Racial slurs may be covered by the First Amendment, but you’re still an asshole for using them
This discussion began because several commenters on the original post reacted to a CG video of the Hiroshima bomb by throwing around the term “Japs” and, one, by lamenting the fact that the atom bombs didn’t kill more Japanese. As I explained in my reaction, it’s an offensive term and there’s no place for it here. Use of such terms is lazy and does nothing to elevate the discussion. It only drags the entire site into the gutter. As the discussion went on, another commenter went out of his way to insult my family directly. He also won’t be joining us anymore.
This thread has been a disappointing one for me. I love the Hot Air community that I have helped build, but there are obviously elements here who just don’t care if they cause offense to the hosts or say and do things that make this site and our community look like a pack of racists. We work very hard here to bring you news you won’t get anywhere else, and insulting my family and questioning my honesty is how I’m repaid?
Thank you. Thank you very much.
That was Bryan Preston’s reaction after this series of events:
- CG rendering of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima is posted
- One commenter uses the slur “Japs” and another wishes that more Japanese had died
- Bryan posts update, telling people that “Jap” is an offensive slur, and that genocidal wishes aren’t appropriate for the site
- A whole mess of commenters argue that “Jap” is not offensive (”it’s just an abbreviation!”), and then proceed to use it to insult Bryan’s family
Apparently racism is a topic that can be adequately discussed by stirring a bowl of Frosted Alpha-Bits with a broken thermometer.
Next assignment: justify using the c-word to refer a person of the female gender. They all have them… it’s one of the best gender-distinguishing characteristics. They could just choose not to be offended by the term. Discuss.
It is not appropriate in any circumstances to use such words as “jap”, “nigger”, “spick”… and the list goes on. What shocks me most, I think, is that even after Bryan makes a point of saying he’s not comfortable with the term “jap”, and he gives his reasons… People still go on to use the word, and use it to insult him… Even if you disagree with him, there is no excuse for being deliberately offensive and crude. Argue your point about it being an abbreviation, but respect that other people do find it derogatory, and respect their wishes by not using it.
As for the use of the word “c*nt” to refer to our female counterparts… anyone who would is a dick (in every sense of the word…)
Bryan… you are a little pussy cunt. I agree the words “nigger”, “spic”, “chinq”, “slant eyes”, etc. are nasty and offensive, but the word “Jap” is the simple shortening of there cultural identification.
Have you ever referred to Jewish people as “Jews” or Polish people as “Poles”. These are nor discriminate names and I make my argument based on fact. I work for Toyota and have overhead discussions on this topic prior to reading your thread. As such, as decided to solicit the feelings of the Japanese associates at Toyota. None of the 25+ people I spoke with were at all offended by the term “Jap”. In fact, tying in with a portion of the Toyota Production System philosophy they even joked, “The easier the better, right!?!”
Let me know where you get your information from Bryan and then throw some backbone into it you pansy. Its honky, peckerwood, cracker muthafuckas like you that bitch and whine about something you know nothing about.
As for you Jeranon…
Go FUCK YOURSELF YOU CUNT!
Bringing up offensive language as a subject for discussion is asking for people to use it against you. Anything you self-righteously attack will produce its own self-righteous defenders. Stir in a generous helping of reckless jerks who may only be pulling your leg and you have one delicious bowl of cereal. Eat up.
I find the term ‘Jap’ is fine, given the right context. I’m a frequent importer of video games and involved in that community online, and there you’ll find ‘Jap’ used as an abbreviation for ‘Japanese’ (e.g. “I’ve got a mint Jap copy of Street Fighter II”), with no offence intended and none taken from our Japanese members.
However, in the context of the Hiroshima bomb and World War II it clearly has negative connotations. Using it in that context is always going to be inflammatory. And wishing for more people to be killed of any nationality is just plain trolling.
“spic” is a shortening of “Hispanic,” yet you admit that it is nasty and offensive. They’re offensive because people are offended by them and bigots use them with intent to offend. Their offensiveness has nothing to do with the fact that they are abbreviations of legitimate and unoffensive words. Hell, the words “nigger” and “negro” derive from the word meaning “black” in many romance languages (Latin: niger, Spanish: negra). “Black” is a perfectly acceptable way to refer to people with dark skin and African features in English… yet “nigger” and “negro” are offensive. What I’m trying to say is that you can’t approach these words and justify them based on their etymological origin alone.
It’s just too bad that people are as stupid about racism and racial slurs as they were decades ago. It’s like introducing your friend, as a “Jap”, he’s Japanese for goodness sake. None of the commentators who commented that it was ok, were Japanese themselves.. maybe they should’ve asked if it was proper..
And in fact bryan said that he wasn’t comfortable with the term Jap… people still kept on using it.. if that isn’t wrong.. it’s just wronfully distasteful.
Mark, Isn’t it offensive to refer to anyone as an “asshole”?
I support the posts that call for civility in referring to ethnic groups, but doesn’t everyone deserve to be referred to in civil terms even if you are not referring to their race or gender?
There’s a huge difference between using vulgar words to characterize an individual’s actions, and using vulgar words to characterize someone’s racial or national heritage. Particularly odious actions merit the use of particularly odious words in describing them.
[...] February 4th, 2007 While I’m on the subject of Constitutional rights, here’s another from Mark Jaquith: Racial slurs may be covered by the First Amendment, but you’re still an asshole for using them [...]
i’m a cunt-eyed cracker Jap and i’m proud of it. stop getting your panties in a bunch. “it’s the suppression of the word that gives it the power, the violence and the viciousness.” -lenny bruce. let’s strip the words of thier power by using them until they lose thier meaning.
yo segramwolf u r an the biggest dumbass in the world.
bryan shld be the one saying okay not u dick.
u r just the biggest dumbass ive ever known
It was a term used with much hate during WWII, and the government used it in charming slogans such as “lets blast the Jap clear off the map.” Obviously, it was also used to promote the unfounded internment of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast. That makes it a loaded term.
I am Japanese-American. I chose not to use the word, but I think that anyone who has had a slur used against them hatefully certainly has the right to “reclaim” it and take away the power. People who use slurs that have not been used to victimize them are generally acting out of insensitivity and ignorance.
Black/White Double Standards…
At one point, when he was a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live Eddie Murphy did a sketch on how white people behave when there are no black people around. He would get made up as a white man and do an undercover report to show how white people b…
If a term is “loaded” then banning its use will only make it more loaded. Noone can stop use of a word. THe only thing the community can actually do is overuse the word and overload it to the point when it looses the offensive meaning to all but the most sensitive cunts. Any word regardless how innocent and appropriate in the context might offend someone. So, should we stop speaking just to please the oversensitive people?
No.
If you look back in the history, then there are some communities that embrace and extend the words pointed at them until the words loose their meaning. And this is good for the community as there is no more separation – there is integration. Integration of slurs.
Just call people niggers because of their attitude and regardless of their skin color. Call people cunts and dicks because of their attitude and regardless of their sex. Do that and in 10 years no sane person will take these words as offensive.
Hi My Name Is ivavbv.
Just had to crack a smile over the Ann Coulter Google ad on this post.
There are a lot of strange guys out there. I can imagine reactions like that can sadden. Don’t waste time on such thoughts and look on the community you have created. The field of politics bears a high potential of hate and supidity.
I’m am presently transcribing 1000 pages of written letters that were written and sent home by a young lady from Milwaukee, who, shortly after WWII worked for the Army in Occupied Japan as a court reporter. She is a very good writer and funny,and describes Japan and all her experiences while there like no other, but she also uses numerous racial slurs and can be quite descrimitive when refering to the Japanese people and black American soldiers stationed in Japan.
Since these letters were written in 1947 & 1948, is it still anti… or anti… to reproduce them as is? It was very common at the time to talk that way and to have those prejudices. It’s history. Not reproducing them as is would be misleading as to the times.
Since I want to publish these letters in book form I’m in quite a quandary about what to do.
Anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks a bunch.
Ken…
History is not your’s to rewite, letters not written by you cannot be edited by you and then atributed to the real author. This is obviously just my opinion though I would ask you to consider some future publisher editing the Gettysburg address, would it still mean as much knowing that it wasn’t what was really said and, by the way, was not what was originally written by Abe Lincoln? Just a thought…
The challenge that comes with publiching the original is the need for courage to face up to what will almost certainly be folks who feel differently than I do.
Good luck & good courage.
Keep it positive! Keep it clean! Don’t be lazy, think of a better word. Dare and care to be considerate even if it’s countercultural.