Living in Japan isn't all about games. Just mostly 
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.Taken Down by Nationalist Japanese Woman
Posted 10-29-2010 at 07:36 AM by Chris_D
To set the scene, being from Australia, one of the typical opening questions I'll ask a group of young students is "Do you like kangaroos?". The answer is almost always yes because almost all Japanese think that kangaroos are cute and loveable (obviously having never been kicked in the face by one). My followup question is "Do you like to eat kangaroo steak?", insinuating that us Australians like a nice grilled piece of roo. Unsurprisingly, the answers range from "I've never tried that" to "You're sick!" and "That's gross!".
Anyway, after a party where I used an introduction much like the above, I had this conversation with a older Japanese lady who appeared to be in her late 40s (paraphrased to more natural English and translated where appropriate).
Woman: You really eat kangaroos?
Me: It's not uncommon.
Woman: What's the deal with you slaughtering those cute kangaroos?!
Me: Well, kangaroos do exist in plague proportions and as part of wildlife management, a certain numb...
Woman: That's crap! And you are always giving us shit about eating dolphins and whales!
Me: Umm...
Woman: And you Australians are always coming down to Wakayama and stirring up shit!
(Wakayama is the prefecture where the annual dolphin hunt takes place, as shown in the Cove)
Me: Oh, um, I think dolphins have been shown to have levels of intelligence close to humans so maybe that's why some people feel strongly about...
Woman: Those are all lies! And your trying to destroy our whaling tradition that goes back centuries.
Me: Actually, I think the eating of whale meat only became really common in the years following World War 2 when any kind of meat was in short supply. Also, much of the current scientific catch is thrown away because most Japanese people just don't like eating it.
Woman: You are...(becoming incoherent)
Me: Help! *taps out*
Anyway, after a party where I used an introduction much like the above, I had this conversation with a older Japanese lady who appeared to be in her late 40s (paraphrased to more natural English and translated where appropriate).
Woman: You really eat kangaroos?
Me: It's not uncommon.
Woman: What's the deal with you slaughtering those cute kangaroos?!
Me: Well, kangaroos do exist in plague proportions and as part of wildlife management, a certain numb...
Woman: That's crap! And you are always giving us shit about eating dolphins and whales!
Me: Umm...
Woman: And you Australians are always coming down to Wakayama and stirring up shit!
(Wakayama is the prefecture where the annual dolphin hunt takes place, as shown in the Cove)
Me: Oh, um, I think dolphins have been shown to have levels of intelligence close to humans so maybe that's why some people feel strongly about...
Woman: Those are all lies! And your trying to destroy our whaling tradition that goes back centuries.
Me: Actually, I think the eating of whale meat only became really common in the years following World War 2 when any kind of meat was in short supply. Also, much of the current scientific catch is thrown away because most Japanese people just don't like eating it.
Woman: You are...(becoming incoherent)
Me: Help! *taps out*
Total Comments 3
Comments
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See, the issue there is you let her get away with her strawman argument of all foreigners being the same.
'Did you, personally, see me at Wagayama? No, didn't think so' Alternatively you could point out that a lot of Kangaroos are actually bred for the purposes of being butchered as opposed to being culled from a non-sustainable wild population. Alternatively punch her in the face. |
Posted 11-02-2010 at 10:01 PM by KamaItachi
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Haha, thanks for all the advice
 . Technically, she was a co-worker for the day, so I was limited into what kind of violence I could inflict on her. Also, she really did catch me off guard, I had no intent of having such a conversation. So, what you read above is pretty much the best I could manage at the time. I'm just glad this almost never usually happens to me! |
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Posted 11-03-2010 at 01:26 AM by Chris_D
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I think there's a very common misconception about the freedom of speech in 'gaikoku' and one that I've tried to counter. The number of times I've heard 'ah, it's be great to like in X country, you can say anything you like!'. I've been at pains to point out that that really isn't true and the sort of things you get in trouble for saying in Japan, are pretty much the same things you'll get in trouble for everywhere else.
I think this idea sort've follows through where many Japanese people believe they can say anything to a foreigner and it's acceptable. I've been used as a walking confessional many times and on occasion a walking target for people's aggression or frustration/misunderstandings of anything/one foreign. One things that's funny is that the most vitriolic, angry, teeth-gnashing rants about Japan came from one of my co-workers, Koichi, who hated living in Japan. He was a well traveled, well read guy, but his frustration at living there was palpable. I think it only got compounded by the fact that his wife and kid, when abroad, would only spend their time in the more Japanese friendly areas of wherever they went. Oh yeah, and he would often ask me for recommendations on bolstering his apparently significant pornography collection before he went anywhere... |
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Posted 11-03-2010 at 04:14 PM by KamaItachi
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