U.S. turns sailor over to Japan

[RockLee]

Crimes are crimes no matter who you are or what backgrounds you have.
And it is you that add a bit different flavor here.

I don't think you're getting the point so I won't bother to reply after this.

 

[MajideSaiaku]

The Japanese electorate has it entirely in their power to evict the Americans if they wish. That they have not done so indicates that it is not the desire of a sufficient portion of the electorate. It is the desire of a small minority.

I am not offended, just exasperated with this same crap over and over, primarily from Europeans. I resent your characterizations of what the American military presence represents to the local populace around the bases, a characterization once again presented in overly broad terms and with no basis in fact other than your own conjecture. Remind me again....just what is your experience with living in Japanese towns surrounding American military bases?

Hmmm, well for a start a little set up outside tachikawa train station with bannerrs and a loud-speaker and people handing out anti-western leaflets, wanting us foreigners out, visitting my girlfriends uncles home, and having to leave in shame because it was made clear i wasnt welcome, being a foreigner, the confirmation from my girlfriends family that some of their relatives and friends dont appriciate the american presence nearby them.

Some of the elderly looking less then pleased at some passing american soldiers on leave.

The creaped out look on a japanese ladies face when she saw me standing somewhere once and relizing i was a foreigner, and grabing onto the hood of her child infront of her as if to make sure it didnt run over to me, gaijin-man, destroyer of japanese innocence.

My girlfriends grandfather telling her she should date a japanese boy.

I havnt even been here a month yet and i already have these experiences.

You probably assumed i was just a westerner making baseless comments about japan from the comfort of my western home in my western city/town in my western country.
By far these mentioned experiences are the minority in an otherwise positive experience of japan, and racims, like in the west, isnt a big epidemic as some people would like foreigners to believe, but my point still stands, some japanese dont appriciate the american presence, even without my experiences here you may or may not have assumed i had, from what i knew before hand, it doesnt take a genius to suppouse some japanese less then like american soldiers, americans, or foreigners in general.

If your worried i hate Americans, then i will ease your concerns, an ex girlfriend was american, were still friends today, i have a few american aquaintances over the internet, and when i saw american soldiers, i was actually pleased, if it wasnt so sudden and poor public manners, and was in a more allowing setting, i would have started a conversation, just for some good western conversation (i love japan and the japanese but i do miss a good solid native english chat), and ask them how their liking japan and stuff.

Again, i have no problem with american bases in japan, being british, and neither american or japanese by any percentage, it is fortunately none of my bussiness or concern, but, i can still come to the conclusion, being an unbias outside observer, that some of the japanese people dont appriciate the american military presence.

Edit: Oh and yokata? yakata? whatever airbase is nearby, i would say i have quite a solid experience of living near/around an american military base in Japan.

 

[Mike Cash]

As long as another "Night Stalker" doesn't exist in Japan... I am fine, but I think ... that sailor is a retard for committing burglary... because they supposed to have money. It's not like he has to pay for rent and many bills. He's active duty.

A great number of American military men would find such naivete humorous....while others would just find it sad.

 

[Mike Cash]

So, Nurizeko, you have no qualms about extrapolating the actions of a few into an all-encompassing blanket statement?

I've seen protestors outside the Jieitai base in Nerima...I suppose they want the Japanese military run out of Dodge too.

 

[pipokun]

I don't think you're getting the point so I won't bother to reply after this.

I won't, either.

When you find troubles in your communities, try to find the solutions in the communities, possibility of Martian existence would not help.

 

[Davey]

About 100 U.S. Navy officers, sailors attend wake for murdered woman
Thursday, January 12, 2006 at 07:00 EST
U.S. Navy officers attend a wake for a Japanese woman killed in Y
YOKOSUKA — About 100 U.S. Navy officers and sailors attended a wake Wednesday evening for a Japanese woman allegedly killed by a U.S. sailor last week in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Complete: http://www.crisscross.com/jp/news/360911

 

[yukio_michael]

Complete: http://www.crisscross.com/jp/news/360911

And right at the top of the comments list, is this gem of wisdom: "The US Military is one big penal colony nowadays exporting crime from rural towns and inner cities to Japan."

Wow. Just, wow. Even as an isolated opinion that's creepy.

If your worried i hate Americans, then i will ease your concerns, an ex girlfriend was american, were still friends today, i have a few american aquaintances over the internet[...]

I'm not claiming that you hate Americans, but using the argument that you have American friends, or had an American girlfirend is like saying you aren't racist against blacks because "a good friend of mine is black!", it's a hoary old excuse that doesn't prove anything.

I experience some of the same things that you do, the stares, the mothers grabbing their children, I live in a small part of Chiba prefecture--- I don't expect they see many of my kind.

I know it's not right, but I made up my mind to just go on with my life, and enjoy the people who do treat me with kindness and respect--- I wasn't exactly the model or normalacy when I grew up, and I got my share of harassment from people who thought what I wore, said, did, was strange in highschool--- It's not my problem. It's their problem.

You know what I do? I try to be the most polite I can be.
That's all I can do.

~~edit: I just want to add that recently I've been doing some research into why it is that Americans get such a bad reputation, especially from Europeans--- coincidentally one study by travel company expedia found that only below Germans, Americans were found to be the most welcome tourists, one reason being that they tipped so well.

A lot of Europeans will claim that they know more about the United States than those in the United States do, but conversely this often turns out to be a strange viewpoint skewed by information they receive through media, movies, magazines, television etc... Many people in Europe can look at the United States and tell you where New York is, but how many people in United States know where Stutgardt is? That's such an of libeled complaint--- but the point is, who cares? Knowledge isn't the same as inteligence, and knowledge of geography certainly isn't an indicator for someone's personality or inteligence.

But, I too have had to hear that Americans are stupid, lazy, have purposely poor school systems (as if we all decided we just didn't give a damn), rude, loud, crass, gun-toting, living under a theocracy that is comparable to the reign of Hitler--- this sort of arm-chair observation goes on all the time by people who feel they know the country better than it's residents.

Truth be told, there are stupid people everywhere...

 

[Mike Cash]

The whole world knows how detestable conditions are in the United States. There are statistics to prove it: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/imm_new_cit

 

[D-San]

I knew the guy that killed Mrs. Sato. He didn't seem like the type, but you never know.