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Oriental/Asian?
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The List Minor
Apr 3, 1992, 12:56:00 PM4/3/92
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Kerry writes:
>Please don't take this wrong, but I'm now terribly confused. I was told
>by a Japanese businessman that the Japanese do not think of themselves as
>Asian OR Oriental; they think of themselves as Japanese, distinct from all
>other races. This, he claimed, is a holdover from the predominance of the
>Shinto religion, which holds that the Japanese (and ONLY) the Japanese are
>children of the gods. Anyway, he said it was very insulting to call them
>anything else. Help!
>Please don't take this wrong, but I'm now terribly confused. I was told
>by a Japanese businessman that the Japanese do not think of themselves as
>Asian OR Oriental; they think of themselves as Japanese, distinct from all
>other races. This, he claimed, is a holdover from the predominance of the
>Shinto religion, which holds that the Japanese (and ONLY) the Japanese are
>children of the gods. Anyway, he said it was very insulting to call them
>anything else. Help!
I think whether an Asian/Oriental (or whatever!) wants to be
referred to as an Asian/Oriental is a matter of personal preference.
I'm a Chinese (Malaysian) and don't feel insulted in any way being
referred to as an Oriental (heck! I _am_ one, so what's the big
deal??) As for the Japanese being children of the gods, that's
what they think.
In all this PC-age, I wish people would remember this saying more
often: "No offense meant, none should be taken."
In Christ,
Vicky
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