Monday, May 14, 2012

Microaggression In Japan: Jealous and Spiteful Japanese Reactionaries

It is only a problem when we do it; right?
Howdy Y'all! It happened again it seems. Life, and other things, pulled me away from this blog. Yet, everyone's favorite gaijin hillbilly is back again. I have more things I want to talk about with y'all again. More things to share and more ideas to express. Make sure to read this and this before going forward to understand what I am about to bring up.

I hope you are ready because...here...we...go.


Anyone with a clue, and sadly there are not many, realize there is a major double standard here in Japan when it comes to us gaijin and Japanese folk. Just take a look at the pic to your left. I am sure that while Japanese men can be horny wolves who chase anything with a pussy, when gaijin men do the exact same thing we are the bad guys.  I have seen so many J-dudes treat women like shit yet these same men get pissed off when a gaijin man even raises his voice to a women in public. Truth be known, a lot of J-dudes don't help their lady friend out so much. Of course, I have talked to a hell of a lot of J-dudes during my time in Japan so far. When the topic of 'helping yo lady' comes up there are common responses such as, 'I don't cook, that is women's work, I don't know how to clean my own clothes, that is for women to do, It is better that women never give their opinion, Men make money, women serve men etc...' Yet, you dare let one of us gaijin mutter any negative opinion toward Japanese women and suddenly we are the lowest form of shit in the universe. I do not hold any of the attitudes or opinions about the opposite sex mentioned in the above sentences, but that does not matter to the average Japanese. It seems that because I am gaijin, I must clearly be a rapist and a women beater no matter what the truth may be. After many years of dealing with this double standard, it seems clear to me that the Japanese mindset is such that they can be dirty slime balls as much as they want but gaijin are expected to be the highest form of human perfection. It seems the agenda is to make it so hard to adjust to life in Japan that we will give up and 'go home.'

Although, the method to attempt to force us to 'give up and go home' is a complex one indeed. This is were microaggression comes into play.

I look at microaggression in Japan the same way as a dog and a bowel of food. Y'all ever see a dog guard his bowel of food when he is not really hungry? Y'all know, the little bastard does not want the food but he will be dammed if anyone touches it. Microaggression in Japan is very similar to a dog who wants to keep everyone away from a bowl of food he does not want in the first place. Gaijin are expected to be perfect because, in my mind, they want us to be what they are unable to be. They want to hold us up to a standard which most humans simply cannot live up to everyday. Even if you are somehow able to live up to even a fraction of that fantasy standard, be damned if we turn right around and expect them to live up to the same standard. That is when the mircoaggression starts.

It goes like this: "We Japanese hate ourselves and our nation. We know we are fucked up and treat you gaijin like shit. Yet, we like being fucked up because it gives us an excuse to blame you for not being as fucked up as us. So, we will guard our bowel of food with the up most aggression, not because we actually like the food, but because as long as we are fucked up and expect you to be perfect you can never get one over on us. We really don't want to live this way but it is better for everyone involved. After all, you are a gaijin, and as we all know, you have a natural advantage over us as being able to move in and out of our society as you please. Fuck you gaijin! Fuck you because due to your sense of liberty and equality people like you and don't like us. So, we must force you to be perfect and pure. As long as we can force you to try to be perfect and pure, we can fuck you over and get away with it. Your forced perfection makes it easier for us to fuck you over as we see fit. If you are actually able to live up to the standard we place on you...well this is Japan so we will turn around and expect you to be just as fucked up as us. As soon as you live up to one standard, we will change the rules and expect you to suddenly live up to a totally new standard which we will create out of thin air. Don't like it? You can always go back to the dirty liberal nation from which you came."

That is the core of microaggression in Japan.


I know, it may be hard to believe me. Fair enough. Due to the cute fucking image of Japan that westerns suck up like scarface on a coke binge, the reality of living in Japan...I mean really living in Japan, is often covered up by images of Shibuya hoes, High school Harajuku shallowness and old beat up temples. That is only the surface of Japan and not the real deal. So, what is it like to deal with mircoaggression? Please allow me to explain.

It usually starts with a look. They look at you with this kind of asshole smile usually followed by some under the belt shot at you verbally. I have pretty much heard it all,"Why do you speak English in Japan?, You don't really use chopsticks correctly; you know?, English is a noisy language, When are you going back to your country?,  Gaijin stink! Take a bath!, Japanese are peaceful people so we don't understand why gaijin are so violent?, You gaijin have too many opinions, Why don't you just do it our way?, Japan is a safe country unlike America were people kill each other for fun, We are farmers and you are hunters so you are violent and we are not, Gaijin all look the same, Why is your noise pointed?, Japanese girls only like you because you have a big dick, and my all time favorite: We lost the war so we have to give you fucking Gaijin visa to come and teach English and fuck stupid Japanese girls." All of these things have actually been said to my face here in Japan.

The above quotes are a perfect example of microaggression in Japan. They seem to have a hard time with holding us up to a fantasy standard, which if we actually live up to, pisses them off beyond belief. It makes me think that a lot of Japanese really do think, deep in their hearts, that gaijin are everything they love and hate about humanity. They hate themselves so in turn they want another group to blame and hate so they will feel better about being uptight assholes who are on a mission to sink their nation to the bottom of the ocean. They cannot admit that they really like us and our way of thinking. If they fully admit they like us then they must also look at themselves and how fucked up they have allowed their society to become. It is simply too much for the average Japanese to do so they often choose to be a nasty little cunt with an ego the size of Mt. Fuji. It makes them feel good to take a shot at a Gaijin.

...And that is microaggression in Japan. If you live here and cannot understand this daily bullshit then you are truly brain dead or brainwashed by the Japanese corp. machine.


And might I add...

There are still many really cool people here in Japan. I have seen things here which also inspire me and uplift me. Not everyone here fits the picture I have just painted. It is just that this post is a picture of a combination of several years living and working in Japan daily. There is a problem with racism and xenophobia in Japan. Still, Japan offers many things besides harsh realities of a semi-isolated society who have a distrust of foreigners.   

Comments (11)

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Where has everyone been? We've been talking about this forever. Is it the cin thing to do now? The Japanese have always been a backwards ass nation with possession of child porn being legal and women being urged to not pursue rape charges and everything else that goes along with a "never was ready for prime time" society.

This place is a fucking joke. I make all the money I want and get all the chicks I can handle and J men can't do 1 and have no clue about the other.
1 reply · active 672 weeks ago
I saw someone mention it on another blog and thought I would give my take. This is the harshest thing I have written in a long time. It gets to the point in which I cannot bit my lip sometimes.

Damn Chris. You comments are always funny and shockingly honest.
Damn Son! Wasn't much "micro" in the aggression you see...shit, if I saw that kind of aggression I would feel relieved! At least then it would be tangible, something I can sink my fucking teeth into. Shit I see is that intangible, invisible, debatable arguable foolishness. You be catching the hardcore, "give a mofo a swift roundhouse kick to the dome piece" kind of aggression. I envy you!
1 reply · active 672 weeks ago
Well, it is not all the other side's fault completely every time. I do speak a bit directly to people. I just get raw reactions from people at random moments. I guess I hang out in areas which are not so popular with foreigners.
"I mean really living in Japan, is often covered up by images of Shibuya hoes, High school Harajuku shallowness and old beat up temples."

Perception is everything! And people that don't know things first hand are the first to clamor that they know all about something. What you have going on with people having a romanticized version of Japan, I have with people thinking California is all sun and rich people.

Via the internet meeting people from other parts of the US or even European countries, they all want to visit California. They make off handed comments like, "It's always sunny in California." "How is Hollywood?" "Do you know any famous people?" I mean really?! It's angering that people in general see California as this sunny place filled with affluent, bronze, pretty people.

It made it much more evident when I went to Germany last month. I dreaded telling people I was from the US and California because they assumed I came from money, were shocked I spoke German and even some told me they thought I was Spanish or Italian because ALL American's are so rude and don't know anything other than English.

We will see how my trip to Japan turns out when I do get a chance to go there in the future to visit a friend and my husband's cousin :p
My recent post Religious I am not.
1 reply · active 664 weeks ago
I hail from West Virginia originally and that curse of a stereotype followed me right to Japan. It seems that every damn westerner has heard about West Virginia and all the lies about my beloved mountain birth place. All the inbred jokes and "WV people are fucking stupid as a stumb" drive me nuts at times.
I think you've been exposed to this kind of thing more than I have. Not that I haven't. I've been attacked in a train station near Tokyo Dome, and I've been mocked on the Yurikamome by a young Japanese couple with my Japanese girlfriend (now wife) sitting next to me.

I get the microaggression often enough. I'm always tempted to respond to "you use chopsticks very well" with "you use a fork very well." I get amazement when people find out I can actually read hiragana and katakana. I've been in Japan for more than 7 years! How can I not know how to read them? But I get this from students who have international experience, and they should know better than to say things like that.
4 replies · active 670 weeks ago
Forgot to mention the juku kids across from where I work. Whenever they see me, they don't seem to be able to act naturally.
My recent post Dangerous driving in Japan
People would be surprised by the crap I DO put up with. I got attacked on the train once too; I think you remember that evening from my tweets. So, many people told me that I should have fought back but my purpose that evening was not to start a fight. Everyone knew that I was speaking the truth and by someone attacking me for it just clearly shows the mentally we are often dealing with in Japan.
There is something odd about Japan that still throws me off even to this day: This nation cannot handle change, or the truth, very well.
I follow the news very closely and I have noticed a trend. Japan has a habit of lying to itself, its people and the rest of the world. Japan has got to start dealing with several very deep rooted problems, and soon.
I had a conversation with a student yesterday who said that he noticed everyone is smiling, like everything is fine. He'd been reading about how China has territorial disputes not only with Japan, but also Philippines and Vietnam. Yet he's surprised at how calm people are in Japan. He told me that most Japanese people are completely ignorant about anything that goes on outside of Japan. Refreshing to hear this from a Japanese person. He understands exactly where you're coming from. He seemed quite disturbed by the Japanese attitude.
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I think they see more than they care to admit. The thing is, they would rather try to decrease the tension than directly confront the situation. I mean, not every one who is native to Japan is backwards and see the world though rose tented glasses.

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