Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Diversity and the term "Oriental"

[Kimothy (kimothy]

Dear Angela and all,

I am also new to this group and am currently investigating the possibility
of joining a cohousing group with my family (which is very
diverse/multiethnic).  I wanted to thank you for your comments and the
delicacy with which you worded your response!

I understand that the issue of diversity has been an oft discussed topic on
this list and I am aware that I have not been here for those discussions but
I wanted to reinforce what you (Angela) had to say about the importance of
language use and the practice or attempt of inclusion.

I have spent many years living within cultures I was not raised in and have
found that one of the most important factors in communicating
cross-culturally is our often unconscious language patterns.

Thanks again,
Kimothy Eidinger
Tacoma, WA


On 1/15/03 12:37 PM, "Angelapk [at] aol.com" <Angelapk [at] aol.com> wrote:

> 
> I hesitate to even send this e-mail, but here goes. Please know that I send
> it with good intentions and no ill will.
> 
> As a person of color who just purchased a home in cohousing, I have read a
> number of the recent e-mails about diversity with great interest.  As someone
> who has a very strong network of friends and professional colleagues from
> diverse backgrounds one of the biggest drawbacks of cohousing is its lack of
> racial, ethnic, and income diversity. I believe in cohousing and am excited
> to be living "in community," but in addition to having friends from afar who
> are diverse, I would ideally like to live in a community that as diverse in
> these important ways.  I'm impressed by many of the efforts that have been
> made to diversify cohousing across the country and think we should share
> lessons learned to improve further.
> 
> But the reason why I am writing is to react to the use of the word "Oriental"
> on this listserv in describing people of Asian or Pacific Island descent.
> While many people continue to use this word to describe individuals, cuisine,
> and furnishings, I have to agree with Frank Wu, the writer of "Yellow: Race
> in America Beyond Black and White."  Wu writes that "Oriental" is an
> adjective that should be limited to the description of rugs.
> 
> While Asian/Pacific Islanders are not unanimous in feeling this way, a very
> large number -- and virtually everyone in my network -- is deeply offended by
> being called "Oriental."  When I describe this to others, I usually tell them
> that in 2003 most people would never call an African-American a "Negro" but
> people seem to have no problem calling Asian/Pacific Islanders an "Oriental."
> I would equate the two terms in how they're taken.  So, if you wouldn't feel
> comfortable calling someone "Negro" -- and I know I wouldn't -- I suggest we
> stop calling folks "Oriental" too.
> 
> I don't mean to be the PC police.  I am simply sharing my perspective in the
> hope that it might be of interest to some of you. I'm sure some Asian/Pacific
> Islanders have no problem with the term, but it's so deeply offensive to so
> many people that I think we do no harm in eliminating the use of the word,
> except in historical references.  I believe language is an important part of
> inclusion.  And, if this listserv aims to be inclusive and open to discussing
> diversity, I think we should be open to sharing these thoughts.
> 
> Thanks for reading and kudos to all who make this listserv possible.
> 
> Angela
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