Your account of American racism (just 'whites'?) against Asians is also highly disturbing... but take comfort in the fact that there are robust laws against racism in the USA, and you have strong legal redress.
Okay, I'm going to throw in my two cents here...
I'm getting tired of people playing the race card, and not necessarily on the forums, but in general. Especially when students from Asian countries come to the United States and complain to me that when they get a somewhat aloof, unhelpful, or just plain rude storeclerk, or when some drunken frat brother yells at them from out of his car, that it is because they are being discriminated against. It is difficult for me to hold in my frustration when I explain that the storeclerks are useless to me, too, or that the fratboys scream obscenities or throw water balloons at me, too.
Actually, to many of us, race is just another physical feature, and foreignness isn't certain until somebody opens their mouth. For example, my friend, Rish, is from India, but I never knew (I'd known him for two years) until he told me, because he speaks with no accent and he is immersed in our culture. He grew up for 25 years in India, and assimilated within 3 or 4 years. He's a special case, but I was shocked when I heard him complaining about his work Visa and his desire for citizenship.
Now, there are places where race is an issue. They are the deep, deep parts of the South. And nowadays there are plenty of people living in the southern states that are not racist one bit. Racism persists, true, but honestly, I believe that minorities are more racist than whites these days. In fact, ever since I was a kid, I've been bombarded with images that I am inherently evil and responsible for all that is wrong with the world because I am a white, Christian male.
When such laws are eventually enacted in Japan, I'm sure they'll be used rather often (probably against certain high-profile Japanese politicians...
Thanks for noting that, by the way. And this wasn't directed at you, Taiko, but more as just a general rant. It was, to me, yet another case of "Someone Claiming Discrimination Because They Met an *******, Not a Racist".
NekoMama7 said:
Being a naturalized Japanese American born and grew up in Tokyo, I can tell you that ordinary average Japanese are quite racists.
You noting this clears things up a bit, and I think, illuminates your motivation for posting what you said. Like I said, don't think the above rant was directed at you in particular, it was just something for everyone to think about.
I think he would've been completely dismayed, since such aggressive rudeness is almost unkown in Japanese shops.
Oh, God, please, please tell me you've shown him
Clerks. Especially if his English is really good and he's really acclimated to American culture that he can follow all of the references.