I fear your curse still lingersā¦ You need to watch the video!
Comment on Cool Japan šø
TheSlad@sh.itjust.works āØ6ā© āØhoursā© agoRacism is the belief that one or more āracesā is superior to the others, or the opposite; that one or more āracesā is inferior.
Racial discrimination can be for many different reasons. Iām not saying racism isnt the reason in this case, but without more context we canāt know for sure.
diffaldo@lemmy.dbzer0.com āØ3ā© āØhoursā© ago
Jaycifer@piefed.social āØ2ā© āØhoursā© ago
That is too narrow a definition of racism. Merriam Webster defines it as a belief that race is determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of one race over another. Racism is also defined as actions that reflect or foster that belief. It can also be systemic oppression of people based on race.
Based on that, you could maybe argue that language is cultural and not racial, therefore this is cultural discrimination more than racial discrimination, but in a place with an incredibly low ethnic and language diversity for the size of its population thatās just a distinction without a difference.
What this sign indicates is that they only want Japanese reading people, and in Japan thatās going to be almost exclusively native Japanese people, so itās not a stretch to say that they do not want non-Japanese reading and therefore non-Japanese people. A policy like that is reflective of a belief that non-Japanese people do not belong in that business, and that is racist.
darthsundhaft@piefed.social āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
Thatās kind of how Iām looking at it. Idk why people are trying to claim it so hard to being racism. What if the person passing by is Japanese American and they actually canāt read Japanese? Like what do you call it then? Japan has been known to actually be racist (e.g. against Naomi Osaka) but this example, on a matter of technicality, I cannot confidently say (without bias) that this is outright racism. (even though it could be)
Legit donāt get why people are downvoting. Discrimination is literally a word. WTF people. FFS
chuckleslord@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
Bud, I love Japan. You know theyāre the only axis power that still openly celebrates their WWII generals, yeah? Itās racism, Japan is a racist country. Like, definitionally.
This is like going to Jim Crow America, seeing a āWhites Onlyā water fountain sign and arguing that we need more context to know if itās racist. You donāt, it is.
Uruanna@lemmy.world āØ3ā© āØhoursā© ago
Okay so this one is ultra cultural. They still openly ācelebrateā generals who tried to overthrow the imperial family then cursed the capital after their death to be hit by a plague, natural disasters, and famine, over a thousand years ago. With people from the imperial family dying from it. Thereās several people like that who literally have an active cult today, to alleviate their anger. Itās not about being happy with what they did, itās about appeasing everyone who wielded power and caused fear even after their death, because they have a culture of vengeful ghosts and Chinese Buddhism gave them the idea that people with power in the āreal worldā court still maintained the same power in the court of the underworld and could cause natural disasters and plagues. That said, I donāt know how many of those cults are still observed by the Prime Minister.