"Simon" <shepshep1@excite.com> wrote in message

> Sorry, I'm sure this has been covered many times in the past.
> I'm aware that some people consider the word "gaijin" insulting in some
way
> but I'm not exactly sure why!
> Is this because of the way it's been used in the past rather than the
actual
> meaning of the word?

Not at all. It's not insulting, it's tiring. It's because of the way it's
been over-used in the present.
For instance to express the result of clever observations :
"Nihonjins have 2 eyes, gaijins also have 2 eyes. Dogs and cats too.
Nihonjins can eat with chopsticks, normally gaijins can't but a few have
learnt. Dogs and cats can't, but monkeys can learn.....".
If at the end of the day, you still perceive gaijins as humans rather than
pets, you're stubborn.

It's also lovely when they use it to explain hardly obvious situations to
other Japanese people. Like at restaurant : "My friend is a gaijin, you
know...Can you give her a menu in eigo ? " .
Then you have to make your choice among specialties like *horrow fish* ,
*bean sken*, *root salada in
plum meat sauce", etc.

Kuri