What is wrong with describing someone as Asian?

[ProudAS]

It's what the person is and not being used in a derogatory manner. My colleague felt he had to whisper though when describing another colleague to me.

I fail to see how describing someone by their ethnicity is any different to describing them by their gender.

I am British Pakistani and have no problem with describing myself as Asian. Most non-Asians would find it difficult to differentiate between Bangladeshis, Indians, Afghanis etc, and I personally wouldnt be best pleased being described as something I'm not, so it makes life easier all round.

I can kind of understand how pc people may tie themselves in knots though, as there is so much negative history attached to race, colour, culture etc.. and nobody wants to cause offence and be labelled racist. I feel rather reluctant to say white person myself, and prior to dc I worked in a small town where luckily about 99% of the white folk were English anyway. So always referred to the person as English lady or gentleman or whatever when needing to describe someone. As did all the other people I worked with.

A colleague who was British/English with Singaporean grandparents of Chinese descent objected to being called Chinese.

Fair enough. She's not. She's from Harrow, north London, though she was very proud of her Chinese heritage and would describe it in lavish terms, which tbf was a bit confusing.

We didn't go into it and I'd direct people to her with reference to her clothing. I felt slightly sorry for people who directed messengers to 'the Chinese girl' because I know they didn't mean bad intent.

I'd call her English because she was born here and she's a Londoner like me.

I've another friend who's an ethnic Chinese person from Hong Kong who got very angry with me when I asked her innocently whether she was going home for xmas. She was born there, her mother still lived there and her siblings who lived in Manhattan and Zurich planned to go there.

She was an utterly unreasonable cunt who I don't see any more.

For some people, in a certain circumstance, their height may be the most distinguishing factor from those around them. Or their hair colour/gender/clothing/tattoos.

Sometimes it will be their race. It's not racist at all.

"I remember not being allowed to read charlottes web as a class as it had a pig in it when I was small.Now thats got to have been a teacher that wouldnt allow it."

You know something? I just don't believe this. But. If there is a class where the majority were Muslims and didn't want to read a story about pigs, then what's wrong with that? There are loads of other stories. My ds had several children from evangelical Christian families in his class at primary school, and they weren't allowed to listen to stories about witches. So the teachers chose stories without witches in them. They weren't deprived of stories and they were able to listen as a whole class.

YANBU, like Jinsei said, as long as the person is Asian and their race is relevant to the conversation, was it?. I'm half Asian and will often say this fact if it comes up!. It'a not racist on it's own no.

It's

Dont believe it then curlew?
You just cant face the reality that it happens and it did.

Some people on here will argue that blue is yellow.Im not even going to get in a discussion.Thats what happened,i was there.Believe what you want.

And as I said, if it did happen, what's so wrong with choosing a class book everyone can read? Cf my point about evangelical Christian families and books about witches?

So you dont believe it happened then if you do its wrong?you got a sister on here?you really do just try to start debates.

Would you be interested in answering my point?

Not really no,i dont feel the need to explain to you that sonething occurred that fid and Im not reciting an event to you to explain it when you dont think it happened.Got better things to do tbh.

OK.

So you're not actually prepared to think at all about what you've said, and the impact it might have. Not prepared to consider that you might be adding to the raft of "PC gone mad" myths. That what you said on here might end up as a "Muslims Ban Childhood Favourite" headline?

Well i doubt it will make the headlines with it being 15 years ago so dont you worry your head about it.God you spund so much like someone else on here.Weird hw you picked up on a discussion that was over.Why will it have an impact,its not believable remember?If i thought you were actually interested and not just wanting to debate it in an attempt to belittle what Ive said id discuss it with you but Im not going to be made to just because you seem to like conflict.I did tell you I wasnt going to have a discussion with you,If you are going to practically tell me my experiences are fabricated then you dont get my respect enough to engage in a discussion about it.

Also get your facts straight,the teacher wasnt muslim and I didnt say they were.

I didn't say you though the teacher was Muslim. I said that Muslims would be blamed for banning the book. When it was probably an attempt to find a book that everyone in the class could read. Like the no witches rule in my ds's class.

Yes its a myth,it doesnt happen.Because you personally havent experienced it its not true,its a media myth even if it has nothing to do with the media.

What I was saying is, was it something like finding a book everyone in the class could read, like finding books without witches for my ds's class because of the evangelical Christians? What I think is a myth is the edict from above "no books with pigs" that some people think happens. There are individual circumstances where it's appropriate, but which get reported as universal rules.

But what annoyed me is that you had been previously saying that it did not happen?I think it was the teacher being a bit over cautious as if it was the case that the muslim children couldnt read it it wouldnt have been in the classroom in a selection of class books.

But you said, without qualification or explanation that you were not allowed to read Charlotte's Web, using it as an example of political correctness gone mad. I stand by saying that didn't happen- it wasn't a banned book. However in a class with Muslim children it would be a good thing to avoid it as a class read, just like the witches/evangelical Chrisitan thing.

It was a sensible and culturally sensitive thing to do, and you presented it as a negative thing.

if it was the case that the muslim children couldnt read it it wouldnt have been in the classroom in a selection of class books."

Why not? No reason why non Muslim children shouldn't read it!

I think anybody who says a Muslim child shouldn't read a book with a pig character is barking. They're not supposed to EAT pork. Reading about a pig in a book is very far from eating it.

Thank you lyrasilvertongue thats my point.When we learn about farm animals should we miss out the pig?shall we ignore winnie the pooh?