wangfoo, are you even Japaneese?

JAP [jap]
(plural JAPs)
n
 an offensive term for a Jewish girl or woman that deliberately insults her ethnic background, upbringing, and character (slang taboo) Abbr of Jewish American Princess

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Please point out where it says I can not use the word Jap, not that I do anyway, I'm just defending anyone who may use the word with no Racism intended, I mean I wouldn't be offended if I was called an Aussie.

I mean, is it that hard to call me an Australian?

How about, I say you shouldn't use it, so try not to? ;>

I haven't seen anyone refer to Japanese PEOPLE by the word "Jap". I have only seen abbreviative references to the COUNTRY or the MARKET. (e.g. JAP EUR US UK CAN AUS)

Those are two entirely different uses, independently derived. Feel free to rail against the former, wangfoo, but please stop compaining about the latter.

It's as if I demanded that Saltines not be referred to as "crackers" because it's obviously a racial slur. Ban Oreos! No more Spic and Span!

Does it really matter? Omoneru has already stated that the word bothers him to some degree and he is Japanese.

George Carlin is not a person who defines proper behavior when dealing with people.

He is funny, but take stand-up comedy as a joke not necessarily a philosophy to live by.

It's not just about the other person's feelings, in the real world if you go around talking like that you are going to appear rude and lose respect (unless your colleagues are racist).

"I coalesce the vapors of human existence into a viable and meaningful comprehension. " "Oh a bull shit artist."

Different views on the net.

"For we Japanese, it's just a short form of 'Japan' and 'Japanese' equivalent to 'Brit'. If that's a problem for you, if you want to live in the past, if you want to cultivate some kind of a victim complex, if you want to get overly excited about a mere word, regardless of how it's actually used in 2004, we Japanese don't care. The war has been over for 60 years and we Japanese have moved on. "

After giving some examples of other Asian and Filipino Web sites that also us "Jap" in headlines, Suzuki finished up sarcastically:

"For my part, the discussion is closed. I've got better things to do than entertain a dumb retro-Yank on a bad Jap trip.

http://www.imdiversity.com/Villages/Asian/dialogue_opinion_letters/asakawa_JPNZ-JAP_1204.asp

I guess different people, different views. Anyway, more important things await, like insulting some fanboys.

@ArtofAngels, just because it is not in the dictionary doesn't mean it's not real... and just because it is doesn't mean it's not.

From M-W.com:

Main Entry: Jap
Pronunciation: 'jap
Function: noun or adjective
usually disparaging : JAPANESE


Use a different abbreviation. Just don't use it. It's easy. Don't. Aussie is what many Australians call them selves, and it is not derogatory.

To me, the word "jap" has always sounded a little bit racist, maybe because some of my friends I group up with were Japanese, so I try, and think I've succeeded, in not using it, but I can understand people who may not realize it and are really just using it as an appreviation for Japan or Japanese, and don't realize that it does offend people.

Unfortunately, many people will probably go on using it, on purpose or not, since this forum deals a lot with the Japanese markets. Maybe the best way to educate people on this is to just put it in your sig:

"please use JPN to abbr. Japanese, not "jap" (it's offensive)"

since this thread will probably die out at some point, but your sig lasts for as long as you're around, and will probably be seen by more people.

Words only have as much power as you give them.

Also, generally you can tell if there's malicious intent behind so called "derogatory" words. Using words like "Jap" should be taken on a case by case basis as 9 out of 10 people who use it do not mean any offense to any Japanese people.

 Seriously, people will call you this or that your entire life no matter what race you are. The sooner you come to terms with that, the sooner you can move on with your life and worry about something worth worrying about.