Does the phrase "ch--k in the armor" offend any other Asians?

(I just realized that Soompi censors "ch--k" and substitutes it with Richard Simmons LOL)

When I was young, it was the worst thing anyone called me. It caused great harm. Being called "gook" or "slant" didn't hurt as much, although they are also offensive.

Yet we have news organizations using the word with no reservations. I do not believe it is acceptable in any context. Whenever the word is used, I believe we should bombard news sites and let them know it's not acceptable. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.

Here's the latest example.

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21621876-germany-able-give-its-allies-more-military-help-richard simmons-armour?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709

Any thoughts?

^that article has nothing to do with asians? ch1nks (working around the richard simmons) is a legitimate non-derogatory word and often use with armour to describe the state of the armour literally, or in the articles context, a weakened state.

on a different note, im hoping the term oriental will come back on radar. to me, it sounds really exotic lol.

jason4419 said: (I just realized that Soompi censors "ch--k" and substitutes it with Richard Simmons LOL)

When I was young, it was the worst thing anyone called me. It caused great harm. Being called "gook" or "slant" didn't hurt as much, although they are also offensive.

Yet we have news organizations using the word with no reservations. I do not believe it is acceptable in any context. Whenever the word is used, I believe we should bombard news sites and let them know it's not acceptable. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.

Here's the latest example.

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21621876-germany-able-give-its-allies-more-military-help-richard simmons-armour?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709

Any thoughts?

zantac_2 said: ^that article has nothing to do with asians? ch1nks (working around the richard simmons) is a legitimate non-derogatory word and often use with armour to describe the state of the armour literally, or in the articles context, a weakened state.

on a different note, im hoping the term oriental will come back on radar. to me, it sounds really exotic lol.

"Dafuq? Did we really make up the word to describe Chinese people in armor? Lol no.
It's totally acceptable. It's not everyone's fault that you have no idea what a word is."

Odaesan, your post does not make sense and your personal attack is totally uncalled for.

The fact is, ch--- is a harmful racial epithet, but also a word used to describe armor. My question to the reasonable people here is that should such a word which has such negative connotations be used by the media?

Has anyone here been called that word and find it offensive in any context?

Huh? How does my post not make sense? What personal attack?

The word only has negative connotations within certain contexts. "C hink in the armor" is idiomatic. It has nothing to do with Chinese people. The only times I can see it existing in multiple contexts is through emphasis and when it's directed at someone. If I called you the richard simmons in the armor, then that doesn't mean much other than you're the weakness. If you happen to be Chinese, it doesn't mean anything. If I know you're Chinese and I emphasize that you're the C HINK in the armor, then that's a different context and I'm exploiting the idiomatic frame.

The media doesn't exploit idiomatic frames for the reasons that this bothers you. Other than the existence of the word, of course.

People are free to use the word if they want. Do you want to ban the word "black" too?

"Do you have the White PS4? I like the white one better than black."

"It's completely unacceptable to use the word "black" in any context! It's an African American PS4!"

Do you see how unreasonable that is?


Edit: Richard Simmons filter. I think we should prohibit "Richard Simmons" too. Such a negative connotation.

I never heard white people call themselves "caucasions" ? since they refer to us as asians / orientals we should refer to them as "caucasions"

pretty soon they may take it as offensive? the same way asians dont like being called an "oriental"

As others have pointed out "ch.ink" is a completely standard English word in that phrase. It's also basically an archaic word now, surviving almost exclusively in that particular phrase. As a native English speaker in my mid-40s, and with a vocabulary that is consistently rated above the average, I don't think I've ever heard the word "ch.ink" used outside of the phrase "ch.ink in the armour". It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the offensive racial slur derived from the word "China". The Oxford English Dictionary has the first recorded use of it in the "crevice, hole" sense in 1398. The offensive racial slur is first recorded in 1901, more than 500 years later.  To think that it does is betraying the same kind of linguistic ignorance that is seen in protests about the word "history", by those who mistakenly assume it is a contraction of "his story". 

There was one article that using "richard simmons in the armor" when the Jeremy Lin phenom came out 2 years ago, was actually bad, but this article not so much.

jason4419 said: "Dafuq? Did we really make up the word to describe Chinese people in armor? Lol no.
It's totally acceptable. It's not everyone's fault that you have no idea what a word is."

Odaesan, your post does not make sense and your personal attack is totally uncalled for.

The fact is, ch--- is a harmful racial epithet, but also a word used to describe armor. My question to the reasonable people here is that should such a word which has such negative connotations be used by the media?

Has anyone here been called that word and find it offensive in any context?