# WTF is the stupid outrage over "Oriental" about?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-the-stupid-outrage-over-oriental-about/702163>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [October 22, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-the-stupid-outrage-over-oriental-about/702163 "2014-10-22T17:47:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 26

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-the-stupid-outrage-over-oriental-about/702163/26 "2014-10-22T20:09:55Z")

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FWIW, I often use words like “Asian” etc. Sometimes the very ambiguity of “Oriental” (not so long ago, it was applied to countries as Westerly as Persia) lets me suggest, tersely, a general contrast between Western and non-Western philosophies. Here is the post for which **Really Not All That Bright** “reprimanded” me:

> [@Is what Westerners call "logic/logical" a matter of cultural perspective?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-what-westerners-call-logic-logical-a-matter-of-cultural-perspective/699970/22):
>
> Some say Oriental thought is more holistic, with Occidental more reductionist. Orientals seek compromise, while Western perspective is often based on competition. It’s sometimes said that Aristotle’s Law of the Excluded Middle is an impediment to Western thought!
> 
> An example of the difference is “fuzzy logic,” which is embraced by Japanese engineers but generally scorned in the West.

Regardless of my word choice here, did my point have validity? That my point was completely ignored to focus on the word choice did irritate me.

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