On Wed, 6 Aug 2003 10:24:15 +0900, Dave Fossett  ...
>
>Has anyone else read the readers' letters in today's Japan Times? I am just
>having trouble trying to work out what the first one (Discrimination starts
>with 'you') is trying to say, despite the fact that it was apparently
>written by a native English speaker. It seems to boil down to "Japanese use
>different levels of politeness so it is not surprising that they
>discriminate against foreigners", which really doesn't make much sense to
>me.
>
>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/ric.htm
>


Hard to work out what he's on about. Perhaps he feels offended if people speak
simply to him? We can only guess, but how common is this?

Recently I chewed out the manager of a local coffee shop about his and his
staffs' poor manners after a guy serverd me without saying a single word. His
defence was the staff don't speak English, but I pointed out that any foreigner
in Japan understands "arigatou gozaimasu".








-

"Wherever you go, you carry a message of hope - a message that is ancient and
ever new. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'To the captives, come out, and to
those in darkness, be free."' Bush II exhorting his soldiers on their Crusades.
"light the darkness of the entire world" Kita Ikki