横浜で狂気 (Crazy In Yokohama)

[perfectchaosrei]

Comments

[a_feather]

Huh! Pretty good reads there

[perfectchaosrei]

i have heard about some of the things asians go through living in america. would you consider being asked those questions actual problems for you if you were asked them everyday? by everyone? a lot of the time? even by people who you've actually known for a while

[a_feather]

I happen to get those questions a lot. Every time I go somewhere and meet someone for the first time, every time someone tries to make small talk with me, I get questions and comments like that. I don't get them from people I've known for a while, but those people make comments like, "Oh- you're only good at drawing because you're Asian". Or, "Why aren't you good at math/science/music? I thought Asians were supposed to be smart." A lot of the time, they're not even joking. If I'm good at something, it's not because I worked hard or have talent - it's because I'm Asian. If I'm bad at something, well, all my fellow Asians are good at it so there must be something REALLY wrong with me

[perfectchaosrei]

Gonna kind of address comments out of order if you dont mind =D

[anonymous]

I am a white north american woman, who had experienced sexism, but never racism. I spent some time in Japan, where indeed, I experienced and witnessed pretty overt, but always polite racism. My reaction was amusement because first of all, I was going back home in a few weeks, so wouldn't have to continue to deal with it. But amusement mostly, because here I was, a white person truly experiencing something that I had never experienced before. I guess, because it was for a limited period of time, the whole thing was just kind of funny, but more importantly eye opening. I think that every white person should spend some time where they are discriminated against. And that the word Gajin is offensive, was a revelation to me. At the time, didn't realize that I should be offended by someone calling me the "G" word.

[perfectchaosrei]

i had the same reaction as you at first precisely because the racism here is so polite. i actually didnt even perceive it as racism for a super long time because of that. but, obviously i see it for what it is now and the longer i live here the less amusing it gets. I defintely think everyone white person should spend some time in a country where they may be discriminated against...actually everybody no matter what your race should do that. Just to get a perspective on what its like being in the minority.

[anonymous]

Yes, yes, and yes to everything you said in the above comment. And from previous comments in this post, I would assume that few Japanese have any insight or awareness that they are prejudiced toward other races. Have you been able to talk about discrimination with your Japanese friends? Do you think that the infiltraton of other races into Japan will make some sort of difference in the attitudes of the Japanese?

Something that I experienced was back-handed "compliments". At a business-related function, the CEO said during a public speach recognizing my presence, that he was surprised at how beautiful I was. At first, I laughed out loud because of the complete absurd-ity and innappropriateness of the comment. Later, I became more annoyed. Racism and sexism... kill 2 birds with one stone. I certainly felt put in my place. Not as an equal human being, but as someone who was judged by her (caucasian) appearance only.

[perfectchaosrei]

yes, i do believe that most japanese people are not aware that they are being prejudiced towards other races. i say this because whenever i've brought up certain issues with my japanese friends or co-workers, they always have a shocked reaction like, "my bad, didn't know!". part of the problem is that when foreigners encounter this type of stuff in japan, a lot of people dont know how to react and let it slide. then there are the foreigners who actually do say something, but get chastised by other foreigners for being too sensitive