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The Rakshasa and Genie Problem
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<blockquote data-quote="GreyLord" data-source="post: 8508197" data-attributes="member: 4348"><p>That actually can give very different (and opposing answers) at times.</p><p></p><p>A prime example of this is the word Oriental (And please forgive me for using this, this is as an example, I am not trying to offend anyone). For some individuals in Canada and the United States they find it offensive to refer to Asian-Americans in that manner. There are other groups in the same nations that do not.</p><p></p><p>Even more varied is that overall, in China, Japan, and most of East Asia, they PREFER it to other terms and do not understand why anyone would NOT use the term Oriental verses the more generic Asian (which refers to a MUCH LARGER area in their eyes, and seeing that they do not always agree with some other nations in Asia, is not as agreeable). In some ways the entire thing can be seen as insulting them when people try to speak up in regards to what is or is not offensive to them, especially in relation to that term. Many of them find it offensive that Americans assume things and try to define over a Billion people rather than agree with the rest of the world. Of course, many of them would prefer to be called under their nationality (Chinese, Vietnamese, etc) than a more generic term.</p><p></p><p>In some other places the term Oriental (or even better, their nationality of where they are actually from, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc) are preferred than the more generic term Asian, the term Asian being more offensive to some of them.</p><p></p><p>This can make publishing anything related to content from those areas a minefield for a publisher. If you use one term you offend many North Americans. If you use another term you may make the Americans happy but offend just about every other group in the world under that ethnicity (which is a LOT MORE than Americans under that ethnicity or ancestry). </p><p></p><p>In many ways the younger Asian-Americans want to be ACCEPTED by others (such as whites or other ethnicities in the US), and some of the Older Generation cannot understand the qualms against the term by the younger Generation in America itself. At the same time, Younger americans also have seen the term used in a derogatory manner (while much of the rest of the world did not) which also makes them want the term to never be used in reference to them or anyone else.</p><p></p><p>This makes a strong split between several different groups. If you cater to one, you'll crater your sales to another. For D&D currently this may not be as big of a problem (as they are an American company most of their sales are to Americans, those from rest of the world do not count as much of a source of their sales), but for other businesses this could be a major obstacle as China and other markets are seen as a pretty good chunk of your income if you cater to them. </p><p></p><p>Even in the US and Canada you can find divisions, especially between older and younger generations.</p><p></p><p>Prime example of this can be found on this NPR story.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/05/25/478097902/my-oriental-father-on-the-words-we-use-to-describe-ourselves" target="_blank">On the words we use to describe ourselves</a></p><p></p><p>It can be a tough line to publish some types of materials even if you talk to those from those groups as the similar people across the globe may be offended differently. Asking them about what to do or what they prefer may actually differ depending on what geographic region you are talking to, and where they are from, what generation, and many other factors. Even with the discussions it may not be as clear cut or easy to understand as some may think.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GreyLord, post: 8508197, member: 4348"] That actually can give very different (and opposing answers) at times. A prime example of this is the word Oriental (And please forgive me for using this, this is as an example, I am not trying to offend anyone). For some individuals in Canada and the United States they find it offensive to refer to Asian-Americans in that manner. There are other groups in the same nations that do not. Even more varied is that overall, in China, Japan, and most of East Asia, they PREFER it to other terms and do not understand why anyone would NOT use the term Oriental verses the more generic Asian (which refers to a MUCH LARGER area in their eyes, and seeing that they do not always agree with some other nations in Asia, is not as agreeable). In some ways the entire thing can be seen as insulting them when people try to speak up in regards to what is or is not offensive to them, especially in relation to that term. Many of them find it offensive that Americans assume things and try to define over a Billion people rather than agree with the rest of the world. Of course, many of them would prefer to be called under their nationality (Chinese, Vietnamese, etc) than a more generic term. In some other places the term Oriental (or even better, their nationality of where they are actually from, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc) are preferred than the more generic term Asian, the term Asian being more offensive to some of them. This can make publishing anything related to content from those areas a minefield for a publisher. If you use one term you offend many North Americans. If you use another term you may make the Americans happy but offend just about every other group in the world under that ethnicity (which is a LOT MORE than Americans under that ethnicity or ancestry). In many ways the younger Asian-Americans want to be ACCEPTED by others (such as whites or other ethnicities in the US), and some of the Older Generation cannot understand the qualms against the term by the younger Generation in America itself. At the same time, Younger americans also have seen the term used in a derogatory manner (while much of the rest of the world did not) which also makes them want the term to never be used in reference to them or anyone else. This makes a strong split between several different groups. If you cater to one, you'll crater your sales to another. For D&D currently this may not be as big of a problem (as they are an American company most of their sales are to Americans, those from rest of the world do not count as much of a source of their sales), but for other businesses this could be a major obstacle as China and other markets are seen as a pretty good chunk of your income if you cater to them. Even in the US and Canada you can find divisions, especially between older and younger generations. Prime example of this can be found on this NPR story. [URL='https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/05/25/478097902/my-oriental-father-on-the-words-we-use-to-describe-ourselves']On the words we use to describe ourselves[/URL] It can be a tough line to publish some types of materials even if you talk to those from those groups as the similar people across the globe may be offended differently. Asking them about what to do or what they prefer may actually differ depending on what geographic region you are talking to, and where they are from, what generation, and many other factors. Even with the discussions it may not be as clear cut or easy to understand as some may think. [/QUOTE]
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