When Japan defeated America to win the 2011 Women’s Soccer World Cup, American fans flooded social media sites with racist comments, making “Japs” and “Pearl Harbor” trending topics on Twitter. If you thought that kind of behavior was limited to the frustration of defeat, think again. America beat Japan 2-1 last night at the Olympics, and some fans were as racist and hateful in victory as they were in defeat. As noted by Fox News, International Business Times, and SB Nation, the same trends emerged. There were many tweets celebrating the defeat of the “Japs” as payback for “Pearl Habor.” Numerous users also gloated about the victory by comparing it to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
