We were sitting on the veranda of a Philadelphia restaurant around noon on a fall afternoon over a decade ago. As military planes flew over Lincoln Financial Field just before the Eagles kicked off, I was talking about Johnny, one of my favorite all time former players.
Johnny’s mother was Korean and his dad was American. He looked more like his mother but acted more like his dad. As I told my tale, I mentioned he was Oriental. My grandson and his girlfriend were appalled. Shane laughed at my unintentional bigotry as I sat speechless and confused.
“You can’t say that!” Zack lectured. I wasn’t sure what he meant. He told me the correct term was Asian, even though about half Asia’s population were never known as Oriental. I don’t like offending people but remained confused. Oriental is okay for objects like vases, food, and art but not for people. And I found out that Australians are considered Asian. I’m likely not the only one confused.
This memory appeared thanks to Andy Griffith. The episode in question involved a character, played by Buddy Ebsen, soon to become Jed Clampett. He played a hobo visiting Mayberry for a while who caught Opie’s attention. As soon as Opie began emulating the drifter’s less than honorable habits, Andy had to step in. I knew it by heart. Then again, I know almost all Andy Griffith episodes by heart.
Opie’s Hobo Friend is that episode’s title, duly noted on the screen. However, in the explanation on the guide, Ebsen’s character is referred to as unhoused. I went nuts. My problem wasn’t using unhoused to describe someone homeless, although that is almost as ridiculous as using Latinx. It was the idiocy of using unhoused and hobo in the same screenshot.
We never seem to get outrage correct. In the first place, hobo isn’t derogatory. Hobos were vagabonds who traveled the country, sometimes exhibiting shady behavior. Roger Miller even wrote a highly successful song called King of the Road about such characters.
Homeless is different. Most people are homeless because they can’t afford modern rent rates or suffered catastrophic debt, likely due to illness. The issue is complicated and in today’s America, no one should be abused for being homeless. As far as Asian versus Oriental— I still have no idea. I think we need rules.
Behavior from decades ago should be exempt from discussion. Words should only be offensive when someone uses them precisely to abuse or belittle another person. Saying the word in another context doesn’t matter.
No one can gripe about offensive words if they aren’t part of the offended group. Most people offended by words, deeds, and actions are either trying to increase a social media presence or virtue signal by jumping on a bandwagon they aren’t part of.
We need to rethink inappropriate behavior. We also need a grandfathered rule so old people who use a long acceptable term don’t get attacked by someone three decades younger. Aren’t we really just trying to prevent abuse? And can we stop protesting large corporations doing stupid stuff?
There are way more important issues to consider.
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