Dutch Baka said:I don't have a problem with the word, although I understand that when you look at the word closely it sounds racist. When I talk about myself as a foreigner in Japan, I call myself Gaijin, my wife calls me gaijin and also friends call me gaijin.
When a person looks at you and says heyzz gaijin, it means heyz foreigner! so I don't see any difference in gaijin, foreigner, or person from another country.
So the WORD itself isn't racist in my opinion
JimmySeal said:...Either that or they ask me "Do other gaikokujin yaddayadda?"
Maciamo said:It bugged me that even my wife would ask me such questions as "how do gaijin do this ?" or "what do gaijin think about this ?" when she meant either Westerners, or Europeans, or Belgians, or just my relatives... (depending on the question).
Glenn said:Did you answer them with 窶堋ｻ窶堙ｱ窶堙遺?堋ｱ窶堙??冦窶堙≫?堙??堙ｩ窶堙ｭ窶堋ｯ窶堙銀?堋ｦ窶堋ｾ窶堙ｫﾂ！ﾆ狸ﾆ辰ﾆ淡ﾆ停?懌?堙坂?堙昶?堙ｱ窶堙遺?慊ｯ窶堋ｶ窶堙遺?堙ｭ窶堋ｯ窶堋ｶ窶堙｡窶堙遺?堋｢窶堋ｺﾂ。("how the hell am I supposed to know that?! It's not like all foreigners are the same.")? I think that something like that would be my answer (or a more polite version, depending on who the person is).
I think it is natural to call you a gaijin because of your comments.Of course I answer that ! I have said that to hundreds of people when I was in Japan. I sometimes felt like my life was telling people that not all non-Japanese were alike ! Talk of pissing me !
JimmySeal said:If we wanted to act in a similar way, we'd be saying things like, "I hate how Asians are always calling me a gaijin. They're all the same." But the next time someone asks me, "Do all foreigners own guns?" I think I'll reply, "No. Do all Asians own samurai swords?"
it is the most important for him.personal experience
Sounds like they are total retards, then.RockLee said:When there's a Chinese or asian person those stupid people say something like "ching chang chong" or make karate moves with the sounds or act like total retards.
Yeah. We have a tendency to actually ask people where they are from. If we don't know exactly which country a person is from, we'll go by continent, and say "European, Middle-Eastern, Asian, Indian, South American/Latin American, African."JimmySeal said:One probably notices after a little time in Japan that Japanese people use the word "gaikokujin" more than we would usually use the word "foreigner."
It is silly. They shouldn't.I think it's silly to think that the Japanese should invent a new word for "foreigner." What's insulting about "gaikokujin" is the way it's used, not its etymology.
This is actually one of the reasons Americans rarely say "foreigner". Most of the foreign-born people I know well ended up staying here, making "foreign" a temporary term in many instances. Except for some few Southerners, most Americans will admit that the location of your birth and heritage of your parents isn't what makes you American, it is what you think and feel, and what language you speak.Maciamo said:I don't think that Americans are in the best position to judge Japanese society on this because justly the USA is too diverse and multiethnic, and does not have a long-standing and fairly homogenous culture (everybody brings their own culture, as they say).
Maciamo said:I guess that those who have no problem its use are those who see themselves so different from the Japanese that they will never be associated with them. These are the people who haven t tried to integrate into Japanese society.
It doesn't sound from this like you see yourself as very similar to the average person either....:?Maciamo said:I guess that those who have no problem its use are those who see themselves so different from the Japanese that they will never be associated with them. These are the people who haven t tried to integrate into Japanese society. Given the numerous negative connotation of the word "gaijin", I would say one must also be fairly thick-skinned or, on the contrary, naive to like being called like that.
Damicci said:But isn't that the case? Unless they come up with new classifications for Non Japanese residents in Japan (e.g. American-Japanese, African-Japanese, Chinese-Japanese) Like we have here then thats what you are. Non Japanese, a foreigner. It's not like it's "really" meant to say "Hey you guys are not Japanese hahaha we shall label you hahaha" It's mainly classification. Unless I am missing something, there is no true intentional disrepect with the word. Just some Japanese can use it offensively if they choose.
Of course I answer that ! I have said that to hundreds of people when I was in Japan. I sometimes felt like my life was telling people that not all non-Japanese were alike ! Talk of pissing me !
Ha-ha, my husband also said I have white skins.Maciamo said:I dislike the use of 窶昶?卍人 for Caucasians only because to me East Asians are as white as Caucasians.
Gaijinian said:The first night I arrived in Japan, I was sitting in Mosu Ba-ga-, and some little kid just kept asking his mom, "Gaijin-san, dare?" Gaijin-san, for Christ's sakes. I highly doubt he would have asked his mom, "nihonjin san dare?," had I have been Japanese...
Gaijinian said:The first night I arrived in Japan, I was sitting in Mosu Ba-ga-, and some little kid just kept asking his mom, "Gaijin-san, dare?" Gaijin-san, for Christ's sakes. I highly doubt he would have asked his mom, "nihonjin san dare?," had I have been Japanese...
One hyphenated word: JET-LAG.Hachiro said:If you don't like it then say something.
Gaijinian said:One hyphenated word: JET-LAG.
I don't know if I was offended, but I was surprised at how blatantly he asked.Hachiro said:Was it that big of a deal? Can you honestly say you were offended?
Gaijinian said:I don't know if I was offended, but I was surprised at how blatantly he asked.
Surely it can be! I have studied Japanese language and culture ﾋ?ｪﾂ青ｶﾅ椎凪?督ｽ for over half of my life, and yet I am still an outsider just because I was not born in Japan... To me, it is slightly demeaning; then again, it depends on the person. This is not a black-white, I'm right you're wrong typed issue.Hachiro said:...nor is it demeaning either.