Re: Boy Scout Rob Ford charged with assault and uttering death threats
"Oriental" has been considered offensive by a great many in the Asian community for as long as I can remember. There are some differences of opinion -- some are not offended by it, but there are many who are. Probably most are. For anyone in public office to be unaware of this is absolutely astonishing.
I'm married into an Asian family, and I've long had very close friends who are Asian, from different backgrounds. "Oriental" is fine when it's an adjective describing an object. "Oriental" as a noun indicating a person's ethinicity is considered offensive.
But it wasn't just use of the word "Orientals", it was the application of a stereotype. Remember, too, that Ford was talking about the "Orientals" in a way that compared Asian-Canadians to the rest of us ... as if they're a separate nation entirely. He was dividing the community into ethnic chunks, as if there are Canadians/Torontonians, and there are Asians.
It was NOT just opposing councillors who objected -- it was people in the Asian community. Opinions varied between those who felt it was completely insulting and those who felt it WAS meant as a compliment but was worded terribly. I don't know that anyone said, "hey, no big deal. Thanks for the kudos, Rob!" And people certainly didn't take kindly to being portrayed as "taking over".
And as said, it's one incident among many. The "gino" comment. The ACC brouhaha. The AIDs comments. The "get a job" comments. The other indidents myself and others have recounted above. The man comes off as a redneck. Add to this some sort of domestic incident -- who knows what went on? Did he really cause his wife's injuries? Can't say for sure ... but it's doubtful he was completely without fault. Rob Ford is coming off as the sort of guy you see on Cops. (No, not one of the guys in the squad car. At least, not at the beginning of the segment.)
"Oriental" has been considered offensive by a great many in the Asian community for as long as I can remember. There are some differences of opinion -- some are not offended by it, but there are many who are. Probably most are. For anyone in public office to be unaware of this is absolutely astonishing.
I'm married into an Asian family, and I've long had very close friends who are Asian, from different backgrounds. "Oriental" is fine when it's an adjective describing an object. "Oriental" as a noun indicating a person's ethinicity is considered offensive.
But it wasn't just use of the word "Orientals", it was the application of a stereotype. Remember, too, that Ford was talking about the "Orientals" in a way that compared Asian-Canadians to the rest of us ... as if they're a separate nation entirely. He was dividing the community into ethnic chunks, as if there are Canadians/Torontonians, and there are Asians.
It was NOT just opposing councillors who objected -- it was people in the Asian community. Opinions varied between those who felt it was completely insulting and those who felt it WAS meant as a compliment but was worded terribly. I don't know that anyone said, "hey, no big deal. Thanks for the kudos, Rob!" And people certainly didn't take kindly to being portrayed as "taking over".
And as said, it's one incident among many. The "gino" comment. The ACC brouhaha. The AIDs comments. The "get a job" comments. The other indidents myself and others have recounted above. The man comes off as a redneck. Add to this some sort of domestic incident -- who knows what went on? Did he really cause his wife's injuries? Can't say for sure ... but it's doubtful he was completely without fault. Rob Ford is coming off as the sort of guy you see on Cops. (No, not one of the guys in the squad car. At least, not at the beginning of the segment.)
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