This is getting a little sideways, since it is very difficult for me to understand how someone does not know, today, that this term isn't proper to use (at least, not in America).
If used as a pure descriptor of location (Oriental, Occidental), then it is acceptable. But not for people.
Here's a quick explanation from 2009:
'Oriental': Rugs, Not People
It's an adjective that used to describe rugs, not people. That's the message New York Gov. David Paterson turned into law this week when he signed a bill that bans state documents from using the term "oriental" when referring to people of Asian or Pacific heritage. Jeff Yang, an Asian Pop...www.npr.org
In 2016, it was removed from use in any and all federal law. You can additionally find numerous examples of people with Asian ancestry taking offense to the term, both because it lumps numerous different people under one umbrella, because it "others" people, because it has a stigma of "exoticism," and because it has been used in unsavory ways in the past; in short, while it has more pleasant connotations than some other words, it still causes offense for multiple reasons.
Again, in order to avoid thread derailment and lockdown, I advise using google.
EDIT- to be clear, this isn't directed at the person I am responding to, but to the person just asking questions.
I don't disagree with you. But something I've learned over the years is that things that are obvious to me (because of the circles I run in) are often not obvious to others outside my circles. And I've certainly been guilty of not knowing things that, in retrospect, were pretty obvious. I'll also say that, on average, I see the discussion about 'western use of orientalism' a lot less than I see other topics. Again, probably just a result of my own bubble.
AD
