cynical revelations of NY

Growing up in California, I always thought that JAP just stood for one racial slur - a derogatory reference to those of Japanese descent. Since coming to New York, I've learned that it has a whole different meaning - Jewish American Princess. Apparently this is a very common term.

The Jewish American Princess is the girl who grows up in the city that is full of other Jewish Jewish (and I say that like I say Korean Korean) people. Who has never had to lift a finger in her life and is not only rich, but incredibly rich. JAP's are characterized by people who would never take the subway or think of walking - they have to take a cab. They go to elementary, middle, and high schools whose tuition rivals my MIT tuition. They have a tutor for every subject. Even my cousins used the term once when we were talking about the schools in Manhattan. Apparently certain expensive private schools are known as the "JAP schools" or even so far as the "dumb JAP schools" for the perhaps less bright but extremely wealthy.

It's funny because two of my good friends (who are married) joke about this all the time. He's Jewish (bar mitzvah'd and everything, though completely not practicing and doesn't identify at all) and she's not. But then her in-laws will buy her jewelry and tell her she's a JAP-in-training. And as I tried to understand that, I realized just how many JAPs I'm surrounded by. And I'm realizing that on the whole, I don't really like princesses. Well, no. I think that I'd be OK with a princess that I could respect. But I don't like the whole concept of the princessy "I was born into money therefore I call the shots" attitude.

In Korean there's a phrase called "princess disease" (공주병) - and it's used to refer to any girl/woman who thinks the world revolves around her and that everyone should kowtow to her every whim. I guess my observation with this whole JAP thing is that it occurs in very wealthy circles where people are accustomed to having their way and throwing money wherever it's not going their way and MAKING it go their way.

Even in the little things...like one time there was a hotel situation where the receptionist was giving the guy a hard time about checking in, and someone goes "well, just flash the gold card and get him to do it".

I don't mean to be racist (although we're all racist in some way, so whatever) - this doesn't have anything to do with Jewishness as much as the princess-ness, but I found it interesting that they had their own term for themselves, and that they share certain characteristics.

I guess the common theme I'm finding is that I really dislike money and generally dislike the people who have lots of it. Just because you're rich doesn't mean that you're any better than me, nor does it mean that your time is any more valuable than mine. Money really IS the root of all evil - and there sure is a lot of it in NYC.

People need to understand that there are only TWO people who can walk all over me. And if you're not a 40 year old Korean man with a twin, then it's NOT you. I will NOT be bullied by someone I don't respect, and I will NOT tolerate it from a 백인사람.

I hate New York.