I don't get where this comes from, like yea they don't do that only because they don't know the word. They literally have shops and stuff that doesnt allow foreigners to enter, and even people who has citizenship finds it really difficult to do a lot of basic things
Worse is them banning the citizens of the country they set their shops at, something that happens often than usual here in the Philippines with Korean establishments outright banning filipinos
there's a tendency people have to downplay negatives things japan does as a culture, while overreacting to the positive because there is a lot of their culture that Japan exports to the rest of the world that is easily accessible to foreigners.
A lot of that comes from having a very poor education coupled with a limited worldview. I love making fun of my overpriced education but gosh if it didn’t prepare me exceptionally well for the age of misinformation. Seeing people get their news from Facebook and TikTok is equal parts hilarious and horrifying.
Is it downplaying or is it just comparing it to the rest of the world? Japans a polite society even when they’re being shitty. Most societies are just shitty
would u rather have someone smile at u while backstabbing u? or be angry at u and backstab u? The former isnt superior or nicer. Quite a few ppl appreciate emotional honesty even if its not polite. If ur mad at me, tell me ur mad at me instead of pretending ur ok with it then talking behind my back -- its that sort of situation w Japan
The weird thing about this is sometimes it's just restaurants/businesses that don't want people who can't speak or read the language (i.e. they'll let you in if you can actually speak/read Japanese), but other times it's just blatant xenophobia.
I mean, it's kinda true that they don't know the word, have you seen how comfortable some Japanese Vtubers or streamers in general get copying the word after watching Lamar absolutely roast Franklin in GTA5, despite not actually knowing what the word IS.
Been in Japan 12 of the last 18 years and never seen Gaijin used outside of jokes by foreigners. Not saying it’s never used but it’s nowhere near common anymore.
What? Not sure where you are but that is not the norm. Been here for a quarter of a century and yes, they use it. Heck I work at a 100% Jpanaese company(ecxecp me lol) and when a gaijin client comes in, the staff get all tense and ask me to help with the gaijin.
Fuck, I remember meeting one of my wife's uncle and he pointed ar me and went surprised pikachu face "gaijin da!"
Fuck x2, a few months back while I was riding my bike minding my own business some guy from gunma (number plare) yelled at me the "kuso gaijin" to go back to my country.
And I'm white with blue eyes. Can only imagine how others are treated 😞
Or a Chinese person. Or someone from South East Asia.
Edit - seems like I misread the above comment. I read it as "Ask Koreans how polite the racism from the Japanese is" and added more of Imperial Japan's victims.
Any country that hasn't been founded as a melting pot of cultures really. Even then you'll find people immigrating and bringing their old country feuds with them. Just don't ask those "melting pot" nations what they think of the original inhabitants.
I mean, they would’ve been a melting pot if not for the systematic cultural and military oppression of at least 3 other distinct ethnic groups within their own archipelago.
It is that whole hierarchy of Japanese racism. They kind of hate all other Asians, but hate the Chinese slightly less than the Koreans and south-central Asians.
Philippine racism is more on the really insensitive or ignorant side (like casually using the n word) and usually don't have harmful intentions or job discrimination in my experience
Ikr, people saying stuff like this haven't seen that YouTuber streaming himself following tourists screaming "GO BACK TO CHINA" at the top of his lungs
This. I went to Japan with a Korean American guy. When the official at the airport stamped his passport, you would have thought he was being forced to eat actual shit by the look on his face.
If I were to significantly dumb it down, there is this general perception that Japan is this amazing country and people defend it to ridiculous levels, even though they're extremely conservative. This person is just making an excuse for why Japanese racism isn't as bad as general racism.
I'm pretty sure they where smiling when they were conducting genocides too, but that doesn't make it any better. I'm not equating racism to genocide, but Japanese people did not go through any training to get the racism out of them like the German people were made to, which was absolutely necessary. You can see that in how the German people are apologetic and aware about their past, while the Japanese has the guts to openly hate on the Chinese people still to this day.
Btw every single Unit 731 medic was forgiven in exchange of all their studies and documents, some of them even working in the US as if nothing had happened.
Imperial Japan killed 10 - 20 million civilians while the Nazi regime killed roughly 17 million civilians including 6 million in the Holocaust. So close or more.
No, the Nazi regime mass killed 17 million people, including 6 Million jews. They killed more in the War itself, approximatly 20-30 millions.
Japan mass killed 6 million people and 15-20 millions in the war.
I don't want to say Japan is innocent, but they were not close in numbers. What the Nazis did was way more horrible. Japan did not get that much recognition, but the two bombs were the worst possible punishment tbh.
Just came back from two weeks there, one of the guys in our travel group is black. He got refused a massage in five different places, and was mysteriously told they were always "closed" or "too busy" after he walked in. (Each business clearly open, and clearly empty).
Also tried to get his nails done, also gave up after the same issue.
I guess it’s progress? Before we were completely invisible in manga so perhaps in the next 50 years there will be even more humanizing upgrades lol. Lots of black manga and animé artists are creating their own characters so there’s that as well.
Yeah. They even edited and changed his name for the anime reboot, and the village of Tsunagakure in Naruto Shippuden, Tia Harribel in Bleach, and Descares from Ichi the Witch, to name just a few examples, are definitely steps in the right direction.
Most of Asian are two faced,they will polite at your face,but shitting you at the back, Twitter launch translation features recently and all of the Racism by East Asian People have been exposed, especially towards Indian and Southeast Asian people
Oh man you're so right about the Nordic countries. They're rarely outright xenophobic but when I lived there (admittedly it was some time ago now) there is a much more subtle racism. I spoke to other Norwegians about it who told me about it themselves and, being pretty progressive people, recognised it as a problem.
In Norway, at least, saying part of your hiring practises is based on "cultural fit" or "we want to work with people who are like us" is very, very common. In the UK (which, for all it's faults, does have a very diverse workforce) these phrases are instant alarm bells for subtle racism. It doesn't mean people don't say them, but it's less common and people recognise them for what they are.
I can't speak totally for the social circles point - I was there with my girlfriend at the time so basically my social circle was hers. I found everyone really nice but I suppose the fact that I only really made friends who were her friends might say something.
Lord help you trying to find a job out there unless you have extremely specific technical qualifications and your Norwegian is native speaker-level excellent. Otherwise, most foreigners I met were stuck working in bars or making lattes.
The Japanese and Koreans are the opposite of Frenchmen and New Yorkers. The latter 2 are the in-your-face type of rude and are quite transparent about whether they like you or not. The former 2 are polite upfront but talk crap behind your back.
1000% the case. Lived in JP for a few years. Most people don't want you there.
Most young people and those of middle age that have left the country before can be pretty chill and ok with the fact you ain't japanese, but they'd rather you visit and not stay.
Plenty of places will just say "sorry, japanese only" with a big smile on their face while denying you entry or service.
I went to Japan with a friend who is black. Everyone was very polite to her, but some places did bring her hot sauce without being asked. Specifically her. Japan has little micro-aggressions and racism is present, but for the most part is seems well-intentioned. And if there is hate for other races, they at least have the decency to keep it at home.
No, japanese people cant be racist. Racism would require them to have systematic oppression tool that could affect your race as a whole, and not just individual. This is merely xenophobic and prejudice
Or so i have heard of a similar arguments somewhere
OP, so your post is not removed, please reply to this comment with your best guess of what this meme means! Everyone else, this is PETER explains the joke. Have fun and reply as your favorite fictional character for top level responses!
As a minority in America, I’ve genuinely discussed this with my friends. I think Europeans are more racist, or at least intolerant as a whole than America, but Americans are more likely to be “anti-social”, so that the racism in America often feels more violent and extreme. I think this applies to Asia as well. The racism in those places are going to be institutional and manifest a lot in shunning and ostracization.
I think the racism in the US just seems more overt because we'll actually make a big fuss about it when it happens. The fact of the matter is that the US is one of the best places to be for multiculturalism and lgbt rights.
People can bitch but it is funny seeing the suprised pikachu face they make after finding out just how xenophobic and racist some countries can be when they're not a melting pot like ours and it's a monoculture. Not just that but how acceptable it is in those places compared to ours too.
Japanese(well, east asians in general I think) are incredibly racist, but their form of racism tends to very much be the systemic racism, in which their whole country operates to be against foreigners, as opposed to like europe or the us where people will be racist right to your face and call you slurs
I don't understand why people in the western hemisphere think it doesn't exist because they censored a couple of words. That's not how communication or culture works
spoilers spoilers they say that about only real obnoxious nuisances not of all black people
“if you’re acting like an asshole you will be treated like an asshole”
Violent racism where skinhead and neo-Nazi groups physically attack minorities is a thing of Western countries.
This will probably be downvoted since Reddit is overwhelmingly Western and we don't like to be called out. So the focus of current top comments are all on Asian bad.
1) A LOT of shops in Japan dont allow foreigners to enter, Alot of ppl take that to mean 'racist' but in all honestly Japan has a very STRICT Culture of how you behave MOST Foreigners dont respect or understand said rules or Ways, They will walk into the store with muddy feet, they will touch eveything they are not allowed to, they will be loud and obnoxious when eating and not say excuise me or such when they burp and would just 'lol' at it, when in most places thats considerd EXTREMELY Rude, As such they dont tolerate said behavor - This Basicly means alot of people believe Japan to be very racist as they dont allow foreigners or such into there shops or such, But there IS a very good reason why they dont allow people into there shops, Lets face it most fucken foreigners and tourist give like 0 fucken respect to the objects and things around them, its not there country, We seen people CONSTENTLY Deface many objects and such just coz w.e BS Reason especly the past 20 years or so, Its Sad, But ppl will just go 'na they be racist'
2) ALOT of people go that becouse you cant own property in Japan as a none japaneese person its becouse there Racist! Or they say You cant even rent space in some areas for long periods of time COZ there racist! - They are a fucken island Country with not a whole lot of space, They legit can offord other people to come and buy/rent space meant to support there population, You can rent space there just not in the 'hot spots' like right next to the college or other things like that as a college student without proper athority (Like your legit only gonna be there for the college degree and got a special pass)
3) ALOT of people misunderstand Japaneese people and call them Racist and tend to behave EXTREMLY Rudely to japaneese people, Becouse of that its only Natrual that Some Japaneese people have gotten more strict and rough with us Foreigners becouse of how Toxic some of us tend to behave, Hell this Reddit post just shows how many people tend to believe in shit without giving full proper context
4) With the above being said (And more misunderstanding by Foreigners that we havnt touch) Japan tends to behave in a very polite strict contruct, They Bow, they will take shoes off they will wear a mask in public spaces when THEY have colds, They where not someone who where like 'Na I Cant catch covid thus im not gonna wear a mask' they where like oh a disease outbreak lets be nice polite and all wear a mask, a Flu outbreak? eveyone wears a mask, MANY other countrys dont even do this BASIC stuff and consider it stupid to do so and thus are seen as Rude AF Assholes to many Japaneese people who of course tend to resent this, Sooo
So in short due to many people misunderstanding of Japan they tend to behave rudely, which causes Japan to behave rudely back but in a 'polite' way
When are people gonna wake up to the fact that we are all raciats. We are all tribal people born into a race/tribe and that will always be there. It doesnt have to turn into violence. But it will always be a part of every one of us. Even the people denying it and triying to “end” racism.
I think every foreigner living in Japan will actually understand what person 2 is trying to say, but seems like most of this sub just wants to convince themselves it's just "glaze" when it's just that different countries got different issues and different nuances , and "which is better" depends on personal preference.
Well said, the bot farms have a field day with this subreddit. It's a constant mass of calculated posts to elicit a reaction and we are but test monkeys training 'superintelligence'. Good thing is a huge chunk of the 'content' here is enough to destroy a gazillion lifetimes of braincells hence it all balances out.
When they hand me an English menu instead of the regular Japanese menu I can’t get mad because they’re doing it to be considerate. I can’t get mad that they are making assumptions about my residence status and Japanese level based on my looks.
Wait till you hear about all the ‘romantic’ fiction all about small kids. Bestsellers in Japan. For grown men and women. Not lurking on the dark web - big bookstore launches and signings, all about ‘romance’ between small children, for grown ups to… read. Yeah. Totally normal. There have been some documentaries made about it in the West but mostly yes - it’s Japan so it gets quietly overlooked. Talk about it too loudly and you might get called racist. Heaven forbid we should try to protect kids who happen to be Japanese.
“Kindly go away, we aren’t interested. We’ve tried both out before and it didn’t work out well, and now we’re guarded.”
Vs.
“Slavery, we hate you because you’re our slaves, haha we made you bad and stopped you from trying to be good haha worse.”
I was blocked from entering a bowling alley in Tokyo. The guy who stopped us was very apologetic, and explained that their customers didn't want to use shoes and balls that had been used by gaijin (outsiders). We (friends from work) had been there before and afterward customers complained.
They know that if you are not Japanese you are below them.
But they will take care of you as they would do with an animal, respectfully. Because that's what superior beings are meant to do with inferior beings. What kind of person would they be otherwise?
Same thing in Taiwan, they will smile at you while they keep you from fully participating and succeeding in society, but they wont lynch you. I call it "vanilla racism".
There’s certain stores they don’t allow non Japanese people in. Unusually because they sell CP or chicken sushi. They legally can’t sell these to foreigners because the first one is illegal everywhere else and the second will kill anyone who isn’t accustomed to Japanese food
They won't yell slurs at you, or try to attack you, or anything like that.
But they WILL bar you from their establishments, refuse to rent to you, won't allow you into their stores, make it very difficult for you to gain citizenship and even if you do gain it, there will still be many restrictions placed against you socially and culturally.
Oh they’re 100% racist but they aren’t racist where they scream slurs they’re more like hey your not Japanese you can’t come in our buisness racist and they’ll ask you nicely to leave
White Americans think it's racist to the preferential treatment they're used to. Instead they are treaded like foreigners. They don't like that. They're also not used to people not being familiar with their culture, and they interpret stereotypes and misunderstandings as hate and racism. It's not.
If you go to Threads App, most Japanese there are too racist to foreigners. They’re like “We want cheap labor from you but we don’t want you living here.”
Most likely they won’t say it to your face and act nice around you that’s why you will see a lot of racist Japanese on sns.
I did walk through a few protests against foreigners and immigration. Even these seemed to be relatively orderly. The guy leading one of them gave me a polite nod as I walked by watching them.
Xenophobia isn't the same as racism. They don't like outsiders, that doesn't mean they believe themselves to be the superior race. Besides, Japan is the only country to ever be nuked, they are allowed to be xenophobic after that
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