Every couple of years it seems that I have to go on a small crusade to
get people to stop using the abbreviation, JAP. To the Japanese, this is
no more welcome than pejorative terms like ******, wop, kike, spic, chink,
etc., etc., etc., are to the groups to which they are (fortunately,
decreasingly) applied by insensitive Americans.

I realize that Jap has the attraction of being a convenient abbreviation,
but bonsai people, especially, should be sensitive to the way it is felt by
the people whose national art form we are adopting and making our own.

For those who don't have the patience to type out the whole word -- all
eight letters -- the proper abbreviation for Japanese maple is J. maple, one
key stroke less than the objectionable version. Is this to difficult to
handle in the name of civility?

Edmund L. Castillo
in northwestern Virginia

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Lisa Kanis++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++