spf4000

I've been seeing people use the term "Jap" quite frequently on this site, and it's really starting to bother me. "Jap" is a racist term to describe Japanese, and it's no different from someone using the n-word.

If people want to shorten the word Japanese or Japan because they are too lazy to type, there's a perfectly valid abbreviation -- JPN.

/Rant

plumpzz

iTrader: (10)

Are you Jap? I dont see how its racist. Its the first three letters of japanese. You can call me ind for the first three letters of indian, but it doesnt make as much sense. Jap flows better no?

dmroberson

iTrader: (26)

I'm no intellectual, but, I'm Japanese, and Korean. If you look at the history of the abbreviation, "Jap" has always been used as a derogatory word when referring to someone of Japanese descent, much like the "N-word", when referring to someone of African descent. That's why it's viewed as negative.

Just like the word "oriental", when referring to an asian person, is also a derogatory word. "Oriental" in it's original definition, describes a "non-living, tangible object, originating from the Orient." By referring to an asian person as Oriental, essentially, you're calling them a worthless piece of property. It may not be what you're actually saying, but it can be construed that way.

Personally, I don't worry too much about it. I think it's only racist, if it's used that way.

PikesPeakZ

iTrader: (12)

I'm not of any Asian decent but I think the OP has a valid point. However I don't think most people on this board mean it in a derogatory sense.

Sean

getting mixed signals from the asian community
https://my350z.com/forum/members/65806-japsfinest.html

plumpzz

iTrader: (10)

Oh, i didnt know that. I usually don't use Jap, but I didnt know it was ment as a derogatory word. I prefer JDM Like.. "That girl has JDM teeth"

MyV6IsFast3r

iTrader: (38)

It's only raciest if you use it in that way, just like any word. But, I see your point on how one would see it as derogatory since it was used in that way during the war and what not.

350Z_LEE

iTrader: (9)

hehehe

blowdry

I'm Mex.! That's mexd up maaaaan. I've never known Jap to be a racist term. I thought it was used as a shortened version of Japanese.

I think ***** is racist cause it groups all Asians from my understanding.

Mike Wazowski

iTrader: (113)

Funny thing is, it is Asians that say this more than anyone.

dmroberson

iTrader: (26)

Very true... That's why, personally, I don't sweat small stuff, like this.

Ghost 350z

iTrader: (15)

Wow you learn something new everyday

ECKZLNT

iTrader: (3)

I thought JAP was for Jewish-American Princess?

VO...

iTrader: (25)

jjwalker

iTrader: (2)

Some kiddies weren't paying attention in history class.

Black Duck

Jap From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jap (variants: Japo, Japse) is a term denoting anything Japanese. It is considered by some to be the shortened version of the word for Japan.

The three-letter and two-letter international country code (ISO 3166) for Japan, JPN and JP, are also commonly used for the abbreviation of Japan.

In Japanese dictionaries, the term Jap is only defined as a disparaging term used against the Japanese people, like it is the case in many English language dictionaries.[1] In Britain it is considered mildly inappropriate but not a serious insult (cf Paki which is grossly offensive in British English yet not uncommon as an ethnic description in the United States).

[edit] War slur

Newspaper headlines announcing Japanese surrender in World War IIThe first recorded use of Jap was in 1860 to refer to members of the Japanese embassy in the United States. It was later popularized during World War II to describe those of Japanese descent, and was then commonly used in newspaper headlines to refer to the Japanese and Imperial Japan.

"Jap" was a derogatory term during the war, more so than "Nip."[2] Some in the United States Marine Corps also tried to combine the word "Japs" with "Apes" to create a new description, "Japes", for the Japanese. However, this new word never became popular.[2]

Veteran and author Paul Fussell explains the usefulness of the word during the war for creating effective propaganda by saying that "Japs" "was a brisk monosyllable handy for slogans like 'Rap the Jap' or 'Let's Blast the Jap Clean Off the Map.'"[2]


[edit] Actions of civil rights groups
In Texas, under pressure from civil rights groups, Jefferson County commissioners in 2004 decided to drop the name "Jap Road" from a 4.3-mile road near the city of Beaumont. Ironically, the road was originally named Jap Road in 1905 in honor of a local Japanese rice farmer.[3][4]

Also in adjacent Orange County, "Jap Lane" has also been targeted by civil rights groups.[5] The road was originally named for the contributions of Kichimatsu Kishi and the farming colony he founded.

Lo$t

iTrader: (5)

man i wish life was so easy that all i had to bltch about was racial slurs.

-The lonely cracker

I1DER

It is enlightening to know that Japanese is now a race as otherwise Jap wouldn't be a "racist" term. We've gotten so f...n politically correct that we have to be taught who can say what to whom at what time. Jap was a put down term for Japanese during the second world war and maybe back when the products that came from there were cheap. I don't know anybody today that uses the word Jap as a demeaning term for someone or something that comes from Japan. If someone is so sensitive that they want to misconstrue what someone is referring to, THEY are the ones that need sensitivity training and they need to dump the victimization mentality. The way a word is used makes it a slur, not the word itself.
We are so blessed with Intelligent people! (Now that was a slur using the word "intelligent". Should we ban it as the "I-word"?)
Sorry, I get PO'd at the new PC culture norms.

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

I noticed the Brits used the term "Jap" freely in their UK published tuner car magazines. Seems pretty normal.

It kinda urks me the wrong way when someone says it.
Though it's not as bad as "Nips" "Gooks" or "******".... I never use "Jap" out of just plain respect.

chimmike

iTrader: (7)

1) unbunch panties in ur bum
2) Don't get so easily offended