# Rice-burner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 2, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381 "2011-10-02T22:53:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spankenstein89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@Spankenstein89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spankenstein89)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/1 "2011-10-02T22:53:14Z")
Rice-burner? Don’t be racist Cecil. I’m surprised at you. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/2 "2011-10-02T23:03:02Z")
Which column are you referring to? Can you provide us with a link? I’ve heard “rice burner” used for ages to refer to a Japanese made car or motorcycle and don’t find it particularly racist. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/3 "2011-10-02T23:12:59Z")
This appears to reference \*\*[Did Harley-Davidson patent the sound of its motorcycles? Do plants get cancer?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2352/did-harley-davidson-patent-the-sound-of-its-motorcycles) \*\* > [@](#): > > Harley lawyer: “Your honor, our competitor’s ripoff of our product purposely goes potato-potato-potato.” > Rice-burner lawyer: “Nonsense, it goes poTAHto-poTAHto-poTAHto. Motion to call the whole thing off.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/4 "2011-10-02T23:38:13Z")
Meh. Cecil didn’t say “rice burner.” It was the person who asked the motorcycle question in the first place. Or his acquaintance. Don’t blame Cecil for printing the question verbatim. It still isn’t a racist comment. And the OP is nitpicking an eleven year old column. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/5 "2011-10-03T00:25:10Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Meh. Cecil didn’t say “rice burner.” It was the person who asked the motorcycle question in the first place. Or his acquaintance. Don’t blame Cecil for printing the question verbatim. It still isn’t a racist comment. And the OP is nitpicking an eleven year old column. The quote above is from \*\*Cecil \*\*not the question. Both used the term. The origin of the expression was intended as a pejorative against Koreans. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/6 "2011-10-03T00:32:55Z")
And the way Cecil used it was \ Lawyer lets call it off. He was not calling the damned lawyer a rice burner. The lawyer works for an oriental motorcycle company. Reading comprehension is good, m’kay? ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/7 "2011-10-03T00:35:48Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And the way Cecil used it was \ Lawyer lets call it off. He was not calling the damned lawyer a rice burner. The lawyer works for an oriental motorcycle company. > > Reading comprehension is good, m’kay? I have no difficulty with reading comprehension. I was simply correcting the mistaken post above mine. \*\*Cecil \*\*did use the term, and the term is a pejorative against a race. Make of it what you will. I was not offended by the column. But your argument lacks a certain, what shall we call it, element of basic common sense. If a term is a pejorative against a group of people and you assign that term to a car, or a lawyer who represents the maker of that car, the original connotation is not in any way lost. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/8 "2011-10-03T03:49:38Z")
The only thing being insulted there is the Japanese-made motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![RedWood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f08c70/32.png) [@RedWood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedWood)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/9 "2011-10-03T04:20:38Z")
my husband got a basket-case Nipponese Harley. He called it Sake-Burner 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/10 "2011-10-03T04:34:38Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > The only thing being insulted there is the Japanese-made motorcycle. I think you must mean “The only thing \*intended \*to be insulted…” Whether or not someone takes insult is another thing and in this case, they may have some justification. I don’t take any offense, and it has been a common term in use since my childhood to describe nothing more than a Japanese motorcycle. There are many who do though. Here is another perspective, from\* Bike lust: Harleys, women, and American society\* by Barbara Joans > [@](#): > > Sometimes right-wing patriotism is expressed through the contempt most Harley riders feel for Japanese motorcycles. The “buy American” creed translates into both concern for American workers and personal fear of unemployment. “Jap crap”, the term used most frequently after “rice rocket” and “rice burner”, to describe Japanese bikes, has both personal and political overtones. At large rallies, Honda-bashing can be pretty common. Everything from bad-mouthing to literal bashing takes place. There have been Honda drops, burials, and smashings. Hauling the bikes by crane high into the sky and letting them drop is one kind of entertainment. At one rally, everyone paid a buck to whack a Honda with a sledgehammer. It was a popular event. Anger over the Japanese-made Harley lookalikes is also intense. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha all make Harley knockoffs. These bikes have started encroaching upon Milwaukee’s market. The imitations are all big bikes with the characteristic Harley V-Twin engine look. > > To Harley riders, nothing sounds, feels, rides, or performs like a real Harley, and the Japanese knockoffs just add fuel to the already burning fire of Harley chauvinism. The fact that the Japanese bikes have been known to outperform, outlast, and out-ride Harleys, while costing only a fraction of the price, is irrelevant. Harley loyalty transcends these boundaries. In this area, Harley loyalty reinforces ideals of patriotism. The biker is buying American. > > Racism expressed in Japanese bike bashing has made popular the bumper sticker that reads “Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, from the People Who Brought You Pearl Harbor.” It is clear the racism is in operation, because British, Italian and German bikes are never trashed. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/11 "2011-10-03T08:45:41Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > The quote above is from \*\*Cecil \*\*not the question. Both used the term. > > The origin of the expression was intended as a pejorative against Koreans. My mistake. Still, meh. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/12 "2011-10-03T15:12:28Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > The origin of the expression [rice burner] was intended as a pejorative against Koreans. Uh. I’m as politically correct as the next guy… I mean human… (_no that contains **man** …_ Person (\* no that contains **son** …\*) sentient being. However, rice burner, although a perforative, was never one against Koreans or any ethnic group. It was and almost always has been against forms of transportation, mainly from Japan. If you Google _Rice Burner_, you’ll find almost all definitions never refer to a particular ethnic group, but to foreign made vehicles. In fact, like many _ethnic_ slurs, it has become a badge of pride among the customizers of Japanese and Korean cars who prefer the small, light, and well handling cars like the Honda Civic over the lumbering American pony cars like the Mustang. Sure, the American cars have big V8s, but the Japanese cars aren’t hauling around an extra ton in sheet metal. Plus, their overhead cam engines deliver more punch than the older designed pushrods. Is there jingoism involved. You bet. When the term rice burner was popular, the Japanese cars were built better, got better gas mileage, were more dependable, and sold more than the American cars. As the old saying goes _If you can’t beat them, insult their patriotism!_ ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/13 "2011-10-03T17:28:26Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > Uh. I’m as politically correct as the next guy… I mean human… (_no that contains **man** …_ Person (\* no that contains **son** …\*) sentient being. > > However, rice burner, although a perforative, was never one against Koreans or any ethnic group. It was and almost always has been against forms of transportation, mainly from Japan. If you Google _Rice Burner_, you’ll find almost all definitions never refer to a particular ethnic group, but to foreign made vehicles. I’m not particularly politically correct, nor offended, nor Japanese or Asian. My only intention was to contribute a link to the column and a relevant quote but I see a lot of comments that are just plain incorrect so.. one more cite. You are incorrect. > [@](#): > > Canadian troops in the [Korean War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War) initially referred to the Korean labor and support unit providing their food, water, ammunition and other supplies as “G Company” which was short for the racist slur [gook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gook). They quickly became known instead as “rice burners,” due to the Canadians’ admiration for their Korean support unit’s demonstrated strength and stamina in carrying 55 lb (25 kg) loads over rough terrain, sometimes in snow and ice. While dehumanizing the Koreans as machines that ran on rice was a form of contempt, it was condescendingly approved by the men serving at the time as an improvement over the word it replaced.[[17]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner#cite_note-16) Comparably, Alaskan slang for a sled dog is “fish burner,” as in a beast of burden that runs on fish.[[18]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner#cite_note-17)[[19]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner#cite_note-18) > Rice burner was used by “Detroit loyalists” to disparage more economical Japanese competitors of the [US car industry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_the_United_States) during the [1970s energy crisis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s_energy_crisis).[[20]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner#cite_note-Krebs2001-19) ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/14 "2011-10-03T18:39:23Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I’m not particularly politically correct, nor offended, nor Japanese or Asian. > My only intention was to contribute a link to the column and a relevant quote but I see a lot of comments that are just plain incorrect so.. one more cite. You are incorrect. > [@](#): > > Quote: > Canadian troops in the Korean War initially referred to the Korean labor and support unit providing their food, water, ammunition and other supplies as “G Company” which was short for the racist slur gook. They quickly became known instead as “rice burners,” due to the Canadians’ admiration for their Korean support unit’s demonstrated strength and stamina in carrying 55 lb (25 kg) loads over rough terrain, sometimes in snow and ice. While dehumanizing the Koreans as machines that ran on rice was a form of contempt, it was condescendingly approved by the men serving at the time as an improvement over the word it replaced.[17] Comparably, Alaskan slang for a sled dog is “fish burner,” as in a beast of burden that runs on fish.[18][19] > Rice burner was used by “Detroit loyalists” to disparage more economical Japanese competitors of the US car industry during the 1970s energy crisis.[20] Verrry interesting! (Remember ‘Laugh In’?) No, really. Seriously. That is interesting, I had no idea that the term predated the definition of ‘Jap bike’, Asian auto, etc. (Did I say that right?😕) All I’ve ever heard it used in conjunction with was the foreign vehicle thing. Thanks, **Crazyhorse**! 🆒 Once again, ignorance successfully fought! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/15 "2011-10-03T18:49:37Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I’m not particularly politically correct, nor offended, nor Japanese or Asian. > My only intention was to contribute a link to the column and a relevant quote but I see a lot of comments that are just plain incorrect so.. one more cite. You are incorrect. While that may or may not be the first instance of the term being used (let’s assume for the sake of argument that Wikipedia and its citation are accurate), I doubt seriously that it has a direct connection to its usage as a term for motorcycle. It doesn’t take that much imagination to assign the term “rice burner” to an Asian-made motor vehicle, and someone surely would’ve done it even if these Canadian troops had not (allegedly) used it to describe Koreans. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/16 "2011-10-03T19:03:17Z")
**Crazyhorse** , are you of Native American descent? ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/17 "2011-10-03T19:13:10Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > While that may or may not be the first instance of the term being used (let’s assume for the sake of argument that Wikipedia and its citation are accurate), I doubt seriously that it has a direct connection to its usage as a term for motorcycle. It doesn’t take that much imagination to assign the term “rice burner” to an Asian-made motor vehicle, and someone surely would’ve done it even if these Canadian troops had not (allegedly) used it to describe Koreans. I don’t know if the existing etymology was why car makers and Detroit loyalists decided to continue using the term for Asian cars or not, but wouldn’t it have been based on the same “racial” grounds? e.g. Asians eat a lot of rice. > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > **Crazyhorse** , are you of Native American descent? Not that I am aware of. And if my username here offends anyone who is it is irrelevant to the reasons someone was offended by the term used in the column. I’m not going down that road because it is a stupid analogy. If we had cars like Matzo-burners, Kraut-burners, curry-burners, etc. I really don’t think we’d even need to have the discussion. And in fact, I still don’t think we need to. A person on the internet took offense, and I think I have done my share of trying to explain why on their behalf. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/18 "2011-10-03T19:16:42Z")
I was told once that in Chinese the terms ‘Rice-Eating’ and ‘Rice-Burning’ were often applied to devices power by engines and electricity. I don’t know if this was accurate, but it’s possible these terms emerged out of Asian languages. I’ve never heard the term ‘Rice Burner’ used as anything except a perjorative towards Japanese motorcycles, mainly because they aren’t Harleys. I though it referred to the plethora of small Japanese bikes showing up in the 60s and 70s, that didn’t look or sound like Harleys, sometimes with a 2-stroke whine. It sounds kind of silly when applied to larger bikes like a Honda Goldwing. Bikes from other countries were often similarly derided. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/19 "2011-10-03T20:10:16Z")
The OED’s first cite for “rice burner” (person) is 1935. First cite for “rice burner” (motor vehicle) is 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381/20 "2011-10-03T20:53:26Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Not that I am aware of. And if my username here offends anyone who is it is irrelevant to the reasons someone was offended by the term used in the column. I’m not going down that road because it is a stupid analogy. If we had cars like Matzo-burners, Kraut-burners, curry-burners, etc. I really don’t think we’d even need to have the discussion. And in fact, I still don’t think we need to. A person on the internet took offense, and I think I have done my share of trying to explain why on their behalf. So, when somebody else uses a term that some people may find offensive, they have to answer for it? However when you use something that some people may find offensive it is okay? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-burner/598381.md?page=2)