminate me as a racist).
