The word 'Gaijin'

[chachava]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

[b][color="Black"]What bothers me is how some people can be so bothered by such a simple word. Words in themselves hold no true meaning, it's the action that follows. If "gaijin" means foreigner, then they are pointing out the obvious.

How can it be considered offensive if they are calling you what you are?

What a ridiculous thing to say... if I called a Japanese person whose parents were unmarried at birth a 'Jap bastard', I would be deemed a racist despite that being factually correct

And nobody answered my other question... why is the shortened 'gaijin' form ok, but if I use 'Jap' or 'Nip' then they are racially offensive terms?

[chachava]

Originally Posted by MMM

Maybe it's a Kansai thing but "gaijin" is the term used for non-Japanese. There are two kinds of people that live in Japan: Nihonjin and gaijin. I think of both words on the same level. Some translate "gaijin" as "hairy barbarian" and that is just ignorant.

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that those offended by the word "gaijin" probably have a lot of other issues with Japan as well.

I don't know if it means anything, but my girlfriend is from Akita and not Tokyo so might be a different situation there as they are not as mixed with foreigners

[MMM]

Originally Posted by chachava

And nobody answered my other question... why is the shortened 'gaijin' form ok, but if I use 'Jap' or 'Nip' then they are racially offensive terms?

Please don't even try and compare n*gger and j@p and n!p to "gaijin".

Gaijin isn't a racist term. Those other words are.

The word "gaijin" is an innocuous as "gay" or "Chinese". Those other words are not.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by chachava

What a ridiculous thing to say... if I called a Japanese person whose parents were unmarried at birth a 'Jap bastard', I would be deemed a racist despite that being factually correct

And nobody answered my other question... why is the shortened 'gaijin' form ok, but if I use 'Jap' or 'Nip' then they are racially offensive terms?

Now you're comparing a word that some see with a tone of racism to words that were created out of racism and hatred.

Edit: MMM beat me to it =p

And you're really stretching if you're making those comparisons.

Why are you so dead set on this being racist? Have you personally had a Japanese citizen call you a gaijin with racist or discriminatory intent?

[tommasi]

Originally Posted by chachava

And nobody answered my other question... why is the shortened 'gaijin' form ok, but if I use 'Jap' or 'Nip' then they are racially offensive terms?

I'm assuming that you are from Europe or somewhere, right?

Cos Jap and Nip were commonly used during the WWII referring to Japanese people and it contained so much hate back then.

If you come from a country which was directly involved with Japan during the WWII, you should know why and where these two words originated from.

Of course it is understandable why people used it back then but if you use these words nowadays, it is nothing but racist.

Originally Posted by chachava

I don't know if it means anything, but my girlfriend is from Akita and not Tokyo so might be a different situation there as they are not as mixed with foreigners

Akita is very much country side and there are almost non foreigners living there.

Both of my parents come from Akita so I know that people in Akita are good people and they are country folks.

And because of that, they are very naive.

Your g/f could be typical Akita native just like my folks.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by chachava

What a ridiculous thing to say... if I called a Japanese person whose parents were unmarried at birth a 'Jap bastard', I would be deemed a racist despite that being factually correct

Chachava, I don't know why you edited this from "black" to "Jap" as black isn't a racist term, and "jap" is. So yes, you would be considered racist and it isn't factually correct (unless you are a racist).

[Jamaipanese]

whew quite an interesting discussion goign on here on one word. Carry on, I am enjoying reading everyone's responses

[SSJup81]

To be honest, I don't see how "Gaijin" is offensive. I mean, it's just a term that means "foreigner". I still haven't seen much of an argument here as to why it's offensive.

[blimp]

aaa....a heated debate. i better stay out of it and only provide some input. gaijin or gaikokujin hasn't been used since the beginning of time. before gaikokujin japan used 異国人　ikokujin　or sometimes 異邦人. 異 means different. before that i think japan used something along the lines with ppl from the south. nagoyankee might know. (no, i am not implying that u r that old )

after having started in such a civilised matter i feel that i can at least end with an opinion. i would favour the approach that it is not the word in itself that is derogatory but how it is used. if the person saying it intends for it to be used then i would think that that person shouldn't use it. but then again how do u know that? then again there r words that one perhaps should avoid all together, 三国人 might be one of those words.

the reasoning that japanese ppl can't hate the word gaijin is just nonsense. take the very unfortunate word bitch, usually aimed at the female population, but as a male i can't hate it? that logic doesn't make sense.

and a history lesson for tommasi, european countries fought the japanese too during the WWII.

[chachava]

Originally Posted by MMM

Chachava, I don't know why you edited this from "black" to "Jap" as black isn't a racist term, and "jap" is. So yes, you would be considered racist and it isn't factually correct (unless you are a racist).

Can you explain WHY it isn't factually correct? They are both Japanese and a bastard if that situation is true...


As for the edit, it was smply because I was going off track and not comparing to Japanese as I got sidetracked by previous posts

Anyway, 'jap' is a shortened form of 'Japanese'... surely it's double standards to say that is racist and 'gaijin', the shortened form of 'gaikokujin', is ok?

Unless the word 'Japanese' is racist of course...

Like I said previously, I don't like the use of the word 'Jap' but it does make me wonder how one can be fine and the other be a bad word