London: USA’s win over Japan in the women`s gold medal football at the London Olympics was blemished after some of the fans posted a barrage of racist tweets over Pearl Harbor. Many took the opportunity to claim that the US’ 2-1 win over Japan was a revenge for the Pearl Harbor attack, and made reference to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs dropped by the American military in World War 2.
Before the match ended one of the Olympic fan wrote the “game would end the same way WWII did. With Hiroshima and Nagasaki burnt to the ground.”
Coincidentally, the game and the tweets fell on the 67th anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bomb attack, which killed 70,000 people on August 9, 1945. “This was payback for the USS Arizona!! Take that you Japs!” The Daily Mail quoted a user, as tweeting.
Another person tweeted: “Watching this game makes me think of how much I really do hate Asians.” One of the users tweeted how winning a gold medal in the women`s football meant the US was “almost even” with Japan for the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbour attack.
But many sane Twitter users hit back at the racist tweets, arguing the women`s game had nothing to do with either attack.
“I wasn`t aware Japan`s women`s soccer team were the ones who planned Pearl Harbor,” said one of the users.
While another wrote: “Just because the US won a gold medal in soccer doesn`t mean you have a free pass to make racist jokes about Pearl Harbor grow up.”
The US team`s win made up for the heartache of last year`s World Cup final when they lost to Japan on penalties.
ANI