Back about 20 years ago (good lord I must be getting old, but no problem as I am still a spring chicken in Japan) James Fallows wrote in one of his books something along the lines of "Every white person in the US should spend some time in Japan to learn what it is like to be discriminated against."
The esteemed Dr. Laura, who is very familiar with the need for a sense of humor since someone with one awarded her a doctorate, has announced that she is quitting her radio show. She announced that just a short while after getting in trouble (and later sincerely---I'm sure---apologizing) for using the N-word repeatedly on her program. After listening to her broadcast, one could be forgiven for thinking that her use of the N-word is not the most troubling part of her bizarre, illogical rant.
I would not say that living in Japan as a non-Japanese---especially a white non-Japanese---is equal in the extent and history of discrimination that African-Americans face in the US, but maybe Dr. Laura should spend a little (a lot) of time living here not as a monied expat in a gaijin ghetto, but living among the hoi polloi. Maybe then the psycho psychologist would have some clue of what her caller felt. Of course had the trained expert actually listened to the caller, she might have had a clue without moving here.
Aug 23: As for the euphemism itself, the Washington Post has some thoughts.
Goggle/blogger spell-check does not recognize either hoi polloi or monied as words.
Showing posts with label bigotry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bigotry. Show all posts
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
"I'd like a chance t' shoot at a educated man once in my life."
Augustus McCrae. Retired Texas Ranger.*
Augustus McCrae. Retired Texas Ranger.*
I wouldn't call myself an educated man. Daydreamed through the 8th-11th grades. Finished university after the USAF on one of the versions of the G.I. Bill. Even had to spend the first year or so at a community college. Still, I thought I knew a few things until September of 2008 when I learned that I didn't know squat about the way the world works. I realized that I was an idiot and that I would never be like those who can confidently predict the future and know the way to solve the world's problems. I mean, I ain't no Nobel Prize winner like Paul Krugman. (They don't give those things out for nothing, you know.) Plus, I am an American which as everyone knows is the most poorly-educated group on earth. Why, just a week or so ago, there was more hand-wringing in the US over the fact that fewer US students were graduating from universities despite the absurdly inflated costs of doing so. What the hell, put the poorer of them in the military and send 'em to well-off foreign lands to "preserve freedom."
Fortunately, I now live in a country which is ideal for an idiot because of the ability to learn from the highly educated populace. I learn something new and valuable nearly every day. It could be a trivial thing like I learned Monday: People in Osaka walk faster than people in any other city on earth while folks in NY walk second fastest, and those in Tokyo walk third fastest. And here I had been thinking that most people in Tokyo walked at about the pace of a dead snail that is reading email on a cell phone. Stoopid me.
Or it could be something breathtaking and potentially world changing.
Tuesday started as a normal day. I had been given my usual Tuesday task of gathering information about some sort of puzzling New-Think, this time concerning Red Ocean/Blue Ocean. This had apparently been the subject of a popular 2005 business book which I had not read nor even heard of. These small details would not stop me from finding out as much as I could about the subject in 3-4 hours and then pretend I had a clue of what I was talking about.
Fortunately, I found an interview with the authors in which they clearly explained the concept:
We use the terms red oceans and blue oceans to describe the market universe. Red oceans are all of the industries in existence now... ...Blue oceans, in contrast denote all industries not in existence today...
I cut a little, but the above should be sufficient to prompt most to run out and either buy the book, Blue Ocean Strategy, or jump from a tall building. My understanding is that a good "blue ocean strategy" company will try to find customers and markets by thinking outside the box, throwing out the Old-Think, and establishing a new paradigm---all very unusual for a cutting-edge business book.
Oh, to the point of this post...
Later, I got to chat with a fellow whose major had been economics. He is now a fairly high level executive---shall we say in the top level of his organization which is one of the largest in his industry. We talked economics, as he is wont to do when he is not detailing some unique character traits of the Japanese (which seem incredibly commonplace to an uneducated flunky) and how the current environment is affecting his industry and company. For an international company heavily dependent on imported raw materials, the increasing demand for those raw materials is pushing up prices and eliminating profits.
Then he let me in on what may be a secret. There is sort of a cartel controlling prices on these raw materials. It involves a number of foreign countries, including one in South America in which a minority of folks are of European descent. (1-2%, according to him.)
This was interesting. We had discussed this before, but not in such detail. The way he was talking, I began to suspect the Illuminati, but after beating around the bush a bit, he told me: The Jews!
Oh yes, I should have known! It seems many here take for granted the "theory" that to some degree or another Jews control the US, or tend to believe in a general Jewish conspiracy to control the world, but this was the first that I had heard that they controlled a major raw materials market.
Later, as dim-witted and poorly educated as I---and all other Americans (meaning only the US in this case)---am, I began to get an idea. I don't know why I am the only one to think of this, but I may have solved not only my problems, but Japan's and perhaps the rest of the world's. With so much of the world's power and money in the hands of Jewish people, why not convert to Judaism? It may be immoral if one is not sincere, but it would seem to be a pretty simple way to resolve financial worries. I could certainly use the power and influence that this small percentage of the world's population is rumored to have, too. It may even make me more welcomed by some here.
And the risk of an aimless, goalless, thoughtless, clueless leadership class leading the country to the Fujiwara-ian glory of the past of poverty and hardship for all except the powerful elites? Could not Japan convert to Judaism and take advantage of that power and wealth? Isn't there some evidence that Japanese are actually Jewish anyway?
I feel honored that I may have stumbled into the secret of solving all the world's problems in a discussion with a man who, without a doubt, represents one of the most well-educated classes in the country. Not only that, I got to experience that mysterious Eastern wisdom which has been handed down through the generations, and which, despite the fact that we are in roughly the same age group, makes me feel like I was born yesterday while he has the accumulated knowledge of a zillion years.
Whereas these sorts of Jewish conspiracy theories would not be considered acceptable in many other countries, and might be taken as a sign of ignorance or even antisemitism, we can't use that sort of Old-Think about subscribers to the theories in Japan. Things are different here. It's all harmless and innocent. Sort of a quaint and cute provincialism. By the way, my acquaintance is very polite and seems a nice guy. So how could anything be wrong?
*From the 1989 TV mini-series, Lonesome Dove. I think ol' Gus would have saved a lot on powder, balls, and caps for his Walker Colt had he left the plains of Texas and Montana for my current neck of the woods.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Blinky the bigot
cannot trust himself, for folks of foreign roots owe allegiance to their foreign ancestors. Where did the Japanese---whomever "the Japanese" are---come from? Is Blinky-the-bigot Ainu by any chance?Well, although Blinky was elected and has been re-elected governor of Tokyo by the citizens of this fine prefecture, we can't assume that just because he is a racist that everyone else is.
However, as Debito Arudou writes in The Japan Times: Last Gasps of Japan's Dying Demagogues, some are:
[Citing research from M. G. Sheftall of Shizuoka University---good god, A furriner! Who can believe him?] Ishihara's "Showa Hitoketa generation" (1926-1935) was "completely immersed, from birth until late adolescence/early adulthood, in prewar Japanese ideology at its most militantly militaristic, chauvinistic and xenophobic. It is unsurprising many never quite recovered from the trauma they suffered when their ideology was suddenly and catastrophically delegitimized in August 1945."
Arudou points out that the argument of the folks who opposed the partial foreign suffrage proposed by the DPJ that bakagaijin should naturalize if they want to vote is purely fatuous (he does not use those words) as folks of Blinky's ilk will never accept naturalized citizens as Japanese when they won't even accept people who have been here for generations as Japanese.
We can only hope Debito is correct when he calls these types a dying breed. I ain't so sure, at best I think that they are a diminishing breed as there will always be others to pick up the flag.
I have nothing against that old extremist that the citizens of Tokyo decided to have represent them. The fact that he is a well-known racist, misogynist/misanthrope, and all-around kook was not important enough to give them pause. I wish him no bad luck, but if he were to be hit by a freight train, I would not spend the night crying. (What a mean thing to say!)
Google spell check does not recognize delegitimized as a word.
Edited 1010pm
Friday, January 29, 2010
If you know one Japanese, you know them all
No, it was not a statement made by the Imperial Wizard of the KKK in an address to the semi-annual international conference of simple-minded bigots, but something said by a Japanese in a "international culture course" conducted by a very large and well-known Japanese corporation.
I wasn't there to hear it, but I naively stepped in this cow-pie because I was not quick enough in switching the subject when an acquaintance who had attended began to explain just how different the Japanese really are. Apparently, they are even more different than he, a Japanese, had realized.
He rattled off a few other things that he had "learned." Most were not new to me: Foreigners (If you know one foreign culture, you know them all?) communicate verbally while the Japanese are a non-verbal society. (Hell, anyone who has ever been to an izakaya knows that.) Japan is a consensus society and as such Japanese bosses "never make a top down decision."
Being one who never learns, I would throw things back like: "My wife is Japanese, does that mean I know all Japanese?"; "When my wife has friends over, there seems to be a lot of verbal communicating"; "The boss at my old company sure seemed to make top down decisions", and so on. He would laugh a bit after each and say something like "That's what I learned." Being a bit slow at Japanese verbal communication myself, I didn't think to ask, "If I had known the fellow who went on a murderous rampage in Akihabara a few years ago, would I have known all Japanese?"
It sorta seems to me that these sort of "international/intercultural" courses tend to be more about Japan than about any other country. I like the way they work too: If you find that a foreign country and Japan are similar in some area, then switch to another country which is "different" to show Japan's unique uniqueness. Say you are talking about pickles and find that Germans eat pickles too. You could either point out that German and Japanese pickles are different in some way, or just switch to North Niklebania where nobody eats pickles and compare that to Japan. Foreign countries/cultures/people are generally interchangeable anyway with slightly less interchangeability between Western and Asian countries. (Think gaijin vs Chinese, Koreans, Indians, etc.)
One who lives in this country should not be any more surprised to repeatedly hear this sort of thing from nearly every source (including goofy overseas sources) than he/she should be surprised at going to a tent revival and hearing religion preached. After all, they are both, for the most part, a religion. And religion is based on faith, and faith is belief without evidence, although in many cases "evidence" is contrived or manufactured to strengthen the faith.
Well, that's enough ranting. Gotta be ready for the lady next door, henceforth known as Ol' Buffalo Mouth, to come home and start her 3-4 hour monologue (usually beginning at about 1130 pm) without pausing for a single second. I assume that she is actually talking to another person, although all I can hear is her muzzle blast through the walls of my well-insulated, Manhattan-priced "mansion." Thank goodness that she is a non-verbal communicator.
Now to find something worthwhile to post, if that is even possible anymore.
Tweaked at 1504
I wasn't there to hear it, but I naively stepped in this cow-pie because I was not quick enough in switching the subject when an acquaintance who had attended began to explain just how different the Japanese really are. Apparently, they are even more different than he, a Japanese, had realized.
He rattled off a few other things that he had "learned." Most were not new to me: Foreigners (If you know one foreign culture, you know them all?) communicate verbally while the Japanese are a non-verbal society. (Hell, anyone who has ever been to an izakaya knows that.) Japan is a consensus society and as such Japanese bosses "never make a top down decision."
Being one who never learns, I would throw things back like: "My wife is Japanese, does that mean I know all Japanese?"; "When my wife has friends over, there seems to be a lot of verbal communicating"; "The boss at my old company sure seemed to make top down decisions", and so on. He would laugh a bit after each and say something like "That's what I learned." Being a bit slow at Japanese verbal communication myself, I didn't think to ask, "If I had known the fellow who went on a murderous rampage in Akihabara a few years ago, would I have known all Japanese?"
It sorta seems to me that these sort of "international/intercultural" courses tend to be more about Japan than about any other country. I like the way they work too: If you find that a foreign country and Japan are similar in some area, then switch to another country which is "different" to show Japan's unique uniqueness. Say you are talking about pickles and find that Germans eat pickles too. You could either point out that German and Japanese pickles are different in some way, or just switch to North Niklebania where nobody eats pickles and compare that to Japan. Foreign countries/cultures/people are generally interchangeable anyway with slightly less interchangeability between Western and Asian countries. (Think gaijin vs Chinese, Koreans, Indians, etc.)
One who lives in this country should not be any more surprised to repeatedly hear this sort of thing from nearly every source (including goofy overseas sources) than he/she should be surprised at going to a tent revival and hearing religion preached. After all, they are both, for the most part, a religion. And religion is based on faith, and faith is belief without evidence, although in many cases "evidence" is contrived or manufactured to strengthen the faith.
Well, that's enough ranting. Gotta be ready for the lady next door, henceforth known as Ol' Buffalo Mouth, to come home and start her 3-4 hour monologue (usually beginning at about 1130 pm) without pausing for a single second. I assume that she is actually talking to another person, although all I can hear is her muzzle blast through the walls of my well-insulated, Manhattan-priced "mansion." Thank goodness that she is a non-verbal communicator.
Now to find something worthwhile to post, if that is even possible anymore.
Tweaked at 1504
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Hospitals take action to avoid (foreign) flu germs
Some patients were rejected by hospitals after reporting that they worked at Narita International Airport or have a foreign friend. Japan Times.
As usual, some hospitals are refusing to treat patients for some rather curious reasons. That's not a problem though, for they can do that here even if someone dies (a number of such cases have appeared in the news over the last few years).
Now some are refusing to treat people with a fever, instead telling them to go to the special flu clinics set up earlier. This doesn't always work, for some who have visited a flu clinic have still been rejected by hospitals after being directed to go to one by a clinic.
The Tokyo government might investigate these incidents as violations of the medical practitioner's law. Thank goodness! Expect immediate and decisive action to end this sort of practice forever!
Wonder what happens when someone with a foreign friend who happens to be non-Japanese herself asks for treatment at one of these sleazy places? I wondered how long it would take before the "dangerous foreigner" angle appeared. It is never a question of if, but of when and to what degree.
As usual, some hospitals are refusing to treat patients for some rather curious reasons. That's not a problem though, for they can do that here even if someone dies (a number of such cases have appeared in the news over the last few years).
Now some are refusing to treat people with a fever, instead telling them to go to the special flu clinics set up earlier. This doesn't always work, for some who have visited a flu clinic have still been rejected by hospitals after being directed to go to one by a clinic.
The Tokyo government might investigate these incidents as violations of the medical practitioner's law. Thank goodness! Expect immediate and decisive action to end this sort of practice forever!
Wonder what happens when someone with a foreign friend who happens to be non-Japanese herself asks for treatment at one of these sleazy places? I wondered how long it would take before the "dangerous foreigner" angle appeared. It is never a question of if, but of when and to what degree.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Google prejudiced
Google included some historical maps of Japan in its online collection which showed the boundaries of burakumin "lower-caste" areas. These folks were and are still discriminated against.
...still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived.
An employee at a large, well-known Japanese company, who works in personnel and has direct knowledge of its hiring practices, said the company actively screens out burakumin-linked job seekers.
(The same thing can still happen to those of Korean descent, illegal or not.)
"If there is an incident because of these maps, and Google is just going to say 'It's not our fault' or 'It's down to the user,' then we have no choice but to conclude that Google's system itself is a form of prejudice," said Toru Matsuoka, an Upper House Diet member. (He is also a member of the Burakumin Liberation League.)
When complaints reached Google, they removed any reference to burakumin on the maps.
The result?
"This is like saying those people didn't exist. There are people for whom this is their hometown, who are still living there now," said Takashi Uchino from the Buraku Liberation League headquarters in Tokyo.
The Justice Ministry is investigating. Not sure, but it seems that the discrimination against these folks is not Google's problem but Japan's and hiding the fact of continuing discrimination is not going to resolve anything. But then again, "This is Japan." One of E.O Reischauer's sugary books (The Japanese Today, I believe) mentioned the eta/burakumin and those references were removed from the Japanese edition. Reischauer must have been a bigot too.
All quotes from the May 5 Japan Times article.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The invasion of evil (baka) gaijin
Some 51.8 percent of Japanese said a rise in foreign tourists visiting Japan made them "concerned about safety" and thought "some steps should be taken" to address such concerns, according to a government survey released Thursday. Japan Times.
Remember back in the 80s and early 90s when things were simpler and folks only had to worry about sneaky, dangerous, drug-using, quasi-criminal non-Japanese spreading AIDS? Now da' gubbermint is actually tryin' to git more of them to visit the Land of Purity.
What else could be expected when people are exposed to government officials promoting xenophobia; when the media often dwells on crimes committed by non-Japanese in a way that is all out of proportion to similar crimes committed by Japanese; when nearly everything people are exposed to from childhood on claim a unique Japanese "race" which is different from all other human beings? When the government wants to take attention off of its (and society's) own failings by exaggerating problems elsewhere so as to make those of Japan seem minor in comparison, why would fear of others even be newsworthy?
Since neither the poll results nor the questions are described in any detail, It's hard to know what to make of it. There is nothing at all surprising unless one considers the 51.8% low. In fact, 48.2% not feeling concerned (I'll generously assume this) about non-Japanese visitors could be considered progress, little or no thanks to the media and government.
However, I agree that "steps should be taken". It could be called education, perhaps. We could start with the elite then move down the ladder to the folks who think Japan is the only country that has four seasons and drinkable water.
Remember the minister (Nariaki Nakayama) who was fired because he said (among other things) that Japanese do not like foreigners?
It's not worth worrying about. I just had to do something as I postponed my trip to the mountains for a week and had some free time for ranting.
Remember back in the 80s and early 90s when things were simpler and folks only had to worry about sneaky, dangerous, drug-using, quasi-criminal non-Japanese spreading AIDS? Now da' gubbermint is actually tryin' to git more of them to visit the Land of Purity.
What else could be expected when people are exposed to government officials promoting xenophobia; when the media often dwells on crimes committed by non-Japanese in a way that is all out of proportion to similar crimes committed by Japanese; when nearly everything people are exposed to from childhood on claim a unique Japanese "race" which is different from all other human beings? When the government wants to take attention off of its (and society's) own failings by exaggerating problems elsewhere so as to make those of Japan seem minor in comparison, why would fear of others even be newsworthy?
Since neither the poll results nor the questions are described in any detail, It's hard to know what to make of it. There is nothing at all surprising unless one considers the 51.8% low. In fact, 48.2% not feeling concerned (I'll generously assume this) about non-Japanese visitors could be considered progress, little or no thanks to the media and government.
However, I agree that "steps should be taken". It could be called education, perhaps. We could start with the elite then move down the ladder to the folks who think Japan is the only country that has four seasons and drinkable water.
Remember the minister (Nariaki Nakayama) who was fired because he said (among other things) that Japanese do not like foreigners?
It's not worth worrying about. I just had to do something as I postponed my trip to the mountains for a week and had some free time for ranting.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Thank god
For a while there, I was beginning to think I was all alone:
Over a summer dinner, a Japanese colleague shook his head at the yet unsolved gunshot murders of three supermarket clerks in Hachioji in 1995.
Live in Japan? Don't you know exactly how Thomas felt? Have you not been in the exact same conversation yourself?
Just as I have been trying ignore this kind of "thinking" and live in a fantasy world Japan where it doesn't exist... Some do, why not me too?
*There was also the fellow who used a shotgun to commit mass murder earlier this year, but perhaps that doesn't count since he did not simply shoot his victims in the back of the head.
Over a summer dinner, a Japanese colleague shook his head at the yet unsolved gunshot murders of three supermarket clerks in Hachioji in 1995.
"It had to be a foreigner that did it. No Japanese would commit a crime like that."
"Hello?" I knocked on the table. "Look at me, please." Was not his dinner mate a foreigner too? And might not foreigners be offended by such an indictment?
The man squirmed and said he meant to emphasize the "gun." Japanese crooks would never be so cruel as to shoot people in the back of the head with a gun.
Right. They might ram a car into a crowd and then knife everyone in sight, a la the killing spree in Akihabara this year. Or like child-abductor Tsutomu Miyazaki, they might drink their victims' blood*...Thomas Dillon in the Japan Times.Live in Japan? Don't you know exactly how Thomas felt? Have you not been in the exact same conversation yourself?
Just as I have been trying ignore this kind of "thinking" and live in a fantasy world Japan where it doesn't exist... Some do, why not me too?
*There was also the fellow who used a shotgun to commit mass murder earlier this year, but perhaps that doesn't count since he did not simply shoot his victims in the back of the head.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A great sense of humor
In a new report to the United Nations, the government outlines the situation of ethnic minorities and foreign residents in Japan, claiming it has made "every conceivable" effort over the past several years to eliminate racial discrimination....
...The government has long held that Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality under the law, makes any antidiscrimination legislation superfluous, a point reiterated in the report.
...The government has long held that Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality under the law, makes any antidiscrimination legislation superfluous, a point reiterated in the report.
"Japan has taken every conceivable measure to fight against racial discrimination," the report's introduction says, later adding that apartheid is unknown in Japan...Japan Times
Are we talking about actual apartheid or legal, open discrimination often encouraged and supported by the government if not originating from it?
Just a few weeks ago, I was talking to a woman who had just recently married a guy from Europe. She was shocked* to discover that the landlord of an apartment they wanted to rent refused because he was a non-Japanese. She was able to get another apartment after finding an additional guarantor (2 in total) that the landlord required because her husband not Japanese. The first landlord refused to rent because he claimed to have rented to a non-Japanese before who did not pay the rent. Therefore, anyone who is not of the pure Japanese blood is untrustworthy.
Her husband is fluent in Japanese (JLPT 1 fluent---also in actual non-test usage) and intends to get Japanese citizenship as he believes that this will help him get a better career. She is skeptical, saying "He's still just a white boy."
What kind of idiots and liars are coming up with this nonsense to BS the UN? Does anyone on earth actually believe it? (Yes, many apologists do, or want to. Others excuse it because it is not as open as in country A, B, or C.)
12:25 *She was not shocked because non-Japanese are discriminated against in housing and other areas, but because she and her husband were being refused housing even though the rental agreement would have been in her name.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Manga Man Aso. More of the same.
Since PM Fukuda reshuffled his cabinet, many of his new appointees---who are retreaded old geezers who haven't had a new thought since Christ was a child---have been attempting to return his kindness.
Manga Man Aso, the guy who thinks that the secret to getting foreigners to "understand" Japan's foreign policy (it has one?) is to explain it via comic books; the guy who would like make Japan a country that rich Jewish people would want to move to, has compared the LDP's opposition to Nazis. (Also here and here.)
It's good that we have folks like Aso who speak what could be referred to as their mind. That way, folks can get a better idea of what these semi-fossilized relics really think. Then we have to ask ourselves how they get elected and reelected again and again. After all, this is a democracy and someone, in fact a large number of someones, must support them. Entertaining these ancient ones might be, but you have to wonder what they would do if they had the full power and free reign to move the country their way?
This is the same Aso whose family business used Korean slave labor during WW2 when Japan was Nazi Germany's ally. (Did Aso's family object to that alliance?) This is the same Aso who said those with blue eyes and blond hair weren't trusted in the Middle East but Japanese with yellow faces could be, thereby displaying among other things his beyond shallow knowledge of the region. This is the same Aso who could be in line to become prime minister should the Japanese public continue to allow the LDP to dominate the post-war government. At least we'll know him.
Manga Man Aso, the guy who thinks that the secret to getting foreigners to "understand" Japan's foreign policy (it has one?) is to explain it via comic books; the guy who would like make Japan a country that rich Jewish people would want to move to, has compared the LDP's opposition to Nazis. (Also here and here.)
It's good that we have folks like Aso who speak what could be referred to as their mind. That way, folks can get a better idea of what these semi-fossilized relics really think. Then we have to ask ourselves how they get elected and reelected again and again. After all, this is a democracy and someone, in fact a large number of someones, must support them. Entertaining these ancient ones might be, but you have to wonder what they would do if they had the full power and free reign to move the country their way?
This is the same Aso whose family business used Korean slave labor during WW2 when Japan was Nazi Germany's ally. (Did Aso's family object to that alliance?) This is the same Aso who said those with blue eyes and blond hair weren't trusted in the Middle East but Japanese with yellow faces could be, thereby displaying among other things his beyond shallow knowledge of the region. This is the same Aso who could be in line to become prime minister should the Japanese public continue to allow the LDP to dominate the post-war government. At least we'll know him.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Problems for Blinky Ishihara?
What could it be? The Chinese? Koreans? All non-Japanese? Women? The African-American men in Guam? Which of Blinky's nemisis are causing trouble?
In 2005, our courageous bigot started a bank because the other Japanese banks were in a mess and reluctant to hand out money to just about any fool who asked as had been the practice during the Bubble. In 2008, our bigoted genius' bank was mired in its own mess due to bad loans. Blinky denied any responsibility saying that it was the fault of the incompetents whom he appointed. He was even able to get the Tokyo Metropolitan ASSembly to approve a taxpayer bailout of his idiocy.
Now Blinky will likely escape any serious personal liability for this as he seems to be as slippery as Slick Willie was, but with only about half the sense.
Japan's Financial Services Agency said it will investigate ShinGinko Tokyo Ltd., the unprofitable lender founded by Tokyo's government in 2005.
The FSA, which announced the probe yesterday on its Web site, didn't provide any details. Bloomberg.
In 2005, our courageous bigot started a bank because the other Japanese banks were in a mess and reluctant to hand out money to just about any fool who asked as had been the practice during the Bubble. In 2008, our bigoted genius' bank was mired in its own mess due to bad loans. Blinky denied any responsibility saying that it was the fault of the incompetents whom he appointed. He was even able to get the Tokyo Metropolitan ASSembly to approve a taxpayer bailout of his idiocy.
Now Blinky will likely escape any serious personal liability for this as he seems to be as slippery as Slick Willie was, but with only about half the sense.
Japan's Financial Services Agency said it will investigate ShinGinko Tokyo Ltd., the unprofitable lender founded by Tokyo's government in 2005.
The FSA, which announced the probe yesterday on its Web site, didn't provide any details. Bloomberg.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Why America needs a change
I used to consider myself a Republican. I was, and am, more of a Libertarian than conservative, because conservatives want to restrict and control those people and ideas that they don't agree with as much as liberals do. However, to make a slight modification to something Ronald Reagan once said, "I didn't leave the Republican party, it left me."
And that is exactly what has happened with the new big government, intrusive, religious zealot-based Republican Party. I thought George Bush The Daddy was a poor president who seemed to get his jollies from invading foreign countries---although I think the first Gulf War was justified---but Little George is so bad that even Jimmy Carter said something along the lines that Little-Tiny was the worst president in history. Jimmy should know something about being one of the worst, but at least he did not start an unjustified war, and although he was and is a religious man, he let it cloud his judgment, whatever one thinks of his judgment.
Anyway, this primary election I am supporting Barack Obama. My choice on the Republican side is John McCain and although it may be hard to choose in a general election between the two, right now I am leaning strongly toward Obama. It would be the first time that I have ever voted for a Democrat for president, but I believe that he represents the best chance we have for a new direction in the US and hopefully can help put an end to the extreme looniness on both the left and the right. Perhaps I am dreaming. At any rate, both he and McCain seem to be honest, straightforward men. The nightmare would be a Billary (anywhere on the ticket) and "Leave-the-US-if-you-ain't religious" Romney. I wouldn't vote for either.
(No, I did not vote for Tiny George as I had learned my lesson from his Daddy. I did not vote for a major party candidate in the last two elections and I actually voted for the crazy-man, Ross Perot, in 1992).
I received the following e-mail forwarded from someone whom I fortunately do not know. These kinds of "thoughts" are way beyond what I believe---or I want to believe---the US should stand for. Unfortunately, I am sure plenty share these views. This is from the "religious" side, I suppose the religious right. I have no doubt that there are such nutjobs with mirroring views on the left. How embarrassing such stuff is:
Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds
like it! This is one ticked off lady.
Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it
or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on
September 11, 2001?
Were people from all over the world,
mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across
the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ?
Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die
a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?
And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was
"desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it
wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.
I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the
Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a
crime in Saudi Arabia
I'll care when these thugs tell the
world they are sorry for chopping off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed
through his gurgling slashed throat.
I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in
Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by
hiding in mosques.
I'll care when the mindless zealots
who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children
within range of their suicide .
I'll care when the American media stops pretending
that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law
instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.
In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave
marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't
care.
When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi
prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident,
rest assured: I don't care.***
When I see a wounded terrorist get
shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped,
you can take it to the bank: I don't care.
When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran
and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is
complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe
in your heart of hearts: I don't care.
And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's
spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran" Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed
it-I don't care !!
If you agree with this viewpoint,
pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the
people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!
If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete
button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more
atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And
may I add: Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for
you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON,
AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.
AMEN!
This person actually believes that she is supporting the military by accepting the crimes of a few poorly disciplined perverts as justified, or at least not worthy of her concern. She views the war as a religious war in which the US may disregard any and all treaties, laws, and morals and put its own troops at risk to make her ass feel better as she sits on it in her cozy apartment in New Jersey. By the way, as a military veteran, I find her misplaced and ignorant attempt to defend the criminal actions of the perverted guards and their superiors at Abu Ghraib prison offensive. Those actions were illegal under the UCMJ and no trained, disciplined, professional soldier would tolerate that. She is what a Christian is supposed to be?
A President Obama probably can't do much about this kind of person, but hopefully he can help bring a sense of what the US can be, instead of a US hiding under the covers in fear of faceless terrorists and of other religions and people. Christ, we don't want to be like another country that I know.
I write this knowing that the left in the US is not any better than the extreme right. I will never forget 3 wonderful Democrats whom I worked with talking about how they hoped that Saddam Hussein would not be captured (well after Tiny invaded) so that Lord John Kerry could get an advantage in the election, no matter whether or not it could shorten the war and prevent more deaths.The loony left is just as dangerous and nutty as the loony right.
***I believe the "college hazing" reference is straight from the Republican Elite's chief apologist, Rush Limbaugh. So perhaps this person is a dildo-head. Sorry, I meant ditto-head. See here.
And that is exactly what has happened with the new big government, intrusive, religious zealot-based Republican Party. I thought George Bush The Daddy was a poor president who seemed to get his jollies from invading foreign countries---although I think the first Gulf War was justified---but Little George is so bad that even Jimmy Carter said something along the lines that Little-Tiny was the worst president in history. Jimmy should know something about being one of the worst, but at least he did not start an unjustified war, and although he was and is a religious man, he let it cloud his judgment, whatever one thinks of his judgment.
Anyway, this primary election I am supporting Barack Obama. My choice on the Republican side is John McCain and although it may be hard to choose in a general election between the two, right now I am leaning strongly toward Obama. It would be the first time that I have ever voted for a Democrat for president, but I believe that he represents the best chance we have for a new direction in the US and hopefully can help put an end to the extreme looniness on both the left and the right. Perhaps I am dreaming. At any rate, both he and McCain seem to be honest, straightforward men. The nightmare would be a Billary (anywhere on the ticket) and "Leave-the-US-if-you-ain't religious" Romney. I wouldn't vote for either.
(No, I did not vote for Tiny George as I had learned my lesson from his Daddy. I did not vote for a major party candidate in the last two elections and I actually voted for the crazy-man, Ross Perot, in 1992).
I received the following e-mail forwarded from someone whom I fortunately do not know. These kinds of "thoughts" are way beyond what I believe---or I want to believe---the US should stand for. Unfortunately, I am sure plenty share these views. This is from the "religious" side, I suppose the religious right. I have no doubt that there are such nutjobs with mirroring views on the left. How embarrassing such stuff is:
Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds
like it! This is one ticked off lady.
Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it
or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on
September 11, 2001?
Were people from all over the world,
mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across
the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ?
Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die
a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?
And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was
"desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it
wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.
I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the
Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a
crime in Saudi Arabia
I'll care when these thugs tell the
world they are sorry for chopping off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed
through his gurgling slashed throat.
I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in
Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by
hiding in mosques.
I'll care when the mindless zealots
who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children
within range of their suicide .
I'll care when the American media stops pretending
that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law
instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.
In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave
marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't
care.
When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi
prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident,
rest assured: I don't care.***
When I see a wounded terrorist get
shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped,
you can take it to the bank: I don't care.
When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran
and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is
complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe
in your heart of hearts: I don't care.
And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's
spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran" Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed
it-I don't care !!
If you agree with this viewpoint,
pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the
people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!
If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete
button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more
atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And
may I add: Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for
you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON,
AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.
AMEN!
This person actually believes that she is supporting the military by accepting the crimes of a few poorly disciplined perverts as justified, or at least not worthy of her concern. She views the war as a religious war in which the US may disregard any and all treaties, laws, and morals and put its own troops at risk to make her ass feel better as she sits on it in her cozy apartment in New Jersey. By the way, as a military veteran, I find her misplaced and ignorant attempt to defend the criminal actions of the perverted guards and their superiors at Abu Ghraib prison offensive. Those actions were illegal under the UCMJ and no trained, disciplined, professional soldier would tolerate that. She is what a Christian is supposed to be?
A President Obama probably can't do much about this kind of person, but hopefully he can help bring a sense of what the US can be, instead of a US hiding under the covers in fear of faceless terrorists and of other religions and people. Christ, we don't want to be like another country that I know.
I write this knowing that the left in the US is not any better than the extreme right. I will never forget 3 wonderful Democrats whom I worked with talking about how they hoped that Saddam Hussein would not be captured (well after Tiny invaded) so that Lord John Kerry could get an advantage in the election, no matter whether or not it could shorten the war and prevent more deaths.The loony left is just as dangerous and nutty as the loony right.
***I believe the "college hazing" reference is straight from the Republican Elite's chief apologist, Rush Limbaugh. So perhaps this person is a dildo-head. Sorry, I meant ditto-head. See here.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Abe campaigns with the bigot Ishihara
Rightwing revisionist Abe campaigned for the LDP with the well-known racist and bigoted governor of Tokyo, Shintaro "Blinky" Ishihara. This was apparently to make sure that all the extremist voters were covered. Well, perhaps that's going too far. After all, the citizens of Tokyo elected Ishihara 4 times, and one could never say that there was any racism/bigotry/nationalism involved. After all, such things don't exist in Japan.
It seems unlikely that this will work though, for the citizens seem to be more concerned about money issues and the continued scandals under Abe and the LDP than they are in Abe's "Beautiful Country." (Some may be shocked that money is important to people here as it is everywhere else except Fijuwara's neo-bushidoist dreamworld and in a few socialist/Marxist fantasies).
Ichiro Ozawa's Democratic Party may be poised to win:
“If we fail to win a majority and allow Abe’s administration to survive, it means democracy will never take root in Japan,” Mr. Ozawa said Saturday. From the Japan Times. Full article here.
Huh? Japan is not a democracy? How 1980s.
It seems unlikely that this will work though, for the citizens seem to be more concerned about money issues and the continued scandals under Abe and the LDP than they are in Abe's "Beautiful Country." (Some may be shocked that money is important to people here as it is everywhere else except Fijuwara's neo-bushidoist dreamworld and in a few socialist/Marxist fantasies).
Ichiro Ozawa's Democratic Party may be poised to win:
“If we fail to win a majority and allow Abe’s administration to survive, it means democracy will never take root in Japan,” Mr. Ozawa said Saturday. From the Japan Times. Full article here.
Huh? Japan is not a democracy? How 1980s.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Victory declared in getting a racist magazine
off the market. However, it was done mostly by non-Japanese. Strangely, although many claim that there is no racism in Japan (HAHAHA a joke?), it seems the Japanese media doesn't give a gave a damn.
There is some indication that the Japanese police may have been closely connected with the article. It seems to fit their policy/beliefs as it pertains to non-Japanese.
Japan Focus has an excellent article on this story describing in some detail about the racism in that magazine, the racist view toward non-Japanese, the Japanese media's reluctance to cover anything smacking of Japanese racism (Japanese are not racist because there is no racism in Japan---except the racism of non-Japanese who criticize anything about Japan), and how the mostly non-Japanese worldwide used the internet to embarrass the dealers (except Amazon Japan which viewed the sale of the magazine as a free speech issue) into removing the magazines.
The boycott and removal of the magazine from shelves of course, is not much of a victory. The ideas, beliefs, bigotry and racism that allows this kind of stuff to be published openly and freely is the problem. That most here do not recognize---or can't admit---that there is widespread racism---or at least racist beliefs among the public---and openly racist politicians and government officials is THE main problem. It's good that there was a small victory. However, since the Japanese-language press ignored the issue, there will be no debate, no reflection, no nothing by the Japanese public.
You've seen the 3 monkeys at the Tokugawa Ieyasu shrine in Nikko? Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil? We might say that is still very much alive in Japan.
The rather clueless editor of the bigot rag responded to all the criticism:
He added that translating nigaa as "nigger" was "unfair", as the term is merelyJapanese street
Hmmm. The "N word" has none of the emotive power in Japanese that it does in English? Probably not to the Japanese. Might be to others who hear it and don't understand that there is no racism in Japan.
A good rebuttal of Saka's absurd defense is at debito.org
Wanna see the whole book? A scan of it is available here for free.
There is some indication that the Japanese police may have been closely connected with the article. It seems to fit their policy/beliefs as it pertains to non-Japanese.
Japan Focus has an excellent article on this story describing in some detail about the racism in that magazine, the racist view toward non-Japanese, the Japanese media's reluctance to cover anything smacking of Japanese racism (Japanese are not racist because there is no racism in Japan---except the racism of non-Japanese who criticize anything about Japan), and how the mostly non-Japanese worldwide used the internet to embarrass the dealers (except Amazon Japan which viewed the sale of the magazine as a free speech issue) into removing the magazines.
The boycott and removal of the magazine from shelves of course, is not much of a victory. The ideas, beliefs, bigotry and racism that allows this kind of stuff to be published openly and freely is the problem. That most here do not recognize---or can't admit---that there is widespread racism---or at least racist beliefs among the public---and openly racist politicians and government officials is THE main problem. It's good that there was a small victory. However, since the Japanese-language press ignored the issue, there will be no debate, no reflection, no nothing by the Japanese public.
You've seen the 3 monkeys at the Tokugawa Ieyasu shrine in Nikko? Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil? We might say that is still very much alive in Japan.
The rather clueless editor of the bigot rag responded to all the criticism:
He added that translating nigaa as "nigger" was "unfair", as the term is merely
Hmmm. The "N word" has none of the emotive power in Japanese that it does in English? Probably not to the Japanese. Might be to others who hear it and don't understand that there is no racism in Japan.
A good rebuttal of Saka's absurd defense is at debito.org
Wanna see the whole book? A scan of it is available here for free.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
U.N. Rep responds to Japan's assertion of homogenuity
A few days ago Japan's Education Minister, Bunmei Ibuki (who is in need of education himself), made the bizarrely inaccurate and false claim that Japan is a homogeneous society.
The U.N. special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia responded:
"There is no such thing as pure blooded or a pure race. Where do the Ainu fit in to Japanese society? Or the Chinese and Koreans?"
"I am absolutely shocked at his remark. Here is the education minister, the person who in charge of educating Japan's children about their history, saying something that is so outdated."
I am shocked that he is shocked. I would assume he would have a lot to respond to about Japan. I guess since he is in Japan now, he was able to see and hear about Ibuki's comment directly.
One would not likely see many European politicians get a free pass for bigoted and racist comments the way Japan's leaders do. Perhaps nobody expects any better of them.
Have not as of yet heard much domestic criticism of Ibuki's remarks. That may change since a U.N. representative has commented on them. Or it may just be ignored by the Japanese language press and of course Japan's elite.
Abe agrees with Ibuki as this is in keeping with his vision of a "beautiful country." I assume that means a Japan with no non-pure Japanese defiling it.
The U.N. special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia responded:
"There is no such thing as pure blooded or a pure race. Where do the Ainu fit in to Japanese society? Or the Chinese and Koreans?"
"I am absolutely shocked at his remark. Here is the education minister, the person who in charge of educating Japan's children about their history, saying something that is so outdated."
I am shocked that he is shocked. I would assume he would have a lot to respond to about Japan. I guess since he is in Japan now, he was able to see and hear about Ibuki's comment directly.
One would not likely see many European politicians get a free pass for bigoted and racist comments the way Japan's leaders do. Perhaps nobody expects any better of them.
Have not as of yet heard much domestic criticism of Ibuki's remarks. That may change since a U.N. representative has commented on them. Or it may just be ignored by the Japanese language press and of course Japan's elite.
Abe agrees with Ibuki as this is in keeping with his vision of a "beautiful country." I assume that means a Japan with no non-pure Japanese defiling it.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Negative images of non-Japanese
Last week, The Japan Times ran a Bloomberg interview with Shintaro Ishihara in which the proudly provocative Tokyo governor followed up his contention that foreigners were behind the city's rising crime rate. He challenged his interviewers to go to Roppongi and see for themselves. "Africans -- and I don't mean African-Americans -- who don't speak English are there doing who knows what," he said.
From the Japan Times here.
Part of a short, quick article with little detail about what many think of Africans, and one Japanese reporter's attempt to go a little deeper than Isihara and the Japanese "police" and media's shallow, stereotypical, and simplistic view.
(In the 80s, Ishihara reportedly stated that the reason many young Japanese women visited Guam was so that they could find African American men with huge penises so that the women could have sex with them. I guess Blinky was offended since he was not involved for some reason.)
From the Japan Times here.
Part of a short, quick article with little detail about what many think of Africans, and one Japanese reporter's attempt to go a little deeper than Isihara and the Japanese "police" and media's shallow, stereotypical, and simplistic view.
(In the 80s, Ishihara reportedly stated that the reason many young Japanese women visited Guam was so that they could find African American men with huge penises so that the women could have sex with them. I guess Blinky was offended since he was not involved for some reason.)
Monday, February 12, 2007
Not that there is bigotry or racism in Japan, but
Compared to many other countries, discrimination against foreigners in Japan is quite benign. No beatings and killings in this country. There are some businesses that won't accept foreigners, but that more often than not has to do with the fear of not being able to give adequate service than a dislike of foreigners. Unfortunately, this month a very nasty magazine, flagrantly aimed at creating fear of foreigners, was put on sale. Human rights activist Debito Arudou reports on "Foreign Crime Underground Files":
Well, it is nothing new for anyone who lives here and is somewhat aware of what goes on, but you can find the rest of the story New Magazine Sells Fear of Foreigners on ikjeld.com. ikjeld.com is a great site for news about Japan. It is not sugarcoated fantasyland crap either. There is also an interesting article concerning the reported increase in crimes in Japan here.
By the way, naturally there has been beatings and killings of non-Japanese in Japan. You won't read a lot about them in the Japanese press though, except perhaps buried on page 8 if printed at all. If it becomes an international incident (the former British Airlines stewardess who was murdered several years ago and whose murder the police did not seriously try to solve until Tony Blair leaned on Koizumi) then there will be coverage. Any time a Japanese is injured by a non-Japanese, it is MAJOR news.
Well, it is nothing new for anyone who lives here and is somewhat aware of what goes on, but you can find the rest of the story New Magazine Sells Fear of Foreigners on ikjeld.com. ikjeld.com is a great site for news about Japan. It is not sugarcoated fantasyland crap either. There is also an interesting article concerning the reported increase in crimes in Japan here.
By the way, naturally there has been beatings and killings of non-Japanese in Japan. You won't read a lot about them in the Japanese press though, except perhaps buried on page 8 if printed at all. If it becomes an international incident (the former British Airlines stewardess who was murdered several years ago and whose murder the police did not seriously try to solve until Tony Blair leaned on Koizumi) then there will be coverage. Any time a Japanese is injured by a non-Japanese, it is MAJOR news.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Those semi-human women
Further reflecting Abe's "Beautiful Country" policy in which Japanese children would be coerced into patriotism which would, I guess, make other countries respect Japan, health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa today gave his vision of Japanese women as "birth-giving machines." Ahh, bushido?
"The number of women aged between 15 and 50 is fixed. Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head, although it may not be so appropriate to call them machines."
"The number of women aged between 15 and 50 is fixed. Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head, although it may not be so appropriate to call them machines."
Friday, March 31, 2006
Foreign Minister Aso
He has been in the news a lot recently for bigoted comments, for basically supporting Japan's war crimes in WW2---well excusing and sugar-coating them. Interestingly, the US government, under Bush hasn't the balls to say anything. Well, it isn't only Bush, no US president has in years. We must keep our military in Japan at all costs, because (for one reason) we have to keep an eye on the Japanese government/military. While everyone, most especially the Japanese and their foreign ass-kissers, claim Japan will never go to war again, it doesn't seem that the US government fully believes that. Of course, at the same time, we are encouraging them to re-arm, not so that we may leave and mind our own business, but so that they may continue to do our bidding as much as possible.
Here is an interesting link on this nationalist bigot. http://www.mggpillai.com/sections.php3?op=viewarticle&artid=14023
Yea, Japan is a peaceful country that truly regrets any inconveniences that it may have caused (due to the fault of others) in WW2.
Here is an interesting link on this nationalist bigot. http://www.mggpillai.com/sections.php3?op=viewarticle&artid=14023
Yea, Japan is a peaceful country that truly regrets any inconveniences that it may have caused (due to the fault of others) in WW2.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Blinky Ishihara, the bigot imbecile's recent comment on
the case involving the woman of Korean descent being denied promotion by the Supreme Court (as I wrote about earlier congratulations to all Japapologists):
"Ms. Chong .... adding that when Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro spoke about the case, he made the issue of nationality especially explicit: "He said something like, 'What if a decision about the life or death of a critically ill patient has to be made. How can we trust a foreign nurse?' That made me very angry, considering that it would not even be my decision, it would be a doctor's." (http://japanfocus.org/article.asp?id=214)
Isn't it strange that when some rightwing neonazi nutcase makes such a racist, ignorant comment in Europe, the world jumps all over them. When it occurs---nearly daily---in Japan, there is not even a stir from the US, or Canada, or Britain, or Europe. Is it because we don't expect much from the Japanese anyway? Remember, the citizens of Tokyo overwhelmingly elected this idiot twice even though he has been known for this type of thoughts, writing, and comments for decades. They are utimately responsible. We must assume that he reflects the will of the majority. The Japanese should be held to the same standards as the rest of the modern world, and we need to stop making excuses for, and apologizing for them. Bigots and racists are bigots and racists. Period.
Look here for more on Japan's treatment for those of Korean descent. http://japanfocus.org/article.asp?id=208
"Ms. Chong .... adding that when Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro spoke about the case, he made the issue of nationality especially explicit: "He said something like, 'What if a decision about the life or death of a critically ill patient has to be made. How can we trust a foreign nurse?' That made me very angry, considering that it would not even be my decision, it would be a doctor's." (http://japanfocus.org/article.asp?id=214)
Isn't it strange that when some rightwing neonazi nutcase makes such a racist, ignorant comment in Europe, the world jumps all over them. When it occurs---nearly daily---in Japan, there is not even a stir from the US, or Canada, or Britain, or Europe. Is it because we don't expect much from the Japanese anyway? Remember, the citizens of Tokyo overwhelmingly elected this idiot twice even though he has been known for this type of thoughts, writing, and comments for decades. They are utimately responsible. We must assume that he reflects the will of the majority. The Japanese should be held to the same standards as the rest of the modern world, and we need to stop making excuses for, and apologizing for them. Bigots and racists are bigots and racists. Period.
Look here for more on Japan's treatment for those of Korean descent. http://japanfocus.org/article.asp?id=208
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
