Raj Feridun wrote:

> On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 20:16:34 +0900, Eric Takabayashi
> <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote:
>
> >> Stop whining already.
>
> >Yes, it is much better to be apathetic or critical of those less fortunate, like
> >most Japanese I have ever known, who are the problem to begin with.
>
> What do you mean exactly? Let's talk about the homeless, for example,
> since this seems to be your personal crusade here:
>
> I grew up in New Jersey and as an adult lived for quite a few years in
> New York City. There is NO PLACE more apathetic to the less fortunate
> that I've ever been.

I don't agree with that assessment (show me the Japanese equivalent of the Food
Banks, Second Harvest, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc., because I'd like to
help them out here instead of trying to do something much less effective on my own
with only my family's money), but you're right. Homelessness is a much more serious
problem in the US, with up to three million by some estimates to Japan's claimed
25,000, and 15% of the entire population in poverty, to Japan's three or four
percent. It is obscene that there are such problems, on such a scale, in the
richest, most powerful nation on earth.

But we are talking about problems in Japan. Don't forget, like many Japanese do,
when the subject comes up.

> Homeless people are like lampposts. They don't
> warrant a second glance. Yes, there are more homeless shelters and
> soup kitchens in New York City but then there are a hell of a lot more
> homeless people too. How is apathy and criticism of those less
> fortunate a distinctly Japanese trait??

Who said it was? You have not been lurking long if you don't know about my posts.

> >> We all live here and last I checked it wasn't
> >> mandatory to do so. Some of us have even MARRIED Japanese! My favorite
> >> was the guy who was saying he's TRAINING his wife and kids so they
> >> won't act like "regular" Japanese. That and the "Nip" comments are my
> >> faves.
>
> >That is correct. I am raising my kids not to be like many materialistic, stress
> >laden, apathetic, selfish Japanese, and I am getting my wife's cooperation.
>
> If you replaced "Japanese" with people in this last bit  I would agree
> with your statement AND your effort 100%.

Sorry, I don't know many "people" in Japan, because literally about 99% of people I
have ever met since arriving ten years ago are Japanese. And to generalize, no,
people back home are certainly not like Japanese. My home community was ravaged by a
hurricane crippling the travel industry which supported half of the economy for
about eight years, and also rendering a significant portion, maybe a quarter to a
third of the entire population, immediately homeless. Despite the widespread
suffering and hardship, the community pulled together like few can imagine. We
didn't have tent cities like after Hurricane Andrew. We didn't have cities of
temporary housing which stood for years like after the Hanshin Earthquake. No, with
the assistance of the government and the kindness of people from around the nation
and the world, my community put themselves back together and took care of each
other, even opening their homes to others. The resort industry in my community now
leads the entire state, and we also achieved the lowest unemployment figures.

My home community also has no homeless shelter and I disagree with the homeless
policy of the new mayor.

But ask me if homeless back home live like the ones I see.