RJW

Tofa Soifua.

RJW

You make an argument that I can’t agree with. You’re right that I didn’t live through the war, I wasn’t brain-washed by that administration, but I don’t think either of those excuse the use of an ethnic slur in anything other than quote marks as a historical reference.

You didn’t use it in quote marks, you used it in place of saying Japanese. For similar reasons it’s not alright to use the N-word.

If Japanese come by my site and see your comment using and defending the use of ‘Japs’, how do you think they will feel? I don’t want that. They most likely didn’t live through WW2 either, and won’t understand it as anything other than a slur.

I don’t want to argue with you on this, as you say you’re 80 and clearly have made up your mind. I just ask you not to use the word again on my site, unless as a quoted reference.

As to the word “JAPS” that I used in my story it will stand until I die and I am only 80 years old.

If you did not live during WW-II then you may not know that the American Government “brain-washed” us to the tune that the only good JAP was a dead JAP and the same went for the German’s. A good Nazi was a dead Nazi. Least you not forget the Italians…..

Our government repeated the same old story that they used in the 1800′s and that was : The only good indian was a dead indian……..just ask any of my Native American Indian relatives in South Dakota.

As a paper boy in 1941 our route manage got me out of bed at about ten p.m. on December 7, 1941 and said: Here are some extra papers. You have to go to your route right now and call out: “EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT-THE JAPS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR.” From that day forward we were brained washed to hell and back. The newspapers, radio and the weekly “movie-tone” news at our local movie theater show war movies. When we saw dead G.I.’s floating on the beaches of Tarawa and other islands, lots of people jumped out of their seats and called out……kill them all, and the same went when we saw G.I.’s floating on the beaches of Normandy. When we seen the civillians jump to their death at Suicide Cliffs on Saipan we cheered to no end. Again: “Kill all of them.”

In 1949 my brother came home from occupied Japan and could speak Japanese fluent, so I learned the language. In 1952 I met a “Jap” girl in a local night club in Akron, Ohio. We started dating and we fell in love, but she had to go back to Japan and marry a man she never met as it was their custom.

During that time I realized that the American Government was a bunch of no good lier’s. Most all people on earth are good but we have some bad ones in all races.

In 1973 I was still living in American, Samoa and I hired some fellow photographers from Los Angeles, CA; to work with me on another film project for PBS. Later I found out that one of the young men was from Germany. WOW……..a Nazi…..His father was a submarine commander and survived the war. I overcame that hatred and we are still good friends today and we email often.

When the war was over I delivered papers and the headlines read: “THE JAPS SURRENDER.”

I just watched the invasion of Saipan on TV and seen a lady jump, and others coming out of caves. One lady said that they were afraid of the G.I.’s and that they would rather die than surrender. Sounds like the Japanese were brain-washed to hell and back like the Americans.

This bull-crap is still going on over in the Middle-East………I know as I was in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.

In closing, I do not use the word when I speak of Japan today, but I do use it when I speak about WW-II.

Go live WW-II like I did then you will understand.

RJW
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