“There’s no reason the Orient should be an offensive term.
It simply means the east and refers to East Asia.”
I completely agree. However, it’s also been a misnomer since 1492 (as has the term “the Occident”). If you live on the west coast of N. America, you get to the “Orient”, by traveling west. In fact, the shortest distance by air, between Washington D.C. and Japan, or most of China requires heading west. Perhaps Biden meant to say “the Occident”.
Oh, and why isn’t “Occidental” considered offensive?
Joe Biden under fire from Jewish groups for using word 'Shylock' during speech about money lending
Old joke...an Asian exchange student shows up for her first day of college. The administrator tells her, “You need to go to orientation”.
“No,” she says. “I’m already Oriental, I’m here to be Oxidized”.
Because only people from one of the inferior races get offended.
It refers to the Europe and Asia land mass.
The US East coast is west of Europe.