(Thanks to TFans member "Buddykiller" for helping me re-find the article)
Here is a link to an old thread about the use of "Jap" as an acceptable or otherwise term in the English language:
http://www.TFans.com/talk/index.php?showtopic=39755
Here also, is a thread from a site about it too:
NOTE: This site may contain content or language that is not in keeping with TFans board rules. If you are easily offended, DO NOT click on the link below:
http://bigdaikon.org/board/viewtopic.php?t...asc&start=0
As I made a "Racism in Japan" thread, I though it only appropriate to include its opposite number here.
Btw, the term "gaijin" also has the same probs with some Japanese and foreigners:
1/ http://www.japantoday.com/jp/vote/164
2/ http://www.debito.org/kumegaijinissue.html
Interesting eh?
Full Version: The Word Jap or Gaijin: Is it racist?
Btw, the words under the main title are not meant to highlight Japan as racist. its there to help future searches as the word "jap" cannot be found as its a three letter word and doesnt match the search criteria. Hope this clears things up.
i always assumed gaijin to be a racist term n thought it was really weird that movies like fast and furious 3 used it so openly. but if your like these guys http://www.driftinjapan.com/ who refer to each other as gaijin's then i guess its ok.
It's a difficult subject. Some black people use the "N-word" and it's no problem and many foreigners in Japan use it with no problem. Others, like me have a problem.
The fact remains that it is OFFICIALLY considered a negative word for "foreigner". Just as the American term "Alien" is not acceptible outside the USA, or when referring to many foreigners in the USA, "gaijin" means "outsider" and not "foreigner".
However, just as many of our dear old aunts might say "I met that lovely coloured/negro boy yesterday at the church raffle", without battering an eyelid, so do many normal Japanese people say "Gaijin" without thinking its bad. The term "Gaijin-San" has also been recently introduced into the lexicon as a form as compromise. It literally means "Honourable/Mr Outsider", which is comparable to "Nice Coloured Person" perhaps being used by our "Dear Old Aunts".
The main difference, I personally think, is that many Japanese are simply unaware of the actual meaning of "Gaijin". In fact, Ive had heated discussions with a Russian couple, who live in Japan and are some of the top linguists/translators in the country about why "Gaijin" is NOT an abreviation of "Gaikokojin" (as many Japanese even believe), but a seperate word, either by its lexical history or use (both past and present).
Anyway, I'm not saying I'm right here, but I wanted to breath some new life into that old thread and help anyone else if they wanted to find the thread when they use TFans "search" option.
The fact remains that it is OFFICIALLY considered a negative word for "foreigner". Just as the American term "Alien" is not acceptible outside the USA, or when referring to many foreigners in the USA, "gaijin" means "outsider" and not "foreigner".
However, just as many of our dear old aunts might say "I met that lovely coloured/negro boy yesterday at the church raffle", without battering an eyelid, so do many normal Japanese people say "Gaijin" without thinking its bad. The term "Gaijin-San" has also been recently introduced into the lexicon as a form as compromise. It literally means "Honourable/Mr Outsider", which is comparable to "Nice Coloured Person" perhaps being used by our "Dear Old Aunts".
The main difference, I personally think, is that many Japanese are simply unaware of the actual meaning of "Gaijin". In fact, Ive had heated discussions with a Russian couple, who live in Japan and are some of the top linguists/translators in the country about why "Gaijin" is NOT an abreviation of "Gaikokojin" (as many Japanese even believe), but a seperate word, either by its lexical history or use (both past and present).
Anyway, I'm not saying I'm right here, but I wanted to breath some new life into that old thread and help anyone else if they wanted to find the thread when they use TFans "search" option.
I hate no one based on anything but personality. I think all this pc garbage is going too far in many cases. I'm all for not offending people but it seems to me that many people are far to sensative in these modern times. I say jap but only in referance to toys and I say it to differentiate only. I understand that in the WW that was meant as a hateful slang but how long has it been since that was the norm? We live in a modern time where equality is much the standard in most major countries so what's with all the tiptoing and walking on eggshells??
QUOTE (death333 @ Feb 10 2007, 06:26 AM) 
I We live in a modern time where equality is much the standard in most major countries so what's with all the tiptoing and walking on eggshells??
Unfortunately, the problem is compounded by the fact that Japan IS NOT always seen as an "equal" country. It is the only developed country in the world with NO enforceable anti-racial discrimination law. Did you know that?
Check out the "racism in Japan" thread for more details. The incidents there unfortunately dont help the whole "Gaijin/Jap" debate.
QUOTE (Primal-Convoy @ Feb 11 2007, 10:21 AM)
QUOTE (death333 @ Feb 10 2007, 06:26 AM)
I We live in a modern time where equality is much the standard in most major countries so what's with all the tiptoing and walking on eggshells??
Unfortunately, the problem is compounded by the fact that Japan IS NOT always seen as an "equal" country. It is the only developed country in the world with NO enforceable anti-racial discrimination law. Did you know that?
Check out the "racism in Japan" thread for more details. The incidents there unfortunately dont help the whole "Gaijin/Jap" debate.
I understand that and as such if I were a guest in that country I certainly wouldn't use the term (would be walking on eggshells) but when you're a guest in someones home you do what you can to be polite. I am mainly speaking from the point that I reside in the US. The few Japanese friends I've had here didn't have a problem with the term either. It really boils down to where you reside with a political issue like this.
My question is though: Do the Japanese recognize that there's a problem with intolerance in thier country or is it widely accepted and endorsed? Until it is seen as a problem there there's very little anyone can do about it.
Well, I cannot be the only voice for this but for what it's worth, here are some answers to your questions.
1/ "Gaijin" ISNT used officially in diplomatic circles or officially by any TV or media company. This mans that polititians speaking officially or newsraders/editors etc usually refrain from saying it and use "gaikokojin". When it is used, usually by "low brow"comedians, members of the public on Tv or even celebrities (or "tarento" as they are known), eyebrows are sometimes raised but normally any comments are rebuked by those concerened as "not in context" "a joke".
For example, a well known Japanese woman celeb once told UtadaHikaru on national Tv taht she had "washed the stench of butter off". THis was in regards to her new, more "Japanese" image as opposed to her famous in japan at least, International image (English songs, western style fashion etc).
The "stench of butter" is an old term used by Japanese when the original foreign europeans came to Japan. Butter wasnt a staple diet and the smell of either fresh, salted or possibly rancid butter was disgusting to many Japanese who had never encountered it before. Some complaints were made by foreigners in Japan but her agent said "it was just a joke". Again, this is debateable, either from the "Chapelle Show" use of racism as a tool for comedy or as her excuse for using genuinely racist terms on TV.
2/ Most Japanese are NOT aware of foreigner issues. Im sure if they were told then many would refrain, at least in the company of other foreigners. However, there is a condition in Japan that is a big problem and is embedded in Japanese culture. That is the idea of "ware ware Nihonjin" or "We japanese" (and you outsiders). The idea is that if it is part of Japanese culture then it must be ok, as its been done for ages. Thus if anyone, be they Japanese or otherwise disagrees, then they obviously "dont understand japanese culture or the japanese way".
Thus, minority groups and other "different people" are, for better or for worse, excluded from certain things, even if its unintentional or not thought of as bad.
For example, women are not allowed into adult video stores, foreigners are excluded from hostess bars, onsens or certain shops. Hotels discriminate against letting foreigners in unless they show "their passports" (even though those with foreigner ID cards are exempt from this rule), there are "women only" train carriages at rush hours etc. Thus the "average" japanese person (an idea that is highly coveted in Japan) is seen as ok but anyone who is "different" is someone to be wary of.
Im being very general and sweeping here, but Im trying to say that anything that interferes with the general average harmony is something to be avoided. Thus even talking or discussing problems, be they small or large, take longer than they should in Japan, making large scale problems take a long time and making "minority" problems even longer to address.
However, as it's just me typing here, PLEASE don't take my opinion as the only and "true" one.
1/ "Gaijin" ISNT used officially in diplomatic circles or officially by any TV or media company. This mans that polititians speaking officially or newsraders/editors etc usually refrain from saying it and use "gaikokojin". When it is used, usually by "low brow"comedians, members of the public on Tv or even celebrities (or "tarento" as they are known), eyebrows are sometimes raised but normally any comments are rebuked by those concerened as "not in context" "a joke".
For example, a well known Japanese woman celeb once told UtadaHikaru on national Tv taht she had "washed the stench of butter off". THis was in regards to her new, more "Japanese" image as opposed to her famous in japan at least, International image (English songs, western style fashion etc).
The "stench of butter" is an old term used by Japanese when the original foreign europeans came to Japan. Butter wasnt a staple diet and the smell of either fresh, salted or possibly rancid butter was disgusting to many Japanese who had never encountered it before. Some complaints were made by foreigners in Japan but her agent said "it was just a joke". Again, this is debateable, either from the "Chapelle Show" use of racism as a tool for comedy or as her excuse for using genuinely racist terms on TV.
2/ Most Japanese are NOT aware of foreigner issues. Im sure if they were told then many would refrain, at least in the company of other foreigners. However, there is a condition in Japan that is a big problem and is embedded in Japanese culture. That is the idea of "ware ware Nihonjin" or "We japanese" (and you outsiders). The idea is that if it is part of Japanese culture then it must be ok, as its been done for ages. Thus if anyone, be they Japanese or otherwise disagrees, then they obviously "dont understand japanese culture or the japanese way".
Thus, minority groups and other "different people" are, for better or for worse, excluded from certain things, even if its unintentional or not thought of as bad.
For example, women are not allowed into adult video stores, foreigners are excluded from hostess bars, onsens or certain shops. Hotels discriminate against letting foreigners in unless they show "their passports" (even though those with foreigner ID cards are exempt from this rule), there are "women only" train carriages at rush hours etc. Thus the "average" japanese person (an idea that is highly coveted in Japan) is seen as ok but anyone who is "different" is someone to be wary of.
Im being very general and sweeping here, but Im trying to say that anything that interferes with the general average harmony is something to be avoided. Thus even talking or discussing problems, be they small or large, take longer than they should in Japan, making large scale problems take a long time and making "minority" problems even longer to address.
However, as it's just me typing here, PLEASE don't take my opinion as the only and "true" one.
i think it has to do more with context... if your a visitor getting mugged by a whole bunch of japanese locals and they are shouting the word gaijin and other derogatory expressions at you then its racist... or if you are really trying hard to get with some japanese girl/assimilate into their culture/ or someone fronts you and says 'you're nothing but a gaijin in my country' with a mean tone of voice and a nasty look, then thats racist also. but if you flat out say were gaijin's from (insert country) or referring to your gaijin friends you brought with you, with an open and humorous tone, then its ok.
i guess what i'm saying its depends on the tone of how you use the word and the given situation. like your links state, the word technically means 'foreigner' and its not in any way suggesting that it is demeaning in any way, or even signaling out any person of any decent.
like the phrase 'mon ami' in french which means 'my friend.' when used to refer to someone you brought with you in a light and casual tone it means just that, but if you are referring to someone else you're about to beat the Blot out of (with a nasty tone) its like calling them an Afterburner... am i making any sense
i guess what i'm saying its depends on the tone of how you use the word and the given situation. like your links state, the word technically means 'foreigner' and its not in any way suggesting that it is demeaning in any way, or even signaling out any person of any decent.
like the phrase 'mon ami' in french which means 'my friend.' when used to refer to someone you brought with you in a light and casual tone it means just that, but if you are referring to someone else you're about to beat the Blot out of (with a nasty tone) its like calling them an Afterburner... am i making any sense
Sorry to correct you, but gaijin technically means "outsider". the polutically correct "gaikokojin" means "foreigner".
However people have debated that gaijin means outsider or is seperate to gaikokojin.
However people have debated that gaijin means outsider or is seperate to gaikokojin.
all good 
i don't speak japanese but, does their tone of voice (along with the situation) change the meaning of the expression? and have you, or others you know, been called a gaijin and what did you/they do about it?
i don't speak japanese but, does their tone of voice (along with the situation) change the meaning of the expression? and have you, or others you know, been called a gaijin and what did you/they do about it?
Great question. The answer is yes, it does depend on the intonation of the speaker. Many Japanese words have a different "strength" or some might say, meaning when the stress changes.
For example "baka" means "foolish/ a fool" but it actually shouldnt be said in general public as any personalized insults, are actually offensive slightly in Japan due to the conservative nature of Japanese society.
Gaijin is not usually said badly, although I have experienced it in a bad way.
Regardless, you have to ask yourselves if a general celeb in the USA could say "coloured" or "negro" (i doubt even hispanic people could use it without a fear of backlash in the states) on TV or if its ok for preople to say likewise. Sometimes some people would say that we should take a stand against these terms. If people really dont want to casue offense, then they will cease as soon as they know. Thing is, not many peopledo know or possibly care enough generally in Japan.
However, like I said and you said, it's down to the people concerened.
For example "baka" means "foolish/ a fool" but it actually shouldnt be said in general public as any personalized insults, are actually offensive slightly in Japan due to the conservative nature of Japanese society.
Gaijin is not usually said badly, although I have experienced it in a bad way.
Regardless, you have to ask yourselves if a general celeb in the USA could say "coloured" or "negro" (i doubt even hispanic people could use it without a fear of backlash in the states) on TV or if its ok for preople to say likewise. Sometimes some people would say that we should take a stand against these terms. If people really dont want to casue offense, then they will cease as soon as they know. Thing is, not many peopledo know or possibly care enough generally in Japan.
However, like I said and you said, it's down to the people concerened.
I beg to differ when it comes to the words 'jap' and 'gaijin'.
- 'jap' in my opinion is not a politically correct word as it's original use carried a derogatory meaning. When this word came into use during WWII, it's connation was racist and racist only. Perhaps this connotation is unknown to some people but that does not make it any less racist or derogatory. Even now most major dictionaries will classify this word as derogatory. If this is not a racist word, then neither is a word like Nemesis Prime.
- Gaijin has never carried any racist or derogatory connotation. This does indeed not mean it can't be used in that way but the word itself doesn't carry any negative meaning. Gaijin is considered by most linguists as a contraction of the word 'Gaikokujin' (the correct word is gaikokujin, not gaikokojin). All major dictionary translate both words as 'foreigner'. None of my dictionaries translates 'gaijin' as 'outsider'. I realize that if you take both kanji 外 and 人 seperately you get 'person from the ouside' or 'outsider', but this is not the way we should translate Japanese words nor is it a correct translation or connotation. If we would translate all Japanese words that way, we would get very weird translations (e.g. 電車 would mean electric chariot instead of 'train', 天気 would be translated as 'heavenly spirit' instead of plain 'weather', and so on.).
So as a linguist, I see very little evidence to support your theory that 'Gaijin' is a derogatory word. Just like any word it can be used in a negative way by intonation and context, but the word itself is not racist. I think you are seeing a little too much into this ...
- 'jap' in my opinion is not a politically correct word as it's original use carried a derogatory meaning. When this word came into use during WWII, it's connation was racist and racist only. Perhaps this connotation is unknown to some people but that does not make it any less racist or derogatory. Even now most major dictionaries will classify this word as derogatory. If this is not a racist word, then neither is a word like Nemesis Prime.
- Gaijin has never carried any racist or derogatory connotation. This does indeed not mean it can't be used in that way but the word itself doesn't carry any negative meaning. Gaijin is considered by most linguists as a contraction of the word 'Gaikokujin' (the correct word is gaikokujin, not gaikokojin). All major dictionary translate both words as 'foreigner'. None of my dictionaries translates 'gaijin' as 'outsider'. I realize that if you take both kanji 外 and 人 seperately you get 'person from the ouside' or 'outsider', but this is not the way we should translate Japanese words nor is it a correct translation or connotation. If we would translate all Japanese words that way, we would get very weird translations (e.g. 電車 would mean electric chariot instead of 'train', 天気 would be translated as 'heavenly spirit' instead of plain 'weather', and so on.).
So as a linguist, I see very little evidence to support your theory that 'Gaijin' is a derogatory word. Just like any word it can be used in a negative way by intonation and context, but the word itself is not racist. I think you are seeing a little too much into this ...
Interesting points:
to quote Wikipedia:
Although Wiki isnt the "be all and end all", you see my point I think.
http://www.debito.org/kumegaijinissue.html
The term is eternally debated but ask yourself this question: "If it isnt bad then why isnt it used officially when referring to foreign people? Why is "Gaikokojin" used?"
For example, one could say that "negro" is ok to use in certain contexts when describing black people. In fact the word is spanish for black, which Im sure is well known to all concerened. Thus, in Brazil or more correctly in a Spanish/Potuguese part of the world that also has a large black pop., surely "Negro" is ok to use?
However, by context, a minister speaking in English or who doesnt want his language seen as bad when, say, addressing an international or world-viewed speech would think twice perhaps about its use.
Gaijin, either by it's use, intonation or history carries negative and racist undertones. Its also used badly when some Japanese say "gaijin da" which is akin to saying "well loook here mahh..we got ourselves some purdy neeeeegroes ova thar!" Its not big and its not clever.
However, I cant be the voice of all concerened on this. I think its safe to say that its a controversial word that has a certain power though. wouldnt you agree?
QUOTE
- 'jap' in my opinion is not a politically correct word as it's original use carried a derogatory meaning. When this word came into use during WWII, it's connation was racist and racist only. Perhaps this connotation is unknown to some people but that does not make it any less racist or derogatory. Even now most major dictionaries will classify this word as derogatory. If this is not a racist word, then neither is a word like Nemesis Prime.
1. "jap" isnt a racist term in the UK. In ww2 in Australia and the Uk, "N1p" was used. Thus in many media, "jap" is used without fear. Thus, in some places around the world, its not racist. Ironically many younger japanese dont know much about the term or its history.to quote Wikipedia:
QUOTE
Jap (variants: Japo, Japse) is a term denoting anything Japanese. It is considered by some to be the shortened version of the word for Japan.
The three-letter and two-letter international country code (ISO 3166) for Japan, JPN and JP, are also commonly used for the abbreviation of Japan.
In Japanese dictionaries, the term Jap is only defined as a disparaging term used against the Japanese people, like it is the case in many English language dictionaries.[1] In Britain it is considered mildly inappropriate but not a serious insult (cf Paki which is grossly offensive in British English yet not uncommon as an ethnic description in the United States).
The three-letter and two-letter international country code (ISO 3166) for Japan, JPN and JP, are also commonly used for the abbreviation of Japan.
In Japanese dictionaries, the term Jap is only defined as a disparaging term used against the Japanese people, like it is the case in many English language dictionaries.[1] In Britain it is considered mildly inappropriate but not a serious insult (cf Paki which is grossly offensive in British English yet not uncommon as an ethnic description in the United States).
Although Wiki isnt the "be all and end all", you see my point I think.
QUOTE
- Gaijin has never carried any racist or derogatory connotation. This does indeed not mean it can't be used in that way but the word itself doesn't carry any negative meaning. Gaijin is considered by most linguists as a contraction of the word 'Gaikokujin' (the correct word is gaikokujin, not gaikokojin). All major dictionary translate both words as 'foreigner'. None of my dictionaries translates 'gaijin' as 'outsider'. I realize that if you take both kanji – and 人 seperately you get 'person from the ouside' or 'outsider', but this is not the way we should translate Japanese words nor is it a correct translation or connotation. If we would translate all Japanese words that way, we would get very weird translations (e.g. ›Š would mean electric chariot instead of 'train', 天— would be translated as 'heavenly spirit' instead of plain 'weather', and so on.).
So as a linguist, I see very little evidence to support your theory that 'Gaijin' is a derogatory word. Just like any word it can be used in a negative way by intonation and context, but the word itself is not racist. I think you are seeing a little too much into this
2/ Your points are very popular when you mention the "gaijin" argument. The term itself is seen by many foreigners and Japanese alike as a neutral term. My own linguist friends would aggree with you too. However, to quote Debito's blog:So as a linguist, I see very little evidence to support your theory that 'Gaijin' is a derogatory word. Just like any word it can be used in a negative way by intonation and context, but the word itself is not racist. I think you are seeing a little too much into this
http://www.debito.org/kumegaijinissue.html
QUOTE
"GAIJIN" VS "GAIKOKUJIN"
IS GAIJIN A RACIST WORD? I ARGUE YES.
(originally posted to Fukuzawa, ISSHO, and Friends Wed, 23 Oct 1996, modified slightly 30 Aug, 2002)
This is an essay about the above words and the issues involved, not about the TV Asahi Anchorman Kume Hiroshi's "Foreigners should not be fluent in Japanese" Gaffe so much anymore. I reiterate my previous point that:
>The crux of the issue is not really the word "gaijin" (trying to get rid of it would be like swatting all the flies in Japan); it is the use of the word "katakoto" in connection--whether or not it is derogatory and/or infantilizing. Whether or not an influential spokesman like Mr Kume should apparently support the notion that gaijin ought to be nonfluent, and get off scot-free.
However, irksome is the fact that people try to say that "gaijin" is a simple truncation of the word "gaikokujin", and then imply that this whole thing is a non-issue. Wrong. And I will argue that in this post.
GAIJIN EQUALS GAIKOKUJIN?
[NB: your browser might not receive the Japanese characters in parentheses]
Yes, from the original kanji, gaijin (–人) comes out in English as a foreigner, and a gaikokujin (–›人) an extranational. But is that all they mean?
I agree, also, that there is a linguistic tendency for Japanese speakers to shorten long strings of kanji or kana into easy to understand buzzwords--Tsuushou Sangyou Shou (€š•†”業œ) becomes "Tsuusanshou" (€š”œ), Kimura Takuya becomes "Kimutaku" etc. So isn't the removal of "koku" just a language breathing?
No. If so, why does the nightly news call North Korea "Chousen Minshu Shugi Jinmin Kyouwakoku" (œ鮮‘主主義人‘…’Œ›) instead of the much more convenient Kita Chousen (Œ—œ鮮)? Because of politics--these are words representing a people, and powerful people complain if they are not said right.
(Historically, it turns out, the words are separate too. Read writeup of Nov 28, 1996 TV Asahi broadcast on this subject here.)
Those critics out there in cyberspace who would say it's merely "a matter of linguistic preference, so forget about it" are ignoring an important facet of the issue:
Both gaijin and its more classy equivalent are not just words. They are epithets. About a group of people. And because of that, should the responsibility for their interpretation lie on the speaker or the people being addressed? The people being addressed, of course. In the rest of the OECD, as well in Japan as for many minority groups, this is the case. And that is how it should be, even in this omoi yari noshakai (society which thinks about others) that Japan claims to be.
But I digress. Let's go beyond topicality--the literal meanings of the kanji--and look at the context in which the epithet is often used. Is it generally a satisfactory situation for the people being referred to?
It is not. This word is part and parcel of the general reinforcement of Japan's uniqueness--the wareware Nipponjin caste system--which relegates the rest of the world to second-class status in the eyes of beholders here.
ADJUST THE ISSUE:
GAIKOKUJIN AND GAIJIN ARE PROBLEM WORDS THAT ARE TOO EASILY ABUSED, AND PEOPLE MUST BE TOLD THAT WHEN THEY ABUSE THEM
Why is gaijin such a problem word?
1) IT IS A TITLE THAT IGNORES TOO MUCH
A friend of mine (American) was at one of those ubiquitous internationalizing (kokusaika) types of symposiums, he was introduced as the "foreign" speaker (made into "gaikokujin" for politeness' sake).
Not as a person from America with Americanized views. Foreign.
As if those views were so easily embodied and encapsulatable behind one person and, more to the point, one word. Japan has about 5% of the world's population. So my friend had been given the enviable task of speaking for the remaining 95%. Calling him an "American" might have come closer--double the percentage of the world, and far fewer people people to speak on behalf of.
But the fallacy of this style of thinking is left unexplored if the use of the word and the idea behind it is left unchallenged.
2) ONCE A GAIJIN, ALWAYS A GAIJIN, ANYWHERE
When I was in Venice this summer, Japanese tourists were everywhere. When a group of some youngsters were getting their pictures taken, one of the burikko there said, "Wait a minute until some of the gaijin come into the frame. The picture will look more exotic then." My wife even reacted to that.
Or take the time I was invited to the Sapporo International Communication Plaza a couple of years ago, to sit on the panel of one of their receptions for their homestays returning from America. One bureaucrat who just had to offer words on these momentous pushes for kokusaika recalled his visit to London. And how when he couldn't flag a taxi, a very helpful gaijin-san got one for him and gosh aren't gaijin-sans friendly?
After the homestays finished their comments, I as a panelist got a turn to address the homestays. I said:
"Y'know, it's nice that not one of you students, anyway, used the word 'gaijin' to describe your hosts. You just saw them as folks. After all, when you are in another country, YOU are the gaijin, not us."
And one stone unturned in the Kume debate was this: "Is it possible for an Indian in his own country to be called a foreigner?"
In English, it's not. But in Japanese, sure. Anybody not Japanese is a gaijin, so the meanings are NOT equivalent or completely comparable. "Gaijin" expresses a binary view of the world. You become either a 1, an "ichi-ro", or a "ze-ro".
So the bottom line is: do we as the people being represented by these sentiments just sit here and let it happen?
No harm done, right?
Wrong.
3) IS IT DISCRIMINATORY?
I talked this over with my Hokudai students again on Monday (love those guys!) and an interesting point came up.
"Gaijin is not meant as a bad word. It is just a word to show distinction between us and you. It is a natural fact that Japan is different from the rest of the world. Different language, different culture, long history, island country with hardly any outside contact. So why does 'distinction' (kubetsu) become 'discrimination' (sabetsu)?"
That gave me a good mental workout. Distinction in itself isn't always bad, despite the tendency to stereotype, and drawing generalizations is often a useful exercise. Moreover, there is plenty of evidence that in many areas Japan is really quite different.
But there is a difference in reasoning between "Americans tend to stand on their rights more than Japanese" and "Japanese have longer intestines". The latter reasoning involves physical differences which are inherent to a group of people, and don't allow for exceptions (in, say, individual personality). This is the tack that many arguments in Japan about "we Japanese" and "you gaijin" take, even in terms of ideology.
How often have you heard about "Japanese thinking", said by pompous know-it-all-Japanese (and then told that if some Japanese don't agree, they haven't been "Japanized" enough)? Issues like these are not debated hotly enough in this society, partly out of politeness and deference, but more often than not because people here don't have the perception of those affected. So it is our obligation to let them know.
Still, generalizing is not in itself discrimination until it reaches the next stage--policy.
Once an epithetical idea is taken as a truism, even put into the equation that Japanese often use to define themselves, the walls of separation become all too clear. Then decisions are made about treatment of those in the shadow. It is very clear (we've discussed this countless times on Fukuzawa) that systems here actively discriminate against non-Japanese. Foreigners, and that includes Japan-born "Koreans" and "Chinese", cannot be hired on promotional tracks in the Japanese bureaucracy. Foreign academics are being fired from all strata of Japanese universities through national mandate. Japanese companies, even those overseas, lay off their "foreign workers" first and give promotional preference to the "natives". Lots more.
Clearly there is a discriminatory apparatus at work here, and if you don't believe that the shoots of discrimination lie in epithets accepted as "truth", I ask you to refamiliarize yourself with the arguments made by the Dixiecrats ("separate but equal") used to defend segregation in the American South. Drawing lines between whole people and having them left unchallenged makes for easy imbalances and abuses.
Okay, that being said, we've opened the sluice gates of "well, life is unfair for everybody", and "well, other countries do it too, so...". Leave it out. My point is that people adversely affected ANYWHERE can and should take measures to point out abuses--and do something about it like minorities everywhere can and should.
One way is to complain where appropriate. The other is to fit into the culture and national makeup. After all you are in this country, Romans and all that. Become Japanese if you have a beef about how you are treated as a foreigner.
Good luck.
4) CAN YOU ESCAPE BEING A GAIJIN?
Nope. You are either born it or not, which makes this whole package a caste system. This is where the element of racism floods in. Even if you were born in Japan, BY LAW you are not Japanese unless you have Japanese blood. Untainted, that is, to many--some have even argued that my children are not "nihonjin".
And even if you so choose to naturalize (I am considering it, believe it or not--if it means my job), you will still not be a nihonjin (Japanese person). I would have to advertise myself as a nihon kokumin (Japanese national), which is fine by me, but it says a lot about my ability to fit in.
And it also says a lot about our ability to play the game as Japanese tell us is proper. There is no proper channel for us defined by this society. So we have to make our own.
The first step is to acknowledge the image we are being given and deal with it.
5) IT IS A TITLE THAT IS DEFINING US IN WAYS MANY OF US DON'T LIKE
I watched a penetrating PBS show called "Doubles" some time ago, about people of both American and Japanese descent who grew up in the US and Japan as children of Postwar relationships. One segment featured a "double" (as opposed to haafu, from the word "half", which is the word commonly in use for half-castes here) college kid talking about his life in America, and how he was fed up of being told that he must like sushi because he is half-Japanese, etc.
His point: "We should not let other people tell us what we are. We should be the ones telling you who we are."
And so should we.
(NB: That segment was not shown on the longer, Japanese-language version shown on NHK.)
Some of us are not guests here any more. Gone are the days when GIs would take their brides home and English teachers were only temporary workers profiting in their English-language bubbles.
People like me are here for the long term. I am a landowner in this country as of a month ago, with a thirty-year loan. My wife and kids are Japanese citizens with Japanese as their native tongue. I pay taxes and ten percent of my salary into this country's groaning social security system. A permanent resident, I make a contribution to this society the same as any other Japanese, if not more so at times. But I am not entirely co-opted into this system, and will not be.
Yet people out there in Fukuzawaland, who are not in the same situation at all, go and posture disrespectfully that Japan has always been this way so shut up. If you were in the same position, your viewpoint just might change.
So I am not going to sit here and let people tell me that I should just sit back and adopt a "guest mentality", and let Japanese nationals around me say whatever they damn well please in Japanese because it's their language. Language and ideas are products of a country but they are not property, immune to criticism by "nonmembers of the club". A sentiment that somebody finds objectionable should be noted as such. Especially when it is spoken to the whole country on a news broadcast by the anchorman, no less.
I say it again. We gaijin are a minority because we are pushed into it, and cannot escape it. And we have a disadvantage--being a group so uniquely pluralist it is hard to agree on much. However, that should not preclude trying.
We might not be able to make certain words go the way of Little Black Sambo, but towards certain epithets and attitudes, well, we do what we can, when appropriate.
But those who would blithely say forget it, that there is nothing discriminatory or racist to the word "gaijin" etc have, I daresay, either not felt the full spectrum of its use, or have too few eggs put into their basket over here to care.
Those who don't want to make inroads for our rights here care too little about who they are, and are all too willing to be told who they ought to be.
And if you don't want to fight for your rights, get out of our way. We have a lot of work to do.
Dave Aldwinckle
Sapporo
IS GAIJIN A RACIST WORD? I ARGUE YES.
(originally posted to Fukuzawa, ISSHO, and Friends Wed, 23 Oct 1996, modified slightly 30 Aug, 2002)
This is an essay about the above words and the issues involved, not about the TV Asahi Anchorman Kume Hiroshi's "Foreigners should not be fluent in Japanese" Gaffe so much anymore. I reiterate my previous point that:
>The crux of the issue is not really the word "gaijin" (trying to get rid of it would be like swatting all the flies in Japan); it is the use of the word "katakoto" in connection--whether or not it is derogatory and/or infantilizing. Whether or not an influential spokesman like Mr Kume should apparently support the notion that gaijin ought to be nonfluent, and get off scot-free.
However, irksome is the fact that people try to say that "gaijin" is a simple truncation of the word "gaikokujin", and then imply that this whole thing is a non-issue. Wrong. And I will argue that in this post.
GAIJIN EQUALS GAIKOKUJIN?
[NB: your browser might not receive the Japanese characters in parentheses]
Yes, from the original kanji, gaijin (–人) comes out in English as a foreigner, and a gaikokujin (–›人) an extranational. But is that all they mean?
I agree, also, that there is a linguistic tendency for Japanese speakers to shorten long strings of kanji or kana into easy to understand buzzwords--Tsuushou Sangyou Shou (€š•†”業œ) becomes "Tsuusanshou" (€š”œ), Kimura Takuya becomes "Kimutaku" etc. So isn't the removal of "koku" just a language breathing?
No. If so, why does the nightly news call North Korea "Chousen Minshu Shugi Jinmin Kyouwakoku" (œ鮮‘主主義人‘…’Œ›) instead of the much more convenient Kita Chousen (Œ—œ鮮)? Because of politics--these are words representing a people, and powerful people complain if they are not said right.
(Historically, it turns out, the words are separate too. Read writeup of Nov 28, 1996 TV Asahi broadcast on this subject here.)
Those critics out there in cyberspace who would say it's merely "a matter of linguistic preference, so forget about it" are ignoring an important facet of the issue:
Both gaijin and its more classy equivalent are not just words. They are epithets. About a group of people. And because of that, should the responsibility for their interpretation lie on the speaker or the people being addressed? The people being addressed, of course. In the rest of the OECD, as well in Japan as for many minority groups, this is the case. And that is how it should be, even in this omoi yari noshakai (society which thinks about others) that Japan claims to be.
But I digress. Let's go beyond topicality--the literal meanings of the kanji--and look at the context in which the epithet is often used. Is it generally a satisfactory situation for the people being referred to?
It is not. This word is part and parcel of the general reinforcement of Japan's uniqueness--the wareware Nipponjin caste system--which relegates the rest of the world to second-class status in the eyes of beholders here.
ADJUST THE ISSUE:
GAIKOKUJIN AND GAIJIN ARE PROBLEM WORDS THAT ARE TOO EASILY ABUSED, AND PEOPLE MUST BE TOLD THAT WHEN THEY ABUSE THEM
Why is gaijin such a problem word?
1) IT IS A TITLE THAT IGNORES TOO MUCH
A friend of mine (American) was at one of those ubiquitous internationalizing (kokusaika) types of symposiums, he was introduced as the "foreign" speaker (made into "gaikokujin" for politeness' sake).
Not as a person from America with Americanized views. Foreign.
As if those views were so easily embodied and encapsulatable behind one person and, more to the point, one word. Japan has about 5% of the world's population. So my friend had been given the enviable task of speaking for the remaining 95%. Calling him an "American" might have come closer--double the percentage of the world, and far fewer people people to speak on behalf of.
But the fallacy of this style of thinking is left unexplored if the use of the word and the idea behind it is left unchallenged.
2) ONCE A GAIJIN, ALWAYS A GAIJIN, ANYWHERE
When I was in Venice this summer, Japanese tourists were everywhere. When a group of some youngsters were getting their pictures taken, one of the burikko there said, "Wait a minute until some of the gaijin come into the frame. The picture will look more exotic then." My wife even reacted to that.
Or take the time I was invited to the Sapporo International Communication Plaza a couple of years ago, to sit on the panel of one of their receptions for their homestays returning from America. One bureaucrat who just had to offer words on these momentous pushes for kokusaika recalled his visit to London. And how when he couldn't flag a taxi, a very helpful gaijin-san got one for him and gosh aren't gaijin-sans friendly?
After the homestays finished their comments, I as a panelist got a turn to address the homestays. I said:
"Y'know, it's nice that not one of you students, anyway, used the word 'gaijin' to describe your hosts. You just saw them as folks. After all, when you are in another country, YOU are the gaijin, not us."
And one stone unturned in the Kume debate was this: "Is it possible for an Indian in his own country to be called a foreigner?"
In English, it's not. But in Japanese, sure. Anybody not Japanese is a gaijin, so the meanings are NOT equivalent or completely comparable. "Gaijin" expresses a binary view of the world. You become either a 1, an "ichi-ro", or a "ze-ro".
So the bottom line is: do we as the people being represented by these sentiments just sit here and let it happen?
No harm done, right?
Wrong.
3) IS IT DISCRIMINATORY?
I talked this over with my Hokudai students again on Monday (love those guys!) and an interesting point came up.
"Gaijin is not meant as a bad word. It is just a word to show distinction between us and you. It is a natural fact that Japan is different from the rest of the world. Different language, different culture, long history, island country with hardly any outside contact. So why does 'distinction' (kubetsu) become 'discrimination' (sabetsu)?"
That gave me a good mental workout. Distinction in itself isn't always bad, despite the tendency to stereotype, and drawing generalizations is often a useful exercise. Moreover, there is plenty of evidence that in many areas Japan is really quite different.
But there is a difference in reasoning between "Americans tend to stand on their rights more than Japanese" and "Japanese have longer intestines". The latter reasoning involves physical differences which are inherent to a group of people, and don't allow for exceptions (in, say, individual personality). This is the tack that many arguments in Japan about "we Japanese" and "you gaijin" take, even in terms of ideology.
How often have you heard about "Japanese thinking", said by pompous know-it-all-Japanese (and then told that if some Japanese don't agree, they haven't been "Japanized" enough)? Issues like these are not debated hotly enough in this society, partly out of politeness and deference, but more often than not because people here don't have the perception of those affected. So it is our obligation to let them know.
Still, generalizing is not in itself discrimination until it reaches the next stage--policy.
Once an epithetical idea is taken as a truism, even put into the equation that Japanese often use to define themselves, the walls of separation become all too clear. Then decisions are made about treatment of those in the shadow. It is very clear (we've discussed this countless times on Fukuzawa) that systems here actively discriminate against non-Japanese. Foreigners, and that includes Japan-born "Koreans" and "Chinese", cannot be hired on promotional tracks in the Japanese bureaucracy. Foreign academics are being fired from all strata of Japanese universities through national mandate. Japanese companies, even those overseas, lay off their "foreign workers" first and give promotional preference to the "natives". Lots more.
Clearly there is a discriminatory apparatus at work here, and if you don't believe that the shoots of discrimination lie in epithets accepted as "truth", I ask you to refamiliarize yourself with the arguments made by the Dixiecrats ("separate but equal") used to defend segregation in the American South. Drawing lines between whole people and having them left unchallenged makes for easy imbalances and abuses.
Okay, that being said, we've opened the sluice gates of "well, life is unfair for everybody", and "well, other countries do it too, so...". Leave it out. My point is that people adversely affected ANYWHERE can and should take measures to point out abuses--and do something about it like minorities everywhere can and should.
One way is to complain where appropriate. The other is to fit into the culture and national makeup. After all you are in this country, Romans and all that. Become Japanese if you have a beef about how you are treated as a foreigner.
Good luck.
4) CAN YOU ESCAPE BEING A GAIJIN?
Nope. You are either born it or not, which makes this whole package a caste system. This is where the element of racism floods in. Even if you were born in Japan, BY LAW you are not Japanese unless you have Japanese blood. Untainted, that is, to many--some have even argued that my children are not "nihonjin".
And even if you so choose to naturalize (I am considering it, believe it or not--if it means my job), you will still not be a nihonjin (Japanese person). I would have to advertise myself as a nihon kokumin (Japanese national), which is fine by me, but it says a lot about my ability to fit in.
And it also says a lot about our ability to play the game as Japanese tell us is proper. There is no proper channel for us defined by this society. So we have to make our own.
The first step is to acknowledge the image we are being given and deal with it.
5) IT IS A TITLE THAT IS DEFINING US IN WAYS MANY OF US DON'T LIKE
I watched a penetrating PBS show called "Doubles" some time ago, about people of both American and Japanese descent who grew up in the US and Japan as children of Postwar relationships. One segment featured a "double" (as opposed to haafu, from the word "half", which is the word commonly in use for half-castes here) college kid talking about his life in America, and how he was fed up of being told that he must like sushi because he is half-Japanese, etc.
His point: "We should not let other people tell us what we are. We should be the ones telling you who we are."
And so should we.
(NB: That segment was not shown on the longer, Japanese-language version shown on NHK.)
Some of us are not guests here any more. Gone are the days when GIs would take their brides home and English teachers were only temporary workers profiting in their English-language bubbles.
People like me are here for the long term. I am a landowner in this country as of a month ago, with a thirty-year loan. My wife and kids are Japanese citizens with Japanese as their native tongue. I pay taxes and ten percent of my salary into this country's groaning social security system. A permanent resident, I make a contribution to this society the same as any other Japanese, if not more so at times. But I am not entirely co-opted into this system, and will not be.
Yet people out there in Fukuzawaland, who are not in the same situation at all, go and posture disrespectfully that Japan has always been this way so shut up. If you were in the same position, your viewpoint just might change.
So I am not going to sit here and let people tell me that I should just sit back and adopt a "guest mentality", and let Japanese nationals around me say whatever they damn well please in Japanese because it's their language. Language and ideas are products of a country but they are not property, immune to criticism by "nonmembers of the club". A sentiment that somebody finds objectionable should be noted as such. Especially when it is spoken to the whole country on a news broadcast by the anchorman, no less.
I say it again. We gaijin are a minority because we are pushed into it, and cannot escape it. And we have a disadvantage--being a group so uniquely pluralist it is hard to agree on much. However, that should not preclude trying.
We might not be able to make certain words go the way of Little Black Sambo, but towards certain epithets and attitudes, well, we do what we can, when appropriate.
But those who would blithely say forget it, that there is nothing discriminatory or racist to the word "gaijin" etc have, I daresay, either not felt the full spectrum of its use, or have too few eggs put into their basket over here to care.
Those who don't want to make inroads for our rights here care too little about who they are, and are all too willing to be told who they ought to be.
And if you don't want to fight for your rights, get out of our way. We have a lot of work to do.
Dave Aldwinckle
Sapporo
The term is eternally debated but ask yourself this question: "If it isnt bad then why isnt it used officially when referring to foreign people? Why is "Gaikokojin" used?"
For example, one could say that "negro" is ok to use in certain contexts when describing black people. In fact the word is spanish for black, which Im sure is well known to all concerened. Thus, in Brazil or more correctly in a Spanish/Potuguese part of the world that also has a large black pop., surely "Negro" is ok to use?
However, by context, a minister speaking in English or who doesnt want his language seen as bad when, say, addressing an international or world-viewed speech would think twice perhaps about its use.
Gaijin, either by it's use, intonation or history carries negative and racist undertones. Its also used badly when some Japanese say "gaijin da" which is akin to saying "well loook here mahh..we got ourselves some purdy neeeeegroes ova thar!" Its not big and its not clever.
However, I cant be the voice of all concerened on this. I think its safe to say that its a controversial word that has a certain power though. wouldnt you agree?
More on the use of the word Gaijin. Ill try not to rattle on with large copy and paste jobs. Ive only been doing it as Debito's block goes down from time to time due to possibly race related "net attacks". Anyway, I digress:
http://www.debito.org/kume5tvasahibroadcast.html
What do you think.
http://www.debito.org/kume5tvasahibroadcast.html
QUOTE
The camera then cuts to a cityscape and we get pie-chart information about a phone survey, taken by TV Asahi of 1000 Japanese people (with a response rate of 65.6%). The results:
"Do you use the word gaijin?" 51% said yes, 49% said no.
"Do you think foreigners would feel uncomfortable with you using the word?" 51% yes, 41% no, 8% don't know.
"Is it a discriminatory word?" Well over half (61%) said no, 34% yes, 5% didn't know.
"Do you use the word gaijin?" 51% said yes, 49% said no.
"Do you think foreigners would feel uncomfortable with you using the word?" 51% yes, 41% no, 8% don't know.
"Is it a discriminatory word?" Well over half (61%) said no, 34% yes, 5% didn't know.
QUOTE
ORIGINS OF THE WORD "GAIJIN"
Foreigners started coming in after the Meiji Restoration, and to illustrate that period, we saw a recreation from a BBC show showing a knickerbockered Englishman being carried in one of those "wheelless rickshaw boxes" by Japanese porters. What word was used to describe him then? A child in a village cried out with a voice that would rival Paul Revere's: "An ijin (kanji: kotonaru hito ﾃl) is coming, an ijin is coming." And all assembled around a disembarking ijin.
So how did the word change from "ijin" (a person of differences) to "gaijin"(a person outside) in a span of 130 years?
INTERVIEW WITH DR TAMAMURA, PROF OF LITERATURE AT DOUSHISHA U
Dr Tamamura said that many people think that "gaijin" is just a shortened form of "gaikokujin". Historically, "gaijin", or "guwai jin" in the historical hiragana, meant anybody who was not in your "in-group". Somebody who didn't belong, not from your village, etc. This was before there were any non-Japanese to be seen, so it meant "outsider", and could apply to any Japanese person. However, if we look at this dictionary from Meiji 42 (1910), we see that already there is an entry for "guwai koku jin", which means an extranational, and also "guwai jin", which now suddenly also means "guwai koku jin". So somehow the root meaning of "outsider" got appended only onto a person who came from outside Japan.
His important point is that the root of the word "gaijin" and "gaikokujin" developed separately, and are not simple abbreviations or non-hyphenations of each other.
Foreigners started coming in after the Meiji Restoration, and to illustrate that period, we saw a recreation from a BBC show showing a knickerbockered Englishman being carried in one of those "wheelless rickshaw boxes" by Japanese porters. What word was used to describe him then? A child in a village cried out with a voice that would rival Paul Revere's: "An ijin (kanji: kotonaru hito ﾃl) is coming, an ijin is coming." And all assembled around a disembarking ijin.
So how did the word change from "ijin" (a person of differences) to "gaijin"(a person outside) in a span of 130 years?
INTERVIEW WITH DR TAMAMURA, PROF OF LITERATURE AT DOUSHISHA U
Dr Tamamura said that many people think that "gaijin" is just a shortened form of "gaikokujin". Historically, "gaijin", or "guwai jin" in the historical hiragana, meant anybody who was not in your "in-group". Somebody who didn't belong, not from your village, etc. This was before there were any non-Japanese to be seen, so it meant "outsider", and could apply to any Japanese person. However, if we look at this dictionary from Meiji 42 (1910), we see that already there is an entry for "guwai koku jin", which means an extranational, and also "guwai jin", which now suddenly also means "guwai koku jin". So somehow the root meaning of "outsider" got appended only onto a person who came from outside Japan.
His important point is that the root of the word "gaijin" and "gaikokujin" developed separately, and are not simple abbreviations or non-hyphenations of each other.
What do you think.
Words are only offensive if they are used in an offensive context.
QUOTE (Goktimus Prime @ Feb 15 2007, 07:43 PM)
Words are only offensive if they are used in an offensive context.
i wish this where true, sadly it's not.
people get too involved and wrapped up in race. they're too sensitive. it makes no since to me why a black person can call himself and his friend Nemesis Prime, but they get pissed when somebody else does it. white comedians can't say Nemesis Prime and our politicians take heat for saying tar baby, but anybody that wants to can use terms such as cracker, or honkey, ect... why is it more policaly correct for a black person to use Nemesis Prime, and a fat person to use fat as opposed to other people using those terms?
personaly, i could give a Blot less. gaijan, jap, spic, gook, chink, Nemesis Prime, cracker, spook, honkey, wet back, porch monkey... they're all just words, and people shouldn't be so easily offended by words rather they should feel sorry for the chump that is so ignorant they must result to elementary name calling in an attempt to harm.
I consider myself to be a nerd/geek. I don't mind if other nerds call me a nerd. I don't mind if other non-nerds who know me call me a nerd. It's all rather self-affirming. I'm a nerd, I can admit it. If anyone here called me a nerd/geek, I wouldn't care - we all collect the same toyline. But if someone who isn't a nerd and isn't someone I know very well comes and calls me a nerd, I'll kick their nuts so hard they'll be ejaculating from their eyeballs.
Again, it's all a matter of context.
Again, it's all a matter of context.
QUOTE (Goktimus Prime @ Mar 1 2007, 04:21 AM)
I consider myself to be a nerd/geek. I don't mind if other nerds call me a nerd. I don't mind if other non-nerds who know me call me a nerd. It's all rather self-affirming. I'm a nerd, I can admit it. If anyone here called me a nerd/geek, I wouldn't care - we all collect the same toyline. But if someone who isn't a nerd and isn't someone I know very well comes and calls me a nerd, I'll kick their nuts so hard they'll be ejaculating from their eyeballs.
Again, it's all a matter of context.
Again, it's all a matter of context.
ROFLMFAO
i'd probably laugh and say thanks capt. obvious
I didn't know "Porch Monkey" was racist. I think we should reclaim it...
QUOTE (Primal-Convoy @ Mar 1 2007, 09:03 AM)
I didn't know "Porch Monkey" was racist. I think we should reclaim it...
yea, i'm taking it back
YOU PORCH MONKEY!
Sure we'll take the burgers-I can't taste racism!
The reason its offensive if a white person says Nemesis Prime or jap is because it is assumed that it is a derogatory comment coming from a superior position. It was only a few decades ago that black people and asian people were segregated by the white people in this country and neither could vote. Whites owned africans who were forcefully removed from their homes as slaves. As much as everyone wants to believe that our country is all happy touchy feely and equal now, it still isn't. White people still have a huge advantage over african americans and asians here. These words were not created with a 'we're different than you' intent, which is where we try to base our arguments against racism, but from a 'we're better than you' standpoint, which is something that is unique to our country, especially from the white perspective. If you ask someone in another country to imagine an American, they will not desribe a colored person to you; our global image is a white one.
What's really funny is that a lot of animosity toward foreigners that comes from Japan is due to the identity crisis the culture has been facing since the western influence was imposed on them, and the attitudes that they react to are the same ones that originated these posts; people going 'why can't they be more like us and do what we think is normal?'. It's their country, they can do whatever they want, what we need to worry about is how we are going to act in this one.
What's really funny is that a lot of animosity toward foreigners that comes from Japan is due to the identity crisis the culture has been facing since the western influence was imposed on them, and the attitudes that they react to are the same ones that originated these posts; people going 'why can't they be more like us and do what we think is normal?'. It's their country, they can do whatever they want, what we need to worry about is how we are going to act in this one.
Ironically, not everyone lives in "this one", ei the USA.
Some of us live in Japan! LOL!
Some of us live in Japan! LOL!
[quote=Optimus Puggie}These words were not created with a 'we're different than you' intent, which is where we try to base our arguments against racism, but from a 'we're better than you' standpoint, which is something that is unique to our country, especially from the white perspective. If you ask someone in another country to imagine an American, they will not desribe a colored person to you; our global image is a white one.[/quote]
that's a good point.
Racism doesn't come from people pointing out differences between each other, but where one group of people assert superiority over another group and thus preferential treatment/rights, particularly at the expense of others.
One mistake that some people make in their attempt to be politically correct is to treat different peoples as if they were the same to the point that they ignore the differences between peoples. People need to learn that it's okay to be different and live in the same society at the same time. It's called diversity.
that's a good point.
Racism doesn't come from people pointing out differences between each other, but where one group of people assert superiority over another group and thus preferential treatment/rights, particularly at the expense of others.
One mistake that some people make in their attempt to be politically correct is to treat different peoples as if they were the same to the point that they ignore the differences between peoples. People need to learn that it's okay to be different and live in the same society at the same time. It's called diversity.
My girlfriend calls me "バカ外人(baka gaijin : idiot foreigner/outsider)" all the time, just like I call her "bloody jap". As people have previously stated, true racism lies in the intent behind the words, however that doesn't mean that people won't get offended by them nonetheless.
As for racism in Japan, I've always found it amusing that a nation that is so defensive about being racially mistreated by others is so oblivious to their own inherent racism. But that's what most racism is in Japan, completely and utterly oblivious. It's like the previous example of a "Dear Old Aunt", she may not always so the most politically correct terms, but there's no genuine malice behind what she says.
BTW, being called Gaijin was more frustrating to me than insulting. Everytime I got called Gaijin I'd correct them and say "Oosutorariajin daro". Plus, I'd take Gaijin over Amerikajin/Yanki- anyday of the week.
As for racism in Japan, I've always found it amusing that a nation that is so defensive about being racially mistreated by others is so oblivious to their own inherent racism. But that's what most racism is in Japan, completely and utterly oblivious. It's like the previous example of a "Dear Old Aunt", she may not always so the most politically correct terms, but there's no genuine malice behind what she says.
BTW, being called Gaijin was more frustrating to me than insulting. Everytime I got called Gaijin I'd correct them and say "Oosutorariajin daro". Plus, I'd take Gaijin over Amerikajin/Yanki- anyday of the week.
Being in Australia, technically your gf is the gaijin. 
Yeah, I know, but being able to call her a "Bloody Jap" in front of shocked and dismayed onlookers at the shops is way more fun that calling her a gaijin.
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