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Wall Street Journal: The Importance of Not Being Earnest
A review on the latest resurgence of "South Pacific" appeared in the Wall Street Journal, which used the words "Japs." MediaWatch responded by sending a letter to the publication.
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April 25, 2008
Eben Shapiro, Weekend Editor
Eric Gibson, Editor, Leisure and Arts
The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
Dear Eben and Eric,
In Weekend Journal's April 4 review of the latest revival of "South Pacific," your critic, Terry Teachout, called the production "tepid." We at the Asian American Journalists Association have a much stronger reaction to the review itself and are deeply concerned by the casual use of a term we consider deeply vulgar.
In the review, Mr. Teachout says, "Stir in a megadose of beat-the-Japs period fervor, ..."
Although "Japs" may have been commonly used during World War II, it has no place in our modern vernacular, even in a review, especially when used in such a superfluous manner. To Asian Americans, it is a slur that carries painful connotations. There are words that The Wall Street Journal would never use when describing African Americans or Hispanic Americans or Italian Americans, and this word is just as offensive as any of those. We understand that Mr. Teachout was trying to refer to certain sentiments in a bygone era, but there are numerous ways in which he could have done that without using a racial slur.
We urge the Journal to review its policies on using racial and ethnic slurs. As a courtesy, we are sending you a copy of AAJA's stylebook, which illustrates some of the dos and dont's of covering and describing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
We know the Journal has extremely high standards in its use of language, and we hope this is the last time this obscenity appears in such a gratuitous fashion in your pages.
Best,
Jeanne Mariani-Belding
President, Asian American Journalists Association
Cc: Alix Freedman, Deputy Managing Editor
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