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You have been CURSED đ¨ to lift the curse u must watch this video
Submitted â¨â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago⊠by â¨diffaldo@lemmy.dbzer0.com⊠to â¨memes@sopuli.xyzâŠ
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You have been CURSED đ¨ to lift the curse u must watch this video
I used a bus in Japan to go to Mount Fuji. Seats were assigned like in a plane and I was sitting next to some Japanese guy. I did my best to respect their customs and remained silent and kept to myself for the two hour ride. The inside of the bus was as silent as a church for the entire drive even though it was full.
On the way back at the end of the day, the bus had dropped a few passengers somewhere and stopped at a station for a toilet break. When we boarded again the driver went to see the passenger beside me and moved him to another seat on the bus to sit in a seat that had been freed up next to another Japanese person.
Iâve spent the rest of the ride wondering what I had done wrong. Itâs really a fucked up feeling and it must be horrible to be experiencing this sort of passive aggressive racism in a daily basis in your own home.
It probably wasnât anything wrong you had done wrong. From what Iâve been hearing from some family who do business in asia. As they explain it, Japan has had an economic whiplash from the 80s and a lot of those cultural and economic policies that gave them initial success were not sustainable long term. And since Japan is a VERY proud culture, theyâve found it easier to blame outsiders than their own miscalculations.
theyâve found it easier to blame outsiders than their own miscalculations.
Enough said, round the world
The inside of the bus was as silent as a church for the entire drive even though it was full.
Is that not the case where youâre from? Genuinely almost never heard anyone having a conversation on an intercity bus
In my country, almost any group travelling together is going to speak on a long-haul bus or train, many of them most of the time. And lots of people make phone calls. There have to be designated quiet coaches (or open rail cars since coaches are falling out of fashion).
Itâs pretty common for long haul routes to feature chatter, the chatter goes up exponentially if something goes south. As weâd then have a shared experience of sitting in queue on the highway together
Itâs really nothing you did. The people there just randomly decide to stand up in crowded trains if you are a foreigner and sit beside them. Or this time I was just walking down the street and the lady who was walking towards me just randomly crosses the street and walks past.
Japan is one of the most xenophobic countries on the planet. This is just one example.
Despite having population crisis and financial loses, they are still committed to xenophobia. They are master of that.
Sure would be a shame if they also had an abysmally low birth rate which will result in their societal collapse.
Probably on my list of reasons why I donât want to visit Japan
Ive been to Japan a few years ago and they always felt very friendly and welcoming. Theyâre somewhat shy and awkward, but canât say I had any negative experience.
If you want to feel bad, go to Italy, especially Rome. Many Italians are super racist, hate tourists and are not afraid to hide it.
Youâre going to face it anywhere you go. Donât let it hold you back. Thereâs always a slight feeling of unease around those that are different from yourself. But not everyone turns it into a justification to hate. I saw this video 5 years ago about a guy going to Japan trying to track down the location of a meme image from the early internet. They ended up heading off to a smaller town that wasnât very touristy. Something that could go very badly. As some of the small towns like anywhere else can be very insular. But instead when they got there. Ended up spending the night chatting up an eager bar owner about Kurosawa and star wars.
Iâll never prejudge an individual from Japan or any other nation.
I will however judge the polity as a whole.
Mfs still pretending like they never did any warcrimes.
Literally every country on the planet is xenophobic, people only make a big deal out of it when itâs a western or western-aligned country.
The entire idea of inclusivity, tolerance, and multiculturalism is primarily a western idea sprung from western humanist values and honestly only even taken seriously in secular democracies which tend to be aligned with the west.
And then people act like the west and west-aligned countries are so depraved for not perfectly living up to those values, when hardly any other nation even tries or has any desire to.
Itâs honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.
I told people in North Iraq I am from Turkey, and despite my government fucking genociding their population and oppressing them for years, these people were welcoming. Travel more, I guess?
This is such an ignorant take. Multiculturalism is actually the norm in most of the world throughout history, and the rare instances of isolationism are more often a result of geography than culture. The current xenophobic and nationalist state of the world is an aberration resulting from rampant and ongoing colonialism in the past few centuries. Many nations that exist today encompass regions that were far more multicultural and politically complex prior to their colonization by Europeans.
As for the West, our current secular humanist values are the result of the enlightenment period in which European colonizers appropriated and synthesized the ideas of colonized peoples around the world. The reason we donât live up to them is because we stubbornly refuse to reckon with our colonialist past and present, such that we just go on living with the contradiction to the detriment of the world and ourselves.
Itâs honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.
Not caring doesnât make you cool, it just makes you another cynical asshole among many. IMO the world could do with less cynical assholes.
Still racist
It wasnât saying it wasnât tho
I mean, genuinely, how? Itâs not saying you need to be Japanese to enter, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. IMO, learning the local language of a country you plan to visit is a basic courtesy that too many people donât bother with.
âIâm tired of all these immigrants coming over here and not even being able to speak the language. This is [country] and we speak [language] here!â
Thatâs what you sound like.
⌠How many countries have you ever visited to say that
Like, being able to speak the very basics I agree. Numbers, hello and goodbye, thank you, etc.
But âIf you can read this, you may come inâ is pretty advanced. Like, probably requiring weeks of daily study level advanced to be able to understand.
Jim Crow literacy tests have entered the chat
Ah, yes, everyone whould spend months to learn the language of every country they visit even though they might be there for only a few days.
How are you this dumb? I highly doubt youâve ever been outside the country you were born in, and if you have you certainly didnât follow your own thought here.
Google Lens tells me that the description is accurate. Even though i love japanese culture, they are racist as fuck, so i am not ever surprised.
Guess whoâs reading this, lol
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Anyway, this is blatantly racism and donât give me the âyes but what if they donât have anyone who speaks english or chinese?â Thatâs fair but in that case you put something that says âsorry we donât have any english speaking staffâ or tell me directly but anyway, it shouldnât be that hard to order tbh, yeah i canât talk but we are in 2026 with such translation tools, i can scan, look at what it says and then point at the various menu entries with my finger, to pay i can just look at the numbers lmao
âLmaoâ your ability to use software to translate for you doesnât change the intent behind this sign. Japan is racist AF despite their polite society, and there are a growing number of restaurants and other establishments with signage that outright says some version of âno foreigners/no white people.â You will probably get a frosty reception in this establishment if you decide to enter it because you decide you were too clever to be deterred.
Well, what is the alternative? Not eat? It may not be a problem in bigger cities but smaller ones it probably is (but i have never been to japan so idk)
I mean, if the Japanese text says âif you can read this, youâre welcomeâ, it does suggest that English or Chinese people who speak and read Japanese are welcome. Itâs a real weird thing to pull, like they think theyâre being cute.
Your phone will be allowed in, but you have to stay outside.
Can people really no longer differentiate between xenophobia and racism?
Not being pedantic, but misnaming thins only adds to the woes of the world, to (mis)quote Camus.
But japanese people are not only xenophobic, they are also racist. There was a show that, if I remember correctly, made fun of a black person for making sushi. Like it was the funniest thing ever for them. Racism has been normalised in the japanese society, but thereâs also blatant xenophobia.
However, if I were to chose between being victim of racism in the US or in Japan I would always chose Japan because there would be fewer threats to my life.
Itâs both. I knew a guy who was half black, half Japanese but he was born and raised in Japan. Despite being native born and culturally Japanese, he still faced a lot of discrimination because he was black. Among the expats, we were all discriminated against due to being foreigners, but the black people got it the worst.
I know a handful of white Americans who at a glance youâd never guess theyâre highly educated polyglots and would meet the requirements for entering this restaurant. The way the sign is worded, I think youâre right, only fluent Japanese people allowed here because we only speak Japanese here.
Japan, where racism doesnât usually get the same criticism it does elsewhere for whatever reasonâŚ
Japan cast cat girl, it was super effective. All knowledge of atrocities was erased from western nations.
Theyâre hateful, but theyâre cute.
Just like the cats.
This. Also the massive online love affair with Japan and anime sure does a lot to distract people from the less savoy aspects of Japan.
Japan is too far away and too aligned with the west to receive criticism for racism
Iâm not sure being aligned with the west means much while people are extremely critical in and outside western countries about racism.
That is because they have soft power.
I think itâs more so that what looks like them being polite to most is meant as something extremely rude. Also not to mention the love affair most have with Japan online.
They get an easier pass because their products are top-notch. Toyota basically invented Six Sigma/a globally used process for manufacturer defect elimination. A Japanese automaker invented QR codes. They have Nintendo, anime, etc. They changed and continue to impact the world in highly recognizable ways, not by merely cheap products (China), cheap labor (India), etc.
Tldr if your good enough at engineering you can be as racist as you want to be unless youâre white.
They get an easier pass because the US needed a vassal state in the Pacific.
I have worked with a Japanese company for almost 2 years and never ever again. The racism, incompetence and ass covering is astounding. The way they treat women is also appalling but no one talks about this.
Iâll never understand why western people love Japan, but vilify China. My experience in working in China is a total opposite of Japan.
You found that the Chinese werenât racist or sexist? I agree with you about Japan, but China was hardly enlightened. They were mostly just louder and more obnoxious, where the Japanese were overly formal and quiet.
Both cultures also had a lot of superstitions, like words or phrases you shouldnât say, or lucky or unlucky numbers.
One word: âpropaganda.â
Generally I think itâs because the Japanese have had continuous cultural interacting with the West for centuries at this point. Everything from Dutch and Portuguese trade during the sengoku jidai, to pirate ronin in the Philippines during isolation, to Japanese communities from Baja Sur to the cascades, and then finally stable connections being made post commodore Perry. In contrast the Chinese have had less than stable connections due to massive cultural changes every couple hundred years including periods of isolation, the collapse of the Ming fucking up trade routes for a time, the Qing being notably more isolationist, the warlord and Republican period being a shitshow, followed by the isolation of the communist period shattering a lot of western interst, it makes for less than stable connections.
Also thereâs the whole great firewall of China thing going on which further seperates things in the modern age of the internet, itâs not total separation but itâs enough to be notable. In contrast I have been cussed out by a Japanese person, a Ruskie, an Aussie, and a fucken Peruvian simultaneously while playing games.
I see my self like both China and Japan
On Okinawa, the red light area routinely used to refuse âchocolate menâ for being âtoo strongâ
Important to note that English is a world-language. So tourists from Italy, Syria, Mozambique etc also mostly speak English while visiting foreign places. This is NOT an âAmerican tourists litterâ thing.
My wife is southeast Asian. Going to Japan, I felt a lot of like⌠weird energy at times where they just kind of looked at me. I never felt unsafe, just judged. I told my wife this, who said she felt the complete opposite. She was born and raised in the States, and we traveled to a bunch of States (fuck Missouri) where she really felt unsafe like if she didnât leave town, they would make us. And Ive shared before how we got a âGo back to your own countryâ from other people, and even one showing off his gun.
Do I feel like Japanese racism is uncalled for? Absolutely. Again, I never felt unsafe. So itâs really interesting to see this perspective in the comments like this is the worst disgusting attitude in the world because someone snubbed them.
Never heard of a restaurant posting a sign on the door saying theyâre full.
The amount if racism in Asian countries is very worrying
and yet japan is still viewed as an utopia by reddit weebs, despite japan being really racist
A couple of thoughts:
Yes, Iâve heard before, even from people living in Japan, that they are quite xenophobic.
Now, why is this not condemned from the west ? (I know Chinese people and they do remember WW2)
As everything several reasons:
Japan has a great propaganda machine to make their culture look cool AF: anime/manga, the mythology around temples, samurais, ninjasâŚ
The good parts of their culture, specially in contrast to the west: the extreme politeness, how clean and organized they are, civility/safety, super good and maintained public services such transportâŚ
The âpretend WW2 didnât happenâ. They were absolute monsters on WW2, way beyond the nazis, but the combination of doing a 180 towards the west and the atomic bombs made it so the west was comfortable with looking the other way while Japan conveniently forgets his war crimes (for anyone unaware search for Nanjing, be warned is a hard read, but is important not to forget)
The âpacifist xenophobiaâ. When you go to japan their way of practicing xenophobia is quite passive, like, letâs be clear, you are loud and disgusting for them, but they will never tell you that, and you are probably never going to be in danger. At least as a tourist this is 100% like this, they might even just feel introverted rather than xenophobic. From what Iâve heard from people living there, it gets more clear when you live, but didnât get any âIâm in dangerâ feeling from them, so I guess that low key discrimination is like that.
Now, not saying any of that makes it good, but I can understand why there is a different level of pushback than to the USA for example, where if you are brown and meet an angry cop or redneck (or both), you might end up dead.
I know for the fucking internet there is no such thing as grey, is either black or white, but I think the world is more nuanced than that.
BTW, for their work culture alone I would never live there, and while I like an anime or two, Iâm not an otaku by any means. I did enjoy my vacation on Japan several years ago, but not more than the one on China or other Asian countries.
âNo Blacks, No Dogs, No Irishâ
If you dont have any staff who speak those languages I kinda get not wanting to provide service to people who only speak them, though it would probably be better to just say âno foreign language service availableâ
Meanwhile in the west:
Racism: đ¤Ź
Racism against Asians: đđđ¤Ą
Isnât it xenophobia more than racism?
Not race but âI am tired of touristsâ-ism
Doesnât say anything about race, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. Isnât that more like linguism or something?
Probably not worth visiting them anywaysâŚ
Not sure how accurate it is to call it racism but definitely discriminationâŚ. like literally.
If you could turn the lights out to the entire world for ten seconds, when you turn them back on half of Asia will have killed the other half. And if you ask where everyone else is they wonât even know who youâre talking about.
âNot in front of outsidersâ does a lot of peacekeeping. The second the west forgets NK theyâre doomed, thatâs why their whole foreign policy can be boiled down to âLook at me!â
People have google translate and shit. This wonât stop them
What soft power does to a mf
I like my prejudice right out in the open. Just like this
As a fully white motherfucker, thatâs hillarious, I love it
Not racist. You can learn whatever language you want. In fact you donât even need to learn Japanese. You can just use a translator app. This only is discrimination against those too lazy to do either.
Ostrakon@lemmy.world â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
The people defending this as ânot racismâ⌠way to miss the point. If this was some BBQ joint in Texas with a sign that says closed in Spanish but open in English you wouldnât be posting these comments
baronvonj@piefed.social â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
The odds of a Texas BBQ joint not having any Spanish speaking employees is exceedingly small.
treesapx@lemmy.world â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
And yet they are cheering for ICE to arrest them all. No matter the status or paperwork. If theyâre arrested then they are guilty. Thatâs how it works down here.
Mac@mander.xyz â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
lol what? Have you ever been to Texas?
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
I mean, itâs also racism. Those people are just stupid.
Taldan@lemmy.world â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
It literally isnât racism though. You can disagree with it and think it should be banned, but there is no interpretation that it can realistically be called racism
I lived in Japan for a while. Iâve seen a couple places with a sign like this. In my experience every place like this is perfectly willing to have foreigners that speak Japanese. They simply donât want to deal with the hassle of a language barrier
I should also note these places were always in touristy areas. If they donât have a sign like that, theyâll end up with majority English speaking customers, because Japanese customers prefer places without rowdy tourists that canât speak the local language. I did too. Going out for an after work beer, you want an entirely different atmosphere from tourists getting hammered
asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Why not just post the truth then? They could say âWeâre sorry, weâre unable to accomodate non-Japanese speakers due toâŚâ?
atopi@piefed.blahaj.zone â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
It would still not be racism
Xenophobia at worst, only hatred of tourists at best
bold_omi@lemmy.today â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Xenophobia is inherently racist.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Yeah letâs start calling it racism when Barcelona locals spray tourists with water guns and see how quickly these same people scream âTHATâS DIFFERENT!â
SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Its called Xenophobia.
Xenophobia and racism are distinct forms of prejudice: xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreigners, while racism is the belief in racial superiority and systemic oppression based on race. Though they overlap, they target people for different reasons.
rdri@lemmy.world â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
It doesnât say âif you are of that race we are openâ. It says you must understand the language. So learn it - youâll need it anyway to live there - or go elsewhere, where staff can serve you on your language, provide a menu on your language etc.
A hate system where you can upgrade your status by learning is not racism. Also not necessarily a hate system in the first place.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
If an American moves to Europe and doesnât attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say theyâre in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
Clearly âAmericans expecting foreigners to speak Englishâ is different from âOther countries expecting Americans to speak the local languageâ from a moral point of view. So why is Japan then lumped in with America as the âLocal people must accept and accommodate foreigners who canât communicate in the local languageâ bucket, when anywhere else itâs âIf youâre traveling there and you didnât even try learning the language, then youâre ignorant and entitled.â?
kuiskaaja@lemmy.ml â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
thatâs absolutely not the case in places like the netherlands and the nordic countries, people dont really give a fuck cus everyone speaks english anyway (unfortunately)
i think the dutch and the scandinavians have hit their head or something cus their languages are so easy to learn but in iceland and finland itâs possible to never get fluent even with a lot of effort, cus the languages are damn hard, so people are understandably more forgiving
mkwt@lemmy.world â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
My American cousin lived and worked in France as an engineer for several years. This is absolutely not true. He did make an effort to learn some French, but it wasnât because of any pressure. He just wanted to.