Raj Feridun wrote:

> What does Shangri La have to do with it? It's not utopia either. It's
> just a place filled with people much like the place I came from. Yes,
> they speak a different language and they look different but most of
> them are just humans like back home.

Yes, Japanese individuals are very similar to other individuals. It's why I
decided I would not have dropped the A-bomb on these people had it been me.
And Japanese individuals may be quite different overall, from other Japanese
individuals.

But Fukuyama or Japan are sure as hell not rural Hawaii or America, and
"Japanese" not like "Americans" any more than your region is like New York
or New Jersey, which you mentioned. Relevant data, if they exist, could
easily demonstrate this. Take a look at views on recent political issues,
for example, such as the war with Iraq, BEFORE the US realized it would be
so complicated or costly. Nearly perfect proportions of opposing views,
nearly 90% of Japanese surveyed against, and about 90% of Americans
approving of a US led attack on Iraq.

You however, probably see this as no more than stereotyping, generalization
or elitist racist broad brushing.

> >Okay, point taken. But the fact is that when Ed let loose with this
> >outburst I knew exactly what he was talking about, even though he did
> >not provide specifics. And I think most of us have had times when we
> >felt like Ed felt when he wrote what he did. That is why there was no
> >recrimination from any of the regulars in here. We knew that, at a
> >certain level, what he was saying was perfectly true.
>
> I had a racist experience on my very first visit to Japan back in
> 1985. Curiously it took place in Tokyo! I came over in a break from
> university to visit a Japanese friend who lived in Ikebukurom Tokyo.
> My buddy wanted to show me what pachinko was about so we wandered into
> his neighborhood pachinko parlor only to be ushered right back out the
> door. The owner angrily explained that the night before a group of
> drunken Aussies had gotten into a brawl in his place and damaged some
> of his machines. So he had decided to ban all foreigners. My Japanese
> friend went BALLISTIC on the owner's ass and I just sat there
> semi-stunned having felt racism directed at me directly for the first
> time in my life. 18 years later I still remember that well.
>
> Sheesh! I'm not even an AUSSIE!!

Though this may be an uncommon experience for many, and maybe a one time
experience for you, I hope you realize that it can represent reality for
many people such as the visibly Chinese, whatever that means, or those
presumed to be Chinese, because there are so many people in Japan who harbor
such feelings. For example, when one survey of Tokyo real estate agencies
reported in the Hiragana Times showed perhaps 98% would refuse service to
foreigners, that represents a serious problem. And it would not be mere
stereotype, generalization, or racist broad brushing to say that Tokyo, at
least, has or had a serious problem with racism in housing. Even I had a
hell of a time finding housing, living in the first place that approved me,
and can be sure of only three local companies or real estate agencies which
accept foreign renters, with or without a corporate guarantor. And even if
the foreigner is offered service to begin with, of course the permission to
actually view and rent is up to the individual landlord or property owner.
Real estate agencies making assumptions about the willingness of owners and
neighbors, and landlords and owners making assumptions about the willingness
of neighbors, when the community might actually be accepting of foreigners
if asked, are a major obstacle to finding housing, as well as people making
negative assumptions about the client simply because they are foreign.

> >Perhaps you live in a very small community, in which everyone literally
> >knows everyone else. Perhaps you are extrapolating from your warm
> >relations with your family and close friends to your entire town, and
> >even further. Perhaps people really just are different in your corner of
> >Shikoku. But I don't think it is merely some bizarre aberration that
> >people in Tokyo, Fukuyama, and Gunma are not "kind" to strangers. I
> >suspect the phenomenon may be more widespread than you are willing to
> >recognize.
>
> Can you define "stranger" again? Also, when one of these strangers
> (Japanese) greets me do his actions somehow not count since I'm a
> foreigner??

Do you know there are Japanese who are friendly or "kind" ONLY because they
encounter a foreigner, for whatever reason, when they would not and DO not
behave the same way with a fellow Japanese? The many Japanese strangers who
load up my mother who does not speak the language, with gifts when she walks
aimlessly down the street, giving her even personal belongings and display
items, don't give a squirt of warm piss to the homeless, though they are the
ones in actual and immediate need. This is a simple fact which can be
demonstrated easily enough, and commonly seen.

This is exactly the reason I do not make an issue of my being foreign in
daily life, and why I test people's reactions by revealing my alien status
when I feel like it. I prefer people simply to treat me as a fellow person.
This usually means me attempting to pass for Japanese.

> Does that unkindness only apply to the actions of Japanese
> with other Japanese strangers?

The reason above. A foreigner is not a Japanese, nor are they treated quite
the same. I've spent literal years in some cases, with people simply
assuming I am Japanese like them. Most of the people in the neighborhood
still do not know I am a foreigner. But watch some reactions when people
find out the truth. You should see them.