I don't normally post on usenet anymore, but I couldn't pass this one up
because it bothered me.

Granted, there are prejudicial attitudes in Japan just like anywhere,
and foreigners will meet those attitudes, just like anywhere. We got
that out of the way now, good.

I think much is missed out of why Gaijins might not be offered flyers.
Lets try to understand it maybe from the Japanese point of view (I will
try hard to do this, since I am not Japanese).

1. Most Gaijin don't understand Japanese. Most people handing out flyers
   don't understand English. I imagine it is a difficult situation for
   the Japanese person. What if the foreigner takes it and asks questions ?
   What if the foreigner does something else unexpected (from a Japanese
   viewpoint) and the person passing out flyers doesn't know how to handle
   it ? Simple situations for most Gaijin, I think more difficult for a
   society where complex situations create that deer-in-headlights phenomenon.

(BTW, it is guaranteed the person handing our flyers you met will not want
to be anywhere near a foreigner again.)

2. The flyer may not be applicable to nearly all Gaijin, or you in particular.
   A credit card ? They would have to explain to you first that you must be
   a resident of Japan. See point #1 above.

3. Ok, there might be cases of "Ah a foreigner, why finish handing these
   out sooner by catering to foreigners when I can exercise what little
   power I have over them by choosing to ignore them ? Hah!"  Yes, they
   probably regale their redneck friends with stories about how they dissed
   a foreigner over beers later at night. "Yeah, there were 10 foreigners
   I didn't give flyers to!" "Only 10 ? 15 for me! Hah!"


Get over it! If you want a flyer, exercise your right to ask for one. And
do it politely. That little act will do more to encourage confidence in
handing out to more foreigners than your temper tantrum which will have the
opposite effect. 

You know what ? In the US, if you were a victim of this kind of
discrimination, if you got a flyer at all when asking for it, it would be
with an attitude. Politely asking for one here will more than likely be met
with an apology, politeness, and a smile (and the initial deer-in-headlights
reaction).

(Apartment hunting might be a different story for many but...)

Chris Barrera
cbarrera@ t i . c o m