In today's Journal Gazette, Justin writes about a fan complaining about Bob Chase's use of the term ``A little Jap from behind that time.''
Here's my thought: If Bob had instead used the phrase ``He Al-Qaeda'd him'' no one would have said a word and everyone would have accepted it and understood exactly what he meant.
You need to understand that to Bob's generation, they are the exact same things. The statute of limitations has not run out for his generation who had to fight the Japanese as the result of Pearl Harbor. Some of the things they saw will never be forgiven.
The Journal Gazette proves it in their same edition with this story by Frank Gray.
That story includes the paragraphs: ``For decades, though, the date of the attack was burned into the American memory, just as 9/11 is today. The attack killed thousands, crippled America's Pacific fleet, and took people like Cook, who had joined the Navy at 17 to see the world, and showed them a world of fury and destruction that they could never have imagined.
``Marking the anniversary of the attack is still something that is done every year, and the media, fond of nice round numbers like 70, will probably pay a little more attention than it did, say, last year.
``The anniversary is worth remembering, but as time passes, and as Dec. 7, 1941, becomes more and more distant, fewer and fewer people even remember it.''
Just because it happened 70 years ago doesn't mean it's any less relevant today. The day it is forgotten would be the real tragedy. The people from that generation are totally entitled to their own memories and experiences from their lives, and that's a big one, the same as any Jewish person could naturally have doubts and be wary of those of German descent.
Now, if you want to debate Bob's use of dated terminology or the political correctness of refering to horrific acts to plays during a hockey game, that would be a different issue. Everyone brings their own experiences to their jobs, especially broadcasters. They are allowed and often encouraged to do that.
