Should I apologize to Japanese people for calling them Japs?

Question

I used to hate Japan because of what they did to China and Asia in general.I hated there culture because it was a copied modified form of Chinese culture which they did not deserve to have!I also hated how much arrogance Japanese people had!My grandpa was in the Bataan death march he escaped from the POW CAMP later on.

I have been calling a few kids Japs for a while because they were jerks towatds me but not all Japanese people are jerks.I have found out that my great great great great parents were Japanese a while ago.There last name was Asura(Ursula) I believe!I couldn't accept the fact that I was being racist to people that share the same background as I! I dont know what to do?I cannot accept this fact that I am part Japanese and that I was being racist towards Japanese.Even in Social studies class I made a China project showing how original and better the Chinese culture was to Japanese (Copied culture).People must accept that Japan is a variant of Chinese culture though!

To complicate things I am part Japanese so I cant be racist if I am Part Japanese right because I am making fun of my self right?

ASURA IS MY ANCESTORS LAST NAME

Answer 1

Interesting situation. I can understand if you were raised to think of Japan and Japanese people in a certain way. Like most countries and cultures, there are plenty of bad things in their history. There is also some good too. Sushi and Hondas for example.

As to the copying, you could also think of it as adopting, or descending from another culture or place. US culture is related to European culture (especially English) in this way. There's nothing wrong about it -- it's just the way history went.

I think that most people now think of "***" as a term that is intended to insult. And it seems that you did want to insult these other kids, but you used an insult directed at their ethnicity (Japanese) instead of an insult directed at their behavior (jerks).

So to answer your exact question, yes. I think you should apologize. Try something like: "I'm sorry I was calling you a ***. There is nothing wrong at all with being Japanese."

If you want, you could add: "That doesn't change the fact that you are a jerk."

This could be the start of an interesting discussion. Or fight, if you can't keep your cool.

Answer 2

It's too bad that the only issue you had with being racist was that you found out you were part of that racial culture. It isn't okay to be racist period. Sometimes stereotypes do fit, but they never fit the whole. You don't have to necessarily apologize to the Japanese nation for calling them Japs, but I would cut out this unacceptable societal behavior and own up to the fact that you are a racist and must change your behavior or choose to live in ignorance. People are people, Japanese, American, so on and so forth. I hope this has opened your eyes to the pointlessness of racism.


To answer your added details: You didn't know that you where part Japanese before. You just hated them and their culture and everything the Japanese stood for. So for the frame of time that you didn't know, yes, yes you were racist as you stated or at least discriminated heavily. Though now that you know you share some of this, once viewed as tainted blood, you are making fun of yourself, sure.

Answer 3

Accept the fact that all people are just people. We are all culturally different. I feel there is nothing wrong with "the benefit of the doubt". If you took a group of children of all races and raised them together they wouldn't have any racial prejudices. Prejudice is learned from our elders who learned it from their elders. Take it upon yourself to break that chain. Don't condemn an entire race or culture because of a few jerks.

Answer 4

Japs is Japs and Chinks is Chinks and never the twain shall meet.

Answer 5

Only if they apologize to you for the negative slang they use against us.

Answer 6

Would they really be offended for calling them something that they are?
"Japs" is short for Japanese people.
If they are offended, maybe they shouldn't be Japanese.