chuckers wrote:
> On Aug 29, 10:28 am, CL <flot...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Jim Breen wrote:
>>> chuckers wrote:
>>>> Debito is probably going to *LOVE* this:
>>> I'm 80:20  about Debito.  80% of the time I think he's making a fool
>>> of himself, but 20% of the time I think he's saying and doing
>>> things that I wish more gaigins would say and do. Often we bend
>>> over backwards to accept and defend blatantly xenophobic
>>> actions in the interest of having a quiet life and not making
>>> a fuss.
>> I have had a number of assignments in Hakodate, Tomakomae, Sapporo and
>> Asahikawa that have involved visits with the local police.  You'd be
>> surprised how much Being White But Not At All Like Debit can become the
>> litmus test of whether Hokkaido Dou-kei will assist with information /
>> assistance or not.
>>
> 
> Do you mean being an "average" un-assuming white guy will get you a 
> lot of help from the boys in blue, whereas screaming and yelling
> about being discriminated against will make them uncooperative?

Amazing, innit?  I've had several younger detectives get nose-to-nose 
with me and ask in a very insulting tone whether I knew the boy and what 
did I think of him.  After answering that I was in no way connected and 
did not consider him to be of value, I'd usually get a "Yosh!" a smile, 
and the young guy would sit back down so the older cop could ask how 
they could help.

> Of course, Debito would spin this as because of his "activism" the 
> local boys are much more "respectful" of (white) foreigners because
> he was there to shout "HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed! Come see the 
> violence inherent in the system!"

Yeah, right.  There have been time when I have been tempted to stamp 
"Not at all affiliated with any gaijin rights organizations originating 
in Hokkaido" on my business cards.

-- 
CL