On Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:41:57 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> Dan Abel wrote:
>
>> USAGE The term Oriental, denoting a person from the Far East, is
>> regarded as offensive by many Asians, esp. Asian Americans. It has many
>> associations with European imperialism in Asia. Therefore, it has an
>> out-of-date feel and tends to be associated with a rather offensive
>> stereotype of the people and their customs as inscrutable and exotic.
>> Asian and more specific terms such as East Asian, Chinese, and Japanese
>> are preferred.
>
> Then why do they name their businesses (in Austin):
>
> New Oriental Market
> K&S Oriental Food Market
> Oriental Grocery and Bakery
> My Thanh Oriental Market
> Academy of Oriental Medicine
> Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
> Orietental Express
>
> And my Favorite:
>
> Midnight Cowboy Oriental Massage and Lingerie Modeling
>
> All these places are owned and staffed by Orientals; Asian Americans in
> almost all cases) If they're supposed to consider it offensive, then
> maybe they missed the memo.
>
> -sw

....or maybe they think it's effective marketing to the round-eyes (or
whatever ethnic slur is favored by gooks).

your pal,
blake