- 17 Sep 2005
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Sorry, this might get a little lengthy! :sorry:
And another aspect is that, as brought up in another thread, latinoes can hope that they or their children will one day be fully accepted into US society, I can not ever hope for the same. And my children, especially if they should happen to be non-asian, are in for the same. Are say 3rd generation Chinese-Americans considered American by American society at large? Of course! Would 3rd generation German-Japanese be considered Japanese by Japanese society at large? I highly doubt it.
I think the issue of assimilation is not insignificant.
Thanks for your input! It's always nice to have a variety of viewpoints to keep everyone honest!kokusu said:...I want everyone to understand that if I write something that seems contradictory or challenging to what has already been written, I do so simply out of a desire to contribute to and expand this discussion and not out of a spirit of confrontation or disrespect.
I don't think anyone disagrees here!Now then, while there certainly is racism in Japan, I do not think that it is particular to the Japanese nor uniform amongst the Japanese, and these are two important points I would like to contribute to this thread.
Good point! It's a little ambiguous though about what they and them refer to in at least the two instances, though. Does it refer to Japanese in general or the people with whom he spoke to?In a way, this comment is passively racist as well. Even though this person has met Japanese people in person as individuals (and thus, I assume, understands that the Japanese people are comprised of individuals just as any other culture is comprised of individuals), it was very easy for this person to add a 'but' and start referring to the Japanese broadly as 'they' and 'them'.
Another good point. It is good to be accurate. On the other hand, all we "regular folk" can do is speak from our experience. In my experience, there are people I know that understand what I mean when I talk about racism, and there are many many more who don't. Again, I'm not saying that this is inherently bad. I mean it in a very neutral sense.All Japanese do not understand racism? Everyone in the West understands racism? Everyone in the West understands racism the same way? Or, do some Japanese (even if it is a lot or a majority) do not understand racism and some do, just as some 'Westerners' do and don't understand racism?
True, but I don't think this is the issue at hand. I had often heard people complaining about latino immigrants because they "take jobs away from Americans" and "steal our taxpayers' dollars" in the form of education, welfare, etc. I have never once heard such arguments in Japan. I think that part of the difference is that in the case of America, such individual foreigners are considered to be in America on a rather permanent basis after arrival, whereas individual foreigners in Japan are considered to be much more temporary. Correct me if I'm wrong. This is the impression that I've gotten, however.only the Japanese suspicious of foreigners, or do we see this occur frequently in other cultures as well?
And another aspect is that, as brought up in another thread, latinoes can hope that they or their children will one day be fully accepted into US society, I can not ever hope for the same. And my children, especially if they should happen to be non-asian, are in for the same. Are say 3rd generation Chinese-Americans considered American by American society at large? Of course! Would 3rd generation German-Japanese be considered Japanese by Japanese society at large? I highly doubt it.
I think the issue of assimilation is not insignificant.
This certainly is not my intention, nor do I think that I am doing so. I use the words "they" and "them", but that is mostly because I am not Japanese. When I become naturalized someday, as I hope to do, it will be much more complicated, but that's another topic. You should hear me speak about America, my native country!It is a difficult thing to not peculiarize people of a culture different than one's own.
I don't think anyone is saying otherwise.Also, there are many Japanese who are racist and xenophobic.
But there are many good Japanese as well who are sensitive to people of different cultures. Also, there are Koreans, Chinese, Americans . . . you name it! . . . who are racist and xenophobic in exactly the same way they believe the Japanese to be! So this racism thing we are talking about . . . well, it seems to be a problem that people from all cultures must struggle with, not just the Japanese.
Of course not all JR employees are the same. But I have noticed over the years that I can expect quite consistantly similar service from JR. Especially in urban/semi-urban settings. Let me first say that I have never once been refused service from a JR employee. No, what I find is that if I want to buy a ticket from an employee as opposed to a machine, I have to deal with the notion that White automatically equates with English-speakers who cannot read Japanese, nor can they understand spoken Japanese, even if they are speaking it, nor do they know the tickets and therefore need them explained in excruciating detail. It's not 100%, but I find this happening at JR much more consistantly than I do anywhere else in the country. I don't hate JR employees. Nor do I assume outright that the person behind the counter will act in a certain way, but I am not surprised when he (sorry, always a man) does.I'm sorry you had such a poor experience with the JR employees. I had great experiences. Does this invalidate your experiences? Absolutely not! I believe you when you say you have had problems. I just saying, perhaps not all JR employees are the same, therefore maybe the conflict is with bad JR employees in specific rather than JR employees as a whole?
Just as I imagine there to be bad American anthropologists, I hope to not be one myself. Therefore if someone has a bad experience with an American anthropologist I hope they will still be open to being friends or associate with me.
What did we say to make it seem that Japan is 100% racist and that other cultures do not harbor it?1) Japanese are individuals and not all are racist!
2) These problems of racism are not only found in Japan but in culture after culture and country after country around the world. Please, when you discuss the problem of racism, don't treat it as if it is a problem specific to one culture alone! It isn't a Japanese problem, or a Korean problem, or an American problem; it is a human problem.
Otsukaresama deshita!OK. I'm done.