Is this a considered racist?

Question

okay, I know that it is proper to use the terms " Asian American, African American, Native American".. Ect.

and I am not asking this question to be mean, nasty or racist-
I am just wondering if in general there words have a negative association.
My family is from the south, and while we are not racist- I think my older relatives might use words that are a little.. "dated." like,.. "colored", "Oriental" ( I though oriental was a negative term but I've seen resturants that advertise Oriental food- So I'm not sure. "china man" "Arabian" "Native people" ( refering to native americans) Latin, and Jew.


* so, again, I AM NOT ASKING THIS TO UPSET ANYONE - I just want to make sure my relatives are using terms that are not hurtful to anynone.***

To be honest, and no disrespect to them- but most of them have never left the small town where they life, and they are kind of stuck in the past. I am positive they don't say these things to be mean,but I am concerned that when they come visit me, or we have take a vacation, they may offened someone.

Answer 1

Yea, they might be considered offensive, but not racist.

For some reason, people still say Oriental food, but you can't say Oriental people.

"Colored" is very old fashioned and it is associated with derrogatory uses.

You shouldn't say "china man" when the person is asian because that sounds like you are assuming that they are from china. asian is better because they could be any of a variety of naitonalities.

The same goes for "arabian". That person could be Turkish, Palestinian; etc.

So basically, don't assume or generalize a person's nationality because that's considered offensive.

I don't think anyone takes offense to being called a Jew. Is there even a proper term?

I think people use Hispanic for Latin now.

I've never heard anyone say "Native People", but you should say Native Americans anyhow.

Answer 2

Oriental is what you'd call a rug... "oriental rug" not an "oriental person". It's kind of like calling an American a "U.S.ian" so it's just kind of wrong more than racist. You COULD call both Mexicans or Canadians "Americans" since they're from N. America, but that's just not what people say.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental

I have relatives who say things like this also, not sure what the best answer is. I also DO think we have gotten pretty carried away worrying about little things in the U.S. My family is from Italy, we don't care if we're "Italian", "Italian-American" "Eye-Talian", etc. Whatever... we're Americans who were once from Italy.

Also, everybody I know that's Jewish uses the word "Jew" themselves and they say it at church (Christian) also, not that it makes it "OK" but it's certainly common.

Answer 3

'Jew' isn't a bad word.

Oriental is not horrible, but 'Asian' is the preferred term these days.

'Colored' is also not what people currently prefer.

Chinaman is a no-no.

Arabian? do they mean people from Saudi Arabia? Arab is the term for those who speak Arabic. (Others, such as Persians who speak Farsi are insulted by being equated with Arabs.)

Latino and Latin are amoung the accepted terms for Latin Americans.

On the whole, I'd say your relatives are a bit old-fashioned, but, since all those groups have been, (and often are now) called much worse things, the terms they use aren't overtly racist.

Answer 4

The accepted terms for ethnic minorities in this country are always changing. xxx-American seems to be reasonably accepted, but it's not really correct. I wasn't born in Africa, I was born in America. As a guide:
Black or African-American (either is fine)
Asian or Asian-American (either)
Hispanic (or Latino if it is a Hispanic person with caucasian ethnic features)
Native American - I think, I'm not sure

"Colored" is a definite no-no, and "Oriental" doesn't sound too good either. "Chinaman" is just dumb. I'm not sure about "Jew". It should be fine, but people who are anti-semitic use the word as a disparaging term.

And there are many others that I haven't listed.

Answer 5

No, it's not, it's ignorant but it's not being racist. As an African-American, the title has probably changed every 20 years or so. Some people just simply don't know what is a more acceptable term, someone such as yourself, should gently tell them different.

Answer 6

Oriental has never been racist as it really does not refer to one particular race. Some people call Jews "Jewish people", but I doubt anyone will take offense at the word "Jews".
I'm Latino, no offense in Latin. Arabian is fine.
However, sometimes trying to be politically correct can be more insulting than using old words. I have black friends who hate being called "African-American". They prefer people to just call them black.

Answer 7

I think you would find it difficult to make me upset.(knock on wood....) People tell me I am crazy or weird sometimes. I try to take it as a compliment.

It's definitely true that people today have too much self righteous worry about offending others, and being Politically Correct. If you say something, and you weren't trying to be mean spirited much less racist, then if someone gets offended, it is their problem. It's actually kind of a relief to know that in that case there's not really much you can do, except to let people believe what they will believe.

Wouldn't the world be a lot better if people stopped worrying about how others see them, and started actually trying to be the person they'd want other people to see.(nods to nurses and social workers everywhere.)

That said, good luck......
~Donkey Hotei

Answer 8

No one uses colored anymore unless they mean it is a derogatory way. Oriental is insulting, because Oriental refers to things like rugs, not people. People would be called Asian. Food can be oriental. People cant.

Answer 9

Look, my grandma, calls African-Americans "telephones" (because of those old black telephones) and Asians "Slit eyes" and Arabs "Camels"...

Even if I'm ashamed, when she calls people that way, she's over 70, so I can't really change her mind, she grew up in Chile, a very racist country, so I can't change, after 70 years, how she refers to people.

however, my grandmother has always respected their rights, and doesn't think they are inferior, it's just that she grew up hearing those names.

Answer 10

I dont think they say it out of hatred, so i would assume then that it is not racist, something is only racist if it is meant to be offensive. A word does not make someone racist, but who they are.