We have had a few discussions on the topic of politically correct topics lately, and it reminded me of a conversation on these boards from quite some time ago. I cannot remember what the discussion was about so the other person will remain nameless and hopefully unidentifiable. Who it is is not important. What I am going to ask is if I was being politically correct in this discussion.
Conversation: something about Asians, some one calls Asians "oriental", another person points out that properly, the correct term is Asian.
Me: I learned some time ago that Asian refers to people, Oriental to objects, so I always use Asian
Other person: You are just being Politically Correct.
Me: I don't think I am, it is effortless on my part to say Asian and I then don't have to worry about offending any one accidentally.
Other Person: Exactly, you are trying not to offend, so you are being PC.
Now, obviously this is somewhat paraphrased and condensed from a longer conversation. What I want to know though, is in the example I gave as I gave it, am I being Politically Correct to use the term Asian instead of Oriental?