Weird questions from Japanese

[Grey Eyed Bandit]

I think racism is acceptable as long as you're a statistically secure racist. By this, I mean that you have to examine a statistically secure number of unique individuals from a given ethnical background before you can start voicing your opinions about them as a whole.

Let's say that you're an average Caucasian male who has this idea that arabs lie a lot - or even better, let's say you're an Iranian who thinks arabs lie a lot. Well, you can't state that with any degree of certainty until you've personally talked to and interacted with at least 2 000 arabs AND managed to prove that at least 50 percent of them have lied to you. If you can't do that, you don't deserve to be taken seriously, not as a racist or as anything else. And if you as a self-proclaimed racist are worried that you might actually start liking arabs once you've talked to 2 000 of them, well, tough funky luck - nobody ever said that being a racist should be easy.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Actually, it is an entire culture. You fail to understand the difference.

In the same way, I look at the Japanese culture and think of them as idiots. There is no way I can think of a culture that has a word for death by overwork as anything but. There is no way I can look on a culture that has facist and racist trends in it as anything other than idiotic.

So, yeah... I think that calling the Japanese idiots can be accepted. You should hear my Japanese teacher talk about the state of affairs in Japan today. He makes Hyaku's rant sound tame by comparison.

So, why are you pushing this if you just want it to go away?

Don, you are the one who ressurrected this thread, not I, when you voiced your support for what can ONLY be construed, in my book, as RACIST comments from Hyaku. Calling the Japanese idiots is a racist statement, period.

What on earth are YOU doing in Japan? You have called them idiots with fascistic tendencies. Have you told your teacher that you consider his people to be idiotic and fascistic?

Are your really a MT MODERATOR? I tried to put you on my ignore list but MT says I cannot ignore a moderator. You have attacked me personally twice during this thread without provocation. I have never flamed you.

I used to follow many of your posts with great interest and respect, but Mr. Roley you have lost both my interest and respect. Call me whiney, I couldn't care less, but I will stand up against racist comments. This is the only defense we have against a repetition of the racial discord and violence that has plagued humanity for millennia. Shame on you, sir.

 

[Don Roley]

Call me whiney,

Fine. You are whiney. Come back when you have more experience in the matter and are better able to argue your position from a position of experience and logic.

 

[Don Roley]

I think racism is acceptable as long as you're a statistically secure racist. By this, I mean that you have to examine a statistically secure number of unique individuals from a given ethnical background before you can start voicing your opinions about them as a whole.

Let's say that you're an average Caucasian male who has this idea that arabs lie a lot - or even better, let's say you're an Iranian who thinks arabs lie a lot. Well, you can't state that with any degree of certainty until you've personally talked to and interacted with at least 2 000 arabs AND managed to prove that at least 50 percent of them have lied to you. If you can't do that, you don't deserve to be taken seriously, not as a racist or as anything else. And if you as a self-proclaimed racist are worried that you might actually start liking arabs once you've talked to 2 000 of them, well, tough funky luck - nobody ever said that being a racist should be easy.

Interesting outlook. Of course, Hyaku and I have talked with at least 2000 Japanese and find the culture racist. (Again- the culture. There is no gene that makes a Japanese racist but their culture, like that of 1930s Germany, leads to it.)

Others who scream loudly just do not have the experience that we do and argue that unless each and every German in 1935 was a racist we can't talk bad about the state of affairs in that country at the time.

 

[Simon Curran]

OK, it's not quite Japanese, but I sometimes get weird questions from Danes,

The number on top of the list will always have to be when a colleague offered to loan me a DVD, but then changed his mind, stating that "It is in American and there are no subtitles, so you (I) wouldn't be able to understand it"... (I'm English by the way)
Another relatively funny one was when another work colleague (seeing a pattern?) asked me why we don't learn Danish in school, and when I pointed out that there are only 5 million Danish speakers in the world as opposed to several billion English speakers, he just looked at me confused.
On several occasions when we have been going away to far-away countries on holidays, my girlfriend and I have been asked if it was to visit my relatives (I'm not blonde haired and blue eyed, and therefore definately can't be Northern European...)
Without doubt the most racist and small-minded one I heard was when my girlfriend and I were in a bar once, (she is Danish and looks like a typical Scandinavian) where some drunken idiot who got offended by the fact that she chose not to be with a Danish man and stated "Do you know what the difference is between you (meaning my girlfriend) and him (meaning me) is? He is black and you are white". I chose not to rise to the occasion and just laughed at the idiocy of some people.

 

[Don Roley]

OK, it's not quite Japanese, but I sometimes get weird questions from Danes,

Yeah it is fair to say that silly questions are not limited to one culture.

On another board a member from South Africa said that Europeans sometimes asked him if he travelled to work by elephant. Americans sometimes ask if there are still samurai running around in Japan. Idiocy is universal.

But I still thought that asking if there was beer in England was a bit over the top.
:supcool:

 

[Simon Curran]

But I still thought that asking if there was beer in England was a bit over the top.
:supcool:

I will first hand vouch for the fact that there is no shortage of beer in England (since I left...)

 

[Hyaku]

......RACIST comments from Hyaku. Calling the Japanese idiots is a racist statement, period.

Have not logged on here for some time. But find a few posts by you refering to me.

No I am not burned out. Although I get a bit tired meeting and communicating in Japanese with well over 2000 people a day. My mother never had used swear words. But she uses the word idiot infrequently and if I remember called me one a few times as a kid. She was not being rascist. If you think the word idiot is a racist term then you take top prize for being one.

Yesterday a very large typhoon came over my island. Everyone stayed at home for safety. The last time we had a "big one" the roof was taken off my house and landed on the car. Fortunately no one was hurt.

My boss decided that we should all go to work. My wife a Japanese national called the boss a damn idiot, she called me an idiot for going!

There are idiots around regardless of nationality.

Looking at what Katrina did would you tell your employees to come to work at such a time?　Again and sadly the word insensitive comes to mind.

One day if you come to Japan and live here for a long time you will perhaps understand. Its a wonderful place but at times can be rather frustrating. The words used her are Giri (responsibilty) and Ninjo (personal feelings) but more often than not some seem to have some confusion as to which should come first and a sense of values that defies belief.

By the way there are few swear words in the Japanese language. You are sitting parked into your brand new car, and somebody piles into you? Frustratingly the most you can call him is "baka" (an idiot) . I have been hit seven times up to now. Best one was a woman who could not use her brakes as she had a baby srapped on her back. Luckily she did not follow the usual Japanese custom of trapping the child between her arms and the steering wheel.

 

[Don Roley]

Yesterday a very large typhoon came over my island. Everyone stayed at home for safety. The last time we had a "big one" the roof was taken off my house and landed on the car. Fortunately no one was hurt.

My boss decided that we should all go to work. My wife a Japanese national called the boss a damn idiot, she called me an idiot for going!

I hope you are ok.

I think I should point out that I have heard Japanese citizens refer to the Japanese as idiots about as often as I have heard Americans refer to Americans as idiots. Sometimes you look at America and you have to think, "Just what the HELL were those morons thinking?" Japanese do the same thing.

It ain't racist. It ain't about each and every individual. But sometimes the culture as a whole is just crying out to be called idiotic.

 

[OC Kid]

A freind of mine who is1/2 japanese told me that they're some studies that show the japanese or asians think different than westerners. Nothing wrong with that better or worse. they just think different.

A good example is when a friend of mine who is 1st generation japanese came to visit me in Calif. I drove him around Hollywierd/ beverlyhills and showed him some of the mansions while we were going to rodeo drive to walk around.

We were commenting on how some homes had mercedes and bentlys in the driveway and wondered what was parked in the closed in the garages.

When my friend commented "wow Ron look there, that house has 7 trash cans in front. ( i guess it was trash day) He commented how many families have 7 trash cans full of stuff to throw away.

Now it sounds funny but it makes perfect sense if you consider it. He right that is a lot of trash for a normal family of 3 or 4 .

So like I said they just think different. Not better/ worse , right or wrong.

Also most people through out the world are curious about life here in the USA.
Most will never be able to visit.

You should heard some the dumb questions I ask some English soccer players that were training at a soccer camp I sent my son to this summer. I bet they though I was nuts too.

In my case their probably right.

 

[Hyaku]

When my friend commented "wow Ron look there, that house has 7 trash cans in front. ( i guess it was trash day) He commented how many families have 7 trash cans full of stuff to throw away.

Now it sounds funny but it makes perfect sense if you consider it. He right that is a lot of trash for a normal family of 3 or 4 .

So like I said they just think different. Not better/ worse , right or wrong.

I ma surprised he found it to be different. Over here trash has to be seperated into 5 or 6 groups. One has to pay 4 dollars US for a pack of each bag. Quite a lot of money for pensioners. Then each type of bag is put out on different days. I would guess overall it amounts to even more. Everything here has to be double/treble wrapped in gift paper.

The younger generation are perhaps getting a bit more curious. Generally the olly time people leave Japan is on a pack tour for thier honeymoon.

I think what is most important is to look for what is the same rather than what is different to avoid any kind of culture shock. For me the MA was harder but similar and it helped me over come a lot.

After 25 years here what I would really like to say is.... yes it's getting better. but in all honesty the first thing that comes to mind is the word mada (not yet). I would hazard a guess and say that China will be leaving Japan behind as an "also ran" in the future. No love lost between them and China`s desire to learn technology from Japan is only so they can do it for themselves

 

[Kizaru]

I have always treated you with respect when responding to either a thread or post that you made. I cannot understand your repy..

"Compassion is not a Roley word" - Roley Creed

Originally Posted by Jonathan Randall
Call me whiney,


Fine. You are whiney.

And there's PROOF!

I myself have little problem with someone who has lived in America calling Americans idiots. Americans typically can be idiots.

HEY!!! I'm an IDIOT!!! I mean er, uh, "American"....

They are hypersensitive, whiney, ignorant and take no responsibility for their actions.

Yeah, and "Compassion is not a Roley word"....I thumb my nose at you! You scruffy looking....nerf-herder!!!

Of course, that applies more to you than to me.

HA! More proof!!!

 

[OC Kid]

The deal with the trash happened a long time ago and I used it as a example of their way of thinking.

I also use some quotes I learned from bruce to this day even though I havent seen him for about 20 years or so....
One is

"nail that sticks up higher than the rest ..is soon hammered down"

"when the arrows quit flying..its time to tighten your helmet strap"

He also warned me to stay out of the managerial "kill zone" when our boss had it in for some guy I was working with he warned to stay out of the kill zone...the radius where I would get caught up in the problem the boss had with a co-worker... he even described it as a target with the red circles..
"Need to stay out of the circles" he would remind me.....

he was right :>)