Date: Wed, 01 Jan 2003 15:15:25 +0000 From: Johannes H Andersen <johsnopsamsizefitterzzzz.com> Subject: Re: Saab or GM?
tom reingold wrote: > > On 12/31/2002 9:53 AM:Johannes H Andersen wrote > > > > > tom reingold wrote: > >> > >> On 12/24/2002 4:42 PM:Paul Halliday wrote > >> > >> > By Jap, do you mean Oriental? I have a Hyundai S-Coupe as well as two Saabs. > >> > I wouldn't call it no-maintenance. I have a bad flow-sensor that mis-fires > >> > like an overboosting turbo. It's a pig. "Jap" cars are all electronics and > >> > prone to hideous failure. Still, the 3.0L Supra is one hell of a drive. > >> > >> Firstly, he said Japanese, not Jap. In case you don't know, Jap is a > >> racist term. I know, I know, it sounds innocuous, especially since it's > >> just an abbreviation. But it has come to have the same status as the > >> word nigger. > > > > And who decides such things? If the poster didn't know, as it is not well > > known, then presumably it was not used in a racist context and should not > > be interpreted as such. You can read all sorts of things into everything > > if you want to. > > > > Johannes > > I know he didn't mean it racistly. I have no problem with his mistake. > I also think it's a good idea to tell people when they make that > mistake, lest they are taken to mean to sound racist. Once you're > warned, you have a responsibility. > > As for who decides these things? Ask dictionary writers how the observe > the language. Recently, I read an article about them. They insist that > they only observe and never dictate. This is for English, anyway. I'm > sure the attitudes are different with other languages. The point is > that there are general trends, and the general trend with the word "Jap" > is that is usually used as a racist term. Most other uses are by people > who don't know that. That qualifies it very resoluttely as a racist term. > I also looked it up in the dictionary and found that it was quoted as "informal, offensive", but I never though of it as a racist term. It might be considered offensive because of its usage in relation to events that took place just before I was born rather than a recent trend; dictionaries are not that up-to-date. Anyway, there is always something to learn. Jap was also a popular small engine used in many sports cars, e.g. Morgan, Cooper and motor bikes. Johannes
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