On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 13:37:07 +0900, Declan Murphy
<declan_murphy@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Raj Feridun wrote:
>> I've started conducting an experiment here. Thanks to all this talk of
>> unkindness every single time I confront anyone Japanese anymore I'm
>> always thinking about whether they're kind or not. So now I look
>> people square in the eyes that I pass and although it's still very
>> early in the trials something VERY strange is occurring. I take my 13
>> month old daughter for a nice 30 minute stroll in her baby carriage
>> every day and so far in the past 2 days I've passed 7 people of
>> varying ages, all adults. Every single person that I made eye contact
>> with so far has smiled and issued a greeting.
>> 
>> I realize its WAY too early to draw any conclusions here and also
>> there's that X factor that I'm a gaigin PLUS the cute little moptop
>> baby girl in the carriage I'm pushing. Still, it's encouraging. I will
>> report in with further results as the trials continue.
>
>But that isn't a trial of kindness, its a trial of how people respond to 
>what is to all intents and purposes a harmless freak show. In most parts 
>of this fair land the chances of a Japanese denizen encountering a 
>*male* gaigin pushing a cute baby girl along in a pram is only slightly 
>higher than encountering a *male* bug eyed green martian pushing a cute 
>baby bug eyed green martian along in a pram. Lose the prop and the 
>response will probably change, outside Matsuyama's backblocks at least.

Well I DID concede the X factor. I'l try without the baby next just
for the hell of it.