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#1
10/29/2006, 02:36 PM
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'jap' as a reference
isn't 'jap' a racial slur? im just suprised to hear it used to refer to japanese corals. maybe im old school.
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#2
10/29/2006, 02:40 PM
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I guess it all depends on how sesitive you are. I would consider it an abreviation for the word Japanese. But with all the PC sensitive people in thes country lately, it could be considered something bad to say. In my opinion though, if anyone got offended by it, I would think they are either overly sensitive, or have more time on their hands than they know what to do with. If the people typing it meant it in an offensive way, they could use much more creative racial slurs than that.
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#5
10/29/2006, 06:32 PM
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I'm Japanese and it offends me. Last person to say it to me in person got punched in the nose.
But racial crap happens everywhere, so its kinda whatever. |
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#6
10/29/2006, 07:15 PM
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I could say im offended by what you're wearing in your icon but I don't. This is the internet where abbreviations, leet speak, and all sorts of other things that can be done online that normally wouldn't offline take place.
I think if someone says "jap brain coral " they mean "jap. brain coral" but its the internet, who bothers to write proper english? One must look at the intent. Even if it was used as a slur, what are they doing trying to offend the coral? lol
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You lookin' at my wrasse? |
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#7
10/29/2006, 07:31 PM
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I'm personally offended although this is the first time I've ever mentioned it. You can argue semantics and perfect world explanations all you want, but the bottom line is that its a word that is/has been used in a derogatory fashion for many, many years. It has nothing to do with being PC, my friends will tell you that I'm very un-PC.
 I could elaborate but I won't. Its also kind of hard to explain it to a person who is in the majority segment in a region (I'm half Caucasion, half Asian). Comparing a picture of a pretty girl to a term that "in and of itself" is used by some to put down people is quite a stretch. Is it really that much harder to include "anese"?
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When life hands you lemons ... add vodka! Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Closed minds should come with closed mouths. |
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#8
10/29/2006, 07:40 PM
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2 things
1: Whether the person using it means to be offensive or finds it offensive is totally irrelevant. What matters is if people of Japanease descent are offended by it. If they are, just add the half dozen extra letters. If you aren't willing to push 6 buttons to keep from racially offending someone, then you are a jerk. 2: I, personally, love All Delight's Avatar
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25gallon tank up and cycling since 7/29/06 Mostly LPS reef (lords, micros, duncans, etc.) with some ricordia florida and zoanthids. |
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#9
10/29/2006, 08:03 PM
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Don't use it. It's not polite, nor was it when it originated.
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Sk8r "Make haste slowly." ---Augustus. "If anything CAN go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment."---St. Murphy. |
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#10
10/29/2006, 08:37 PM
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I don't know...Maybe I'm just really laid back. I don't get offended when people make any racial comments about my origin. There are certain words that I can understand certain races being offended by. But, sometimes I think people that get offended by certain words are just people that enjoy getting confrontational. If someone used the word "Jap" to describe a person, then yes, I find that wrong. But when using it as an abbreviation for a coral, I find it silly for someone to get offended. Especially since the person typing it doesn't mean for it to be offensive. This country is getting so sensitive to everyone's feelings that is is almost to the point of being comical. I've noticed that as I've grown older, there seems to be more and more whiney, sue happy people. IMO, it doesn't seem to help us as a society at all.
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#11
10/29/2006, 08:41 PM
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I don't use the term but I don't think anyone ever ment it in a derogatory way in these threads. No more than someone saying Acan instead of Acanthastrea.
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It is what it is.... |
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#12
10/29/2006, 09:20 PM
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FYI... i was one of the individuals that used that word.
1) I didn't use it in a derogatory way, it was an abbreviation for where the coral came from, 2) It was never directed at an individual. Now if I said . Where did you get that coral from u Jap .... then i can understand why you get all worked up. But I used it as a abbreviation for the country You can just see a word in a sentence and take it out of context. |
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#13
10/29/2006, 09:32 PM
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jman, understood, and clearly no ill intended, as I'd think in this forum. Certainly didn't mean to imply ill will.
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Sk8r "Make haste slowly." ---Augustus. "If anything CAN go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment."---St. Murphy. |
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#14
10/29/2006, 09:46 PM
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Quote:
I've heard white people make comments before about how minorities shouldn't be so sensitive, that's real easy to say. Its something else when you encounter repeated episodes of being treated different or being called racist names to your face. Its not a measure of how laid back I am when its offensive to me to be called a gook walking down the street minding my own business. If it offends Japanese people to see the word "Jap" cause it reminds them of all the racism they put up with in the past, don't be patronizing and say cause its they are not laid back enough.
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it's always darkest before it's totally black Last edited by redFishblue; 10/29/2006 at 10:07 PM. |
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#15
10/29/2006, 09:57 PM
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No one said anyone was trying to be offensive. But, clearly people found it offensive, so just stop. period.
smcnally: It is not an issue of being "laid back" it is an issue of using words folks consider racial slurs. If you are so "laid back" why are you arguing that folks shouldn't be offended when other (white) people use terms with a good deal of racial baggage (and that is putting it nicely) behind them? Jman: I don't think that anyone believes that you meant harm, but it appears you caused it. Just refrain from doing it in the future and there shouldn't be a problem. Just don't do it and there won't be a problem. It is not like people. It is not like us white folks will have a harder life if we stop using the word "jap" lol, at redfish
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25gallon tank up and cycling since 7/29/06 Mostly LPS reef (lords, micros, duncans, etc.) with some ricordia florida and zoanthids. |
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#16
10/29/2006, 10:03 PM
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Quote:
 Is "White" my origin? Nope...I'm Irish. But I don't get offended by being called "White", a "Mick", or a "Paddy". Nor do I get offended when people stereotype the Irish when they say Irish people are short tempered, are alchoholics, or have small genetalia. So are you implying that "white" people can't be racially offended? |
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#17
10/29/2006, 10:19 PM
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Quote:
Sorry didn't mean white people can't be called racial names. But I guess the Irish are a different category than other Caucasians in terms of having had to deal with racism in the past. By the way, who says that stuff about the Irish other than comedians? And is it true? j/k
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it's always darkest before it's totally black |
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#18
10/29/2006, 10:20 PM
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racially offended, sure. doesn't it suck? why racially offend someone else? particularly if their racial discrimination goes a heck of a lot deeper than white ethnics in this country?
why do you think it is that you don't get offended when you hear derogatory comments about your Irish heritage? I am willing to bet that as a white guy living in Boston you don't face a whole heck of a lot of real discrimination. stuff like that is easier to brush off if you are not already dealing with the realities of racism in this country. how many more posts until this gets locked by the mods?
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25gallon tank up and cycling since 7/29/06 Mostly LPS reef (lords, micros, duncans, etc.) with some ricordia florida and zoanthids. |
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#20
10/29/2006, 10:51 PM
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I can't believe this is still going on. I'm sure NO ONE that has used the term meant it in a derogatory sense. I would have said something and since it seems like half the reefers on the west coast are Asian I'm sure I wouldn't have been the only one.
But the term itself is enough for some people to take offense to it. It takes a lot to offend me personally, but from someone who has personally seen my own mother be called a Jap, g**k, ch*nk, etc ... it does bother me. Sorry that it seems hard for some people to understand that. Again it has nothing to do with being PC. Its a term that offends people. I guess if you can't understand that, there is no getting thru to you. Hopefully you'll just shake your head like I'm an idiot but you'll refrain from using the term.Now since I'm 50% Asian and the rest German/Irish, I'm gonna finish this beer and admire my Japanese micros.
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When life hands you lemons ... add vodka! Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Closed minds should come with closed mouths. |
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#21
10/29/2006, 11:33 PM
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So THAT'S why they call them Non-Indo lords...good to know.
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#22
10/30/2006, 03:26 AM
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let's be honest, no ones wants to type out the full word of anything nowadays. sure 'acan' for acanthastrea, monti for montipora, but jap for japanese is just not an acceptable shortening. i dont think a slur should be OK to use because it's just easier than typing out a longer word.
 it doesnt matter if a derrogatory word doesnt offend you, it's still derrogatory. a white person saying nothing offends them is no news. im white and am not offended by white trash, white bread, cracker, honkey, etc but that doesn mean i have the right to use terms that refer negatively towards others. im glad some other people see things the same way. i didnt mean to start a war. im suprised it's lasted this long without being talked about. |
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#23
10/30/2006, 03:46 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
It's got a nice (well, fun anyway) ring to it 
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#25
10/30/2006, 07:32 AM
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Look guys (and ladies), all I'm saying is that I personally don't understand why people get so offended by certain words. I'm not saying you shouldn't, I just don't understand why people don't understand that a lot of people don't know certain words offend certain people. Here's a great example. I was in the Air Force for 7 years, and before I joined, I called anyone that looked Asian "Oriental". I had no idea it offended people, it was what my dad called them, and what everyone else where I grew up called asian people. I now know it offends people so I don't use it, although it does slip every now and then as a way to describe someone, because it was a word I learned from such a young age. I also knew a guy in the Air Force that grew up in an area where black people were called the "N" word on a daily basis. He had a hard time not saying that word when describing a person of that race. As a result he got beaten up pretty bad on a few occasions. So you tell me...Who's the bad person in that scenario? The guy who is uneducated and calls black people that word because he was taught his whole life that it is what they are called? Or the guy that beat the crap out of him because he was offended? That's an extreme example, but what I'm trying to get at is that most (not all) of the time, people say these words out of ignorance, or because of the way the community they grew up in used certain words. If someone says something that isn't meant to offend, then there is no reason to get offended.
I guess I was just trying to say that this world would be a much better place if people wouldn't get so offended all the time. The racial rules go both ways...People should refrain from using certain words when they know it offends others. But people should also understand that not everyone knows certain words offend them, and should just chaulk it up as a case of ignorance. FWIW, I actually am a very PC guy. I have to be with the work I do, and I have fortunately learned through my years in the military what offends most people. |
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