# Samclem, come on down! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094 "2007-02-13T23:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/21 "2007-02-14T00:13:33Z")
[Guitar Town](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/steve+earle/guitar+town_20130621.html), by Steve Earle, troubadour of the Far Left, (and a hell of a songwriter.) Nothin ever happened round my hometown And I aint the kind to just hang around But I heard someone callin my name one day And I followed that voice down the lost highway Everybody told me you cant get far On thirty-seven dollars and a **jap guitar** Now Im smokin into texas with the hammer down And a rockin little combo from the guitar town ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/22 "2007-02-14T00:15:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “Japs” is a very minor racial slur, about on a line with “Brit” or “Yank” . I can’t say I’ve ever heard ‘Brit’ or ‘Yank’ used in a pejorative manner, but I’ve also never heard ‘Jap’ – at all. From what I know of history, though, the latter is most definitely a racial epithet and the two former aren’t even close, especially since British and American are nationalities, not races. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/23 "2007-02-14T00:17:00Z")
Wait, so British is a nationality not a race, American is a nationality not a race…but Japanese is a race? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/24 "2007-02-14T00:24:13Z")
While browsing the gift shop of the U.S.S. Missouri back in November, I couldn’t help but notice the huge headline on a newspaper reprint from WWII: “ **JAPS SURRENDER**.” It made me gasp because it was so derogatory. In context of WWII, I understand why the term was used. The Japanese haven’t been our enemy in over 50 years and you are no longer allowed to use that term in polite company. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/25 "2007-02-14T00:29:41Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] Homosexuals don’t like being called homos either. Just the way it works sometimes. [/QUOTE] Maybe fundamentalists don’t like being called fundies. So what. Words aren’t necessarily banned here just because they offend people. PC speech is such unmitigated bullshit. All that ever happens when you ban one word is that another becomes the slur. Banning words is on the same intellectual level as banning books. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/26 "2007-02-14T00:36:42Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] I only meant my note as a light chiding. Not a warning. [/QUOTE] Yep, better to nip this sort of thing in the bud. [sub]Up in Lappland even Lapps do it…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/27 "2007-02-14T00:49:12Z")
I’m Japanese American. Yup, it’s a slur. I’ve never heard it used by any non-racist person in my life. I was born in 1958. Yeah, my dad spent 3 years of his life at Manzanar, after having gotten yanked out of UCLA while pursuing a Master’s degree. Sure, the Japanese were America’s and my parents’ enemies. My parents were American citizens born in America. During WWII there was lots of anti-Japanese-American backlash, and every time I see one of the photos saying NO JAPS ALLOWED, it strikes me as rascist, but maybe I’m a little sensitive. I saw **Quartz’s** comment, cringed and thought “Racist Idiot”, lost most respect for him and then went on my merry way. I had forgotten about it until now. Frankly, I actually haven’t been called a Jap since junior high. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/28 "2007-02-14T00:55:08Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] PC speech is such unmitigated bullshit. All that ever happens when you ban one word is that another becomes the slur. Banning words is on the same intellectual level as banning books. [/QUOTE] So, when’t the last time you used the word “nigger” to refer to a discreet set of peoples? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/29 "2007-02-14T00:56:08Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] So, when’t the last time you used the word “nigger?” [/QUOTE] In my post just before this one. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/30 "2007-02-14T00:57:35Z")
Whatever you do, don’t mention a [japs eye](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=japs+eye). ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/31 "2007-02-14T01:01:04Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] So, when’t the last time you used the word “nigger” to refer to a discreet set of peoples? [/QUOTE] Psst. You mean _discrete_. Unless you really did mean they’re prudent people. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/32 "2007-02-14T01:04:48Z")
**Quartz** it’s an American board. Like it or not. Jap in the US is a slur. Some Americans like the President don’t think Pakki is a a slur but you’d see it as bad as nigger. IIRC you Brits can’t call the Americans septics on this board. Some have been warned over it. It’s a regional thing. Let it go. You won’t win this one. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/33 "2007-02-14T01:08:14Z")
In Ireland we import a lot of cars from Japan as we drive on the same side as the road as they do. These cars are always called Jap imports. No problem, **over here**. We didn’t fight the war in the pacific though and Jap never was really used as an insult. It was in the US. ‘Nip’ however would be seen as a insult no matter what the context. ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/34 "2007-02-14T01:13:09Z")
I’m from Canada and just have to say, Jap can go either way. I do not believe that in this case it was used in a degratory fashion. However, it can very easily slide into being an offensive slur. This is just a case of Americans being overly sensitive, I believe. Just because you (anybody, I mean) take it as a slur, that doesn’t mean it is. If you read the thread, I can find no reason why to consider it a slur. Unless, of course, you secretly mumble “stupid Jap” everytime you pass a poor Asian driver. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/35 "2007-02-14T01:14:02Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] **quartz**. It’s possible that I, in the US, and being a child of the WWII generation, am more sensitive to “Jap” as a slur. If I understand, you are in the UK, where it may not carry the same weight. But I think it pretty well is understood in the modern world as a slur. [/QUOTE] The UK’s not the “modern world” now, eh? We have dialup and everything, you know. We even have the Goggle for finding things out we didn’t already know. Crazy. > [@Darryl Lict](#): > > I saw Quartz’s comment, cringed and thought “Racist Idiot”, lost most respect for him and then went on my merry way. I had forgotten about it until now. Frankly, I actually haven’t been called a Jap since junior high. Well, just as I argued for Tiger Woods not to be considered a bastard for using the term “spaz” when some of my fellow UK posters were up in arms, I can only appeal to your sense of cultural relativity here, too. “Jap”, while not a particularly common term here in the UK, is by no means a pejorative. So cast aside your re-formed perceptions of **Quartz** , and go about your merry way. No harm was meant, and indeed none was even tangentially anticipated. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/36 "2007-02-14T01:16:55Z")
I’ll also say that in nearly every usage “Brit” or “Brits” is used in a negative way over here. We really mean English but that’s our baggage 🙂 I use “Brits” on this board as I know it will be taken well as most posters don’t have the Irish thing going on and I have never used it in the negative way. Three post in a row. That’s enough from you friendly neighbourhood drunken Irish guy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/37 "2007-02-14T01:35:05Z")
[QUOTE=rayh] Whatever you do, don’t mention a [japs eye](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=japs+eye). [/QUOTE] Heh, that’s a new one on me. Actually, I always check people’s locations when I see someone use a term that is considered racist in the USA. I try not to be too PC, but I think that if I was using a term that was regionally considered racist, I’d want to know about it. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that Jap was considered racist to my “Brit” friend when he was newly arrived. **Liberal** , what do you call a person who gives you something and then takes it back? Hint: The term is a misnomer, it should be “White man giver”. Frankly, I just looked up the etymology of the term, and I can’t quite figure it out. One source says that Indian Summer means false summer. In any case, I always assumed that the term I was hinting at was racist towards Native Americans. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/38 "2007-02-14T01:48:42Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Maybe fundamentalists don’t like being called fundies. So what. Words aren’t necessarily banned here just because they offend people. PC speech is such unmitigated bullshit. All that ever happens when you ban one word is that another becomes the slur. Banning words is on the same intellectual level as banning books. [/QUOTE] Well, Jap appears to be banned. What slur has replaced it? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/39 "2007-02-14T01:50:39Z")
How about “anime-makin’ sonsabitches”? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094/40 "2007-02-14T01:58:04Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] How about “anime-makin’ sonsabitches”? [/QUOTE] Nice one. We don’t want to be niggardly with the language now do we. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samclem-come-on-down/392094.md?page=3)