This is in response to Tuesday's Letter to the Editor regarding Renee Reinertsen and the development of the Long Island JAP stereotype.

We would like to offer a heartfelt thank you and a deep congratulatory handshake to Mike Collings for clarifying for thousands of intrigued D.O. readers the true nature of the JAP (Jewish American Prince/Princess).

Thank you for being the voice of the JAP! You have added to our understanding of this illustrious creature by also bringing to our attention the blatant bigotry inherent in the JAP personality which you yourself embrace.
(we imagine that your black friends are honored to represent Long Islanders' warmth and hospitality toward those in lower castes. After all, Long Island is comprised solely of Caucasians...)

After your letter was published, a renewed sense of stereotype permeated the SU community. You have illustrated to us yet another facet of JAPism - one that is racist and ethnocentric toward lower class people. You have furthered, in your work, everyone's understanding of a stereotype which everyday tints our thinking and presses at our psyche.

Thank you, Mike Collings, for representing your culture by rearticulating human social and economic division that we somehow overlooked. Thank you for your stream-of-consciousness piece, which voices your own latent egocentricity and supremist thinking (disguised as a letter to the editor).

As scholars of Reinvigorationalist thought, we found your piece to be deeply moving and profound.

Tami Devine and Jess Crawford

Class of 2003