JCT

Sir,
To an extent, I agree. However, US bases tend to use large numbers of locals to do tasks that we do not want our Soldiers/Sailors/Marines to do. Hiring US citizens to come out and do these tasks is usually too expensive as they require fairly high salary incentives to live in austere environments. 3rd country nationals are often hired to perform some of these tasks.

However, it is usually (depending on the area - Iraq is not always a good place to do this) desirable to hire some of the locals to work on base, it gives them (and us) a chance to mingle & get to know each other - hopefully increasing good will, and provides an infusion of cash into the local economy. If you hire locals, the word they spread into the local area about your activities will influence everyone's opinion on you. Thus you should respect their local customs, even if it means forgoing the after work beer.

Albany Rifles

You hit the nail squarely on the head.

And since the US has been operating in primarily Moslem countries since 1990 we have had General Order #1 in effect for all US Military Forces. Part of this is to prevent issues and problems the above can cause.

What is interesting, though, is that State Department compounds and compunds run by private corporations (i.e., ARAMOCO) do not follow these strictures....which causes problems wit hthe locals...kind of like in the "Ugly American"!

__________________
“When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” — Oscar Wilde

S-2

Report Details Shooting By Drunken Blackwater Employee

Beaten to death, I'm sure. Still, this incident, while even more onerous because it's a private security employee, makes clear again why alcohol and our armed troops don't mix. Not in a combat zone nor a muslim country. Definitely not where both coincide. It's presence, alone, is rude and too often leads to acts of REAL POOR JUDGEMENT.

Works best for our troops, if not civilians/diplomats (the irony of it all is stupifying ). It's a combat zone and needs to be treated as such if you want to see home again. Proven over and over again.

Period.

__________________
"This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski

Skull6

When I was in Desert Storm, the British had their "pleasure"/ R&R boats moored in port.

__________________
If you know the enemy and yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. - Sun Tzu

Zeng

Ray Sir,

Sorry, I misunderstood you. I apologize to you.

I guess that I was a little bit upset about another Indian military professional using that word calling me

__________________
I am here for exchanging opinions.

Officer of Engineers

Zeng,

It was I who initiate on the ban on the word and truth be told, it was not a priority, simply because of the phrase - Zhong Quo Ren. ONLY in North America is the term racist, it is NOT anywhere else, NOT even in China.

SO, let's be fair, the Major was not NOT being discriminatory, he was just ignorant.

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Chimo

furkensturker

Well this one has caught me off guard, Can someone explain why the word about "a man from China" is deemed to be offensive?

We have numerous places named after that man, a resteraunt in Sydney is called "the happy ********", at least two creeks called chinamans creek, a rocky feature not far from here is called "chinamans hat". Should all these places be renamed for political correctness or should historic names be left alone?

I also understand that African Americans are not called negros now. Why is this?
I'm not trying to stir the pot, racily, I'm just curios as to the change of thinking.

Us Aussies are sometimes criticised about the way we use words that are very naughty as a term of endearment. An example, the word bastard is used in; G'day ya old bastard. We even have "the order of old bastards", It's a charity organization where members pay a fee each year that goes to a charity. When an old bastard spots another old bastard in the pub, he goes up to him and holds out his membership card and says, "G'day ya old bastard". If the other old bastard can't produce his membership card, he MUST buy the other old bastard a drink.

About the only names that rub us up the wrong way are bludger and "are you a pom?"

Freddie

__________________
I'm the Happiness Fairy. I've sprinkled happy dust on you.
So Smile dammit. This sh1t's expensive.
Bulla Fiax concouria quantium vis

glyn

[quote=furkensturker;435451]About the only names that rub us up the wrong way are bludger and "are you a pom?"

Well, fair dinkum, Blue, you bloody old drongo!

__________________
Semper in excretum. Solum profunda variat.

furkensturker

[quote=glyn;435461]
Flattery will get you nowhere.

Officer of Engineers

Legacy of Chinese labourors brought over to build the transcontinental railways in both the US and Canada. By design, they had less rights than black slaves in the confederate states, even after the American Civil War.

Zeng

OOE Sir,

I agree that the Major was probably just made an innocent mistake. I shouldn’t blame him. I could have made the similar mistake.

Zeng

Literately speaking, China-man is not a bad word. But the ugly cartoons and stories depict the China-man druing and after that historical period you mentioned above made it into a bad word.

This is similar to the N word for the African Americans. It was the racist people and KKK who made ugly cartoons and stories using the N word, which made it into a bad word.

China-man is also used by Japanese as a racist word for Chinese.

The proper word of “Chinese” in the Japanese Kanji is 中国人 (should be exactly the same as the traditional Chinese).

Some racist Japanese mainly before WWII translated China-man into 支那人 (Sino man) and depicted 支那人 with ugly cartoons and stories.

Even today, the right wing Japanese anti-China propaganda still use 支那人 in their Chinese and Japanese documents and China-man in their English documents.

Because very few people in China are really familiar with English or Japanese or the history behind this word, most of them wouldn’t know or consider this word to be racism except for small number of the college graduates.

Officer of Engineers

Zeng,'

What the hell does your post got anything to do "China Man?" NONE OF US are Japanese NOR of Japanese decent. I've given you the historic context, You've done a disservice to my family as well as those of Chinese railway workers AND those of Japanese decent who held NO hatre towards our people.

Ray

I see the point.

Even so, I would have my beer in my room when I am not surrounded by the locals!

__________________


"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

Ray

Colonel,

I don't think you should get angry with what Zeng has written.

He has merely explained why in China (not US or Canada), the word is not favoured.

I, for one, am educated on this aspect as I am with your post about the railroad workers.

Both the posts, his and yours, has improved my knowledge and I thank you both.