What ‘Oriental’ gets wrong

Re “What’s wrong with the word ‘Oriental’?” Opinion, June 1

Objections to “Oriental” can be traced to Edward W. Said’s 1978 book “Orientalism,” in which he analyzes how European intellectuals imagined the “Orient” to stretch from the Middle East to South, Southeast and East Asia, treating the many peoples of these different regions as the same.

Said argued that this intellectual nomenclature, still evident in our odd use of the term “Middle East” and “Oriental Studies” departments, was an integral part of European colonialism.

As op-ed article author Jayne Tsuchiyama correctly notes, “Oriental” is generally not considered a racial slur, but it remains an extremely inaccurate term to refer to people as different as Egyptians, Japanese, Chinese and Indians.

Tsuchiyama has said what I’ve wondered about lately, although admittedly I have consciously substituted the word “Asian” for “Oriental.”

It seems to me the politically correct folks, along with the rest of us, should be more concerned with thoughts and actions than with words. Words do, of course, represent our thoughts, but once we get the thoughts and actions headed in the right direction, the words will take care of themselves.

Then again, what do I know? I’m just a dumb Mick from Orange County.

Tsuchiyama has no problem living in an America that uses racially charged words. She brushes aside the historic and racial implications of “Oriental” and the stigma attached to that word.

In trying to dignify our society, Americans have stopped using racially offensive words used to describe other minorities. By using words like “Oriental” to describe people, we continue the systemic oppression that Tsuchiyama appears to find acceptable.