Its JPN, not JAP!! Why?!

I just newly discovered this myself (during one of the Japan matches). I decided to look up the dictionary myself. And here is what I found.

Jap
n. Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a person of Japanese birth or descent.
n. Offensive Slang
A Jewish-American girl or woman regarded as being pampered or overindulged.

I was actually quite surprised at what I found. Although, I dont recall having had to use "Jap", under normal circumstances, I would have simply considered it short for Japan, or Japanese even. Not anymore, I guess. There might actually be a chance that I get beaten up for using the term "Jap". Also, I found that it is actually equated to racial discrimination just as the term "Nigger" is considered.

Jap, n was first used in 1860 to refer to members of the Japanese embassy in the United States. It was later popularized during World War II to describe those of Japanese/Asian descent, and used as a disparaging term to describe Japanese people.

At the time, the word "Jap" was commonplace - and it wasn't a term of endearment. One online encyclopedia defines the word this way: "Jap is a slang term with a strongly negative connotation, a term used and proliferated by the US government during WWII to express hostility."

"Jap" at its simplest is just an abbreviation of "Japan" or "Japanese." It was first used by Westerners a few years after Commodore Matthew C. Perry forced Japan open to international trade at gunpoint 150 years ago. In 1860, when "Jap" was first used in America to describe the samurai and servants who were sent from Japan as part of the first U.S. diplomatic mission, the term was used merely for its brevity and convenience. There was no hatred or distrust for Japanese at the time.

Japanese themselves bore the brunt of blunt racism during the "Yellow Peril" scare of the early 1900s, with alien land laws preventing them from owning property, and attacks by white laborers. By the time Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the term "Jap" carried a certain kind of venom in much of America.

During the war, "Jap" was painted with the blood of brutality - unfortunately committed by the Japanese themselves - and became an easy way to vent hate and anger at both Japanese and the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps.

Many Americans find the term extremely offensive and racist, but a Japanese living in Japan would have trouble understanding their strong reactions, as the term would not be racist to him. Many non-Americans use the term as a natural abbreviation of the word "Japanese".

Oddly, one of the first hits on Google for "Jap" is "Jap.com" a Japanese run site, which would seem to indicate that at least some of the Japanese people do not consider the term perjorative.

Perhaps, it was due to the ignorance of this past, or because some of the Japanese themselves havent shown enough concern about this matter, that people are not as aware of this issue at hand.

Just thought that it would be a piece of useful information to share, in case you end up in such a situation.

Extracts from wikipedia & http://www.jref.com/nikkeiview/jap.shtml

The World Cup Syndrome

Some like to call it "The World Cup Fever" and some call it "The World Cup Mania". And whatever else you like to call it, it all boils down to the same thing.

It involves a wide range of symtpoms, varying from person to person, from time to time, from game to game and from country to country.

The major factor in play here is a soccer ball (pic below).


The ball is kicked around a field, the details of which are shown in the picture below.


The game is played every four years, and this year is currently being played in Germany, in the following cities - Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Leipzig, Koln (Cologne), Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich.

There are 32 countries taking part this year - Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine and United States of America.

Each game is between two teams, each consisting of eleven players (thats 22 players and a referee on the field at a time. The aim of the game is to get the ball into the opponent's goal, and prevent it from going into your own. All this fuss and hassle to win the "Fifa World Cup".


The World Cup Syndrome however, does not affect the players but rather the audience, who watch the matches. The event lasts for a whole month, and the same for the syndrome. For some the syndrome may last for over a month, sorta like a hangover.

The symptoms, as I mentioned vary from person to person. The term 'fever' is usually a misnomer, because rarely does anyone actually experience a rise in temperature. The most common symtpom is tachycardia and palpitations (an increase in heart rate). Sweating is a common phenomenon. There are also a wide range of mental symptoms including euphoria, depression, frustration, anger and sudden mood swings. The mental symptoms may last even after the one month long games are over. That 'hangover' usually comprises of either euphoria and light-headedness, or depression and frustration. Insomnia is another commonly observed symptom, sometimes due to nightmares and sometimes of unknown cause. Some patients were known to complain of incoherent speech, inability to concentrate, and lack of performance at work place. Rarely, there are patients who complain of an exacerbation in their allergies.

Some patients have been found to have an increased tendency to lie, act and exaggerate. Most common lies being, back ache or pain in the back and the patient usually enters the clinic with an exaggerated stoop, and hand on his back, claiming that he is unable to stand up straight and perform well at work. There is always the 'fall' excuse. Falling from stairs, from table tops, from side-walks, from work places, construction sites, etc is very common. These patients usually enter the clinic limping or accompanied by two other partners in crime.

Studies show that this one month shows an increase in the number of patients at hospitals, a majority of whom approach the doctor for a sick leave from work for a few days. The same patients are seen visiting another doctor a few days later. Requests for leave at work shoots to a maximum. In some cases, the boss himself/herself is on leave as well. Governments suffer great losses during this one month period.

After the month period, there has been found to be an increase in the number of patients visiting the ophthalmologist. All complaining of increased tearing, pain in the eye, and/or decreased or blurred vision.

No treatment has yet been found for this syndrome. However, symptomatic treamnet can be provided. Treatement of each symptom, one by one.

I have recently discovered that I suffer from a mild form of this disease. Get yourself checked right away!

P.S. Live Fifa score updates --> http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/
Live updated commentry Blog --> http://www.worldcupblog.org