Re: OT: [Let_It_Be_Forever_Islam] THE WORLD OF THE JINN

On 17 Oct 2003 at 6:27, Stone Gordonssen wrote:

> > > > > I'm not sure I'd buy into capitalising "Gay" (any
> > > > > more than "Straight"), though, neither
> > > > > racio-ethnic terms. Those are kind of like
> > > > > capitalising "green eyed".
> > >
> > > I suspect any group subjected to long-term prejudices (at least n the
> >USA)
> > > is likely to capitolize its label: "Asians", "Blacks".
> >
> >"Asian" isn't really relevant here - the adjectives (and therefrom derived
> >nouns) refering to the continents are always capitalized.
>
> Yes and no - "Asian" has been adopted by a major body of peoples living in
> the USA as a social identifier like "Black" - in opposition to the (now
> considered racist) "Oriental". This grew from perceived social prejudices
> against them as a whole.
"Oriental" is considered racist? It's a more precise term than
"Asian", and IMO less, rather than more, prejudicial, being the
natural antonym to "Occidental". I knew it was verging on the
obsolete, but I had no idea it was considered a racist term. I still
use it, and if my doing so has caused offense, it has never been
brought to my attention. Anyhoo, I shall use it less in the future.





Paul

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