Occasional Reader Rob sends along a link to an article in The Telegraph (UK) titled "Why is there no looting in Japan?" An excerpt:
The answer is simple, really. The Japanese have a culture of honor, a culture where the concept of "shame" still has meaning. It's actually beyond meaning, it's a way of life. One simply doesn't do something/anything that would bring dishonor on one's family or close associates. In public, anyway, private behavior can be quite another story altogether. There are exceptions to the honor code on the fringes of Japanese society... every culture has its outliers... and crime most certainly exists. But the national fabric is very much on display in this case of extreme adversity.The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll. The one tiny, tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round in times of adversity, with heroic British rescue teams joining colleagues from the US and elsewhere to fly out.
And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.
Disagree? Want to amplify on my comments (and they prolly require amplification; we are ALL about brevity in these pages)? I welcome your opinion and/or discussion, as long as it's civil.
As I noted to you in my email, another thing that the Western commentators seem blissfully unaware of is that they regularly refer to Japan as "racist" due to its resistance to the current trendy multiculturalism.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion that's completely congruent with your observations about Japanese culture, which does not tolerate cultural relativism. What I've seen of the response of the populace to this disaster does them enormous credit both as a nation and a people - which to the Japanese amounts to the same thing.
A friend pointed out that there was very little looting in England during the Blitz, either - before, or course, England and Europe in general invited cultural suicide via Socialism and unchecked immigration.
Imagine the chaotic social breakdown in Eurabia or the U.S. (Katrina, anybody?) if this happened to them.
Japan IS racist to a large extent and that's one of the downsides of the culture. Anyone who's ever lived in Japan is familiar with the opprobrium visited upon gaijins, whether it's of the "in your face" sort when being denied entry to a nightclub (this happened to me), or the little old lady who will pointedly get up and move to another seat when you sit down next to her on the train (which also happened to me). It ain't pretty, as millions of Chinese... a few hundred thousand of whom lived in Shanghai in 1930-something... will attest.
ReplyDeleteIt's ALL about The Other, Rob. You may think I'm being overly PC here but it's quite easy to place blame, innit? And you know damned well I'm no fan of multi-culti BS, I'm all about assimilation... as in the "melting pot" we used to be.
So. Thanks for your opinion, but I'm thinking the issue is less about multiculturalism and more about the individual's sense of values. One society insists on a set a values and another doesn't. Simplistic, to be sure, but valid none the less.
Interesting point Buck.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese have just as many faults as the rest of us but they have the most important of the social mores that lends itself to order in a time of utter chaos - honor. Mostly overlooked in the western world and quite a shame.
B,
ReplyDeleteI'm all for the melting pot, but "multiculturalism" as it's preached equals "Moral Relativism" as it's practiced.
The whole point of the "melting pot" was traditionally the assimilation into shared values; no arguments about Japan's distaste for outsiders (and I do know about being the focus of racism, as you know, having been a single blue-collar white guy in Oakland for many years,) but their insistence on maintaining their culture has to be seen as admirable.
Europe has lost its way, along with its sense of what it means to have a nation, and they're paying for it brutally. An argument can be made that the same thing is happening in America, at least in the cities.
God bless the Japanese, and God help America if this happens here in the current climate of resentment and envy.
Is what I think.
You are oh-so-correct, Rob. I abhor the multi-culti aesthetic, as practiced. Acknowledging your roots is one thing, adopting cultural relativism is QUITE another. And therein lies our downfall... as noted.
ReplyDeleteSmall-Tee: SOME of us still practice honor... we just need to spread the word...and its values... no?
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts made me think of the Indian culture in the old days in NM. A common punishment for doing something wrong was street sweeping - usually in the early morning hours. It was considered shameful, but was a typical punishment given out by the tribal elders.
ReplyDeleteHonor. Something that is getting to be so very rare in our country these days.
ReplyDeleteBTW. Copied the link to Facebook. Getting some traffic your way, I hope!
Another thought: In America we have created a culture of entiltements. People often think they are "owed" something and will "take it" if it is not provided for them immediately.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I don't know anything about Japan's government programs - if any.
Boy Lou, you hit the nail on the head! What a sharp contrast between New Orleans aftermath and Japans!
ReplyDeleteLou: I like the idea of street sweeping. Bringing back stocks in the public square wouldn't be a bad idea, either. As for Japan's entitlements programs... I have no clue, either.
ReplyDeleteGlenn: Thanks, Bud!
Dale: Lou usually gets right down to it, doesn't she?
Ed West, author of this article is a good friend of mine :)
ReplyDeleteHe writes knockout posts. Ive linked to hundreds on my blog.
I have mixed feelings about this.
For one thing. I doubt there is much to loot.
Secondly my experience of Japan through work has been quite negative. As has my sister's. She's visited numerous times to my once.
We grew up with Japanese neighbours. The husband beat his wife and children regularly for minor "offences" usually associated with shame. His wife was lovely and made a huge effort with us and our customs. He refused, openly. He would think nothing of being rude and making disparaging remarks. In the end my parents gave up being civil towards him.
On the several occasions my sister has visited she has encountered flat out racism and blatant stupidity. From childish commentary on black people, people with beards (!) or anyone they thought oddly of. They were openly rude about people assuming noone spoke the language.
She was always left alone in the hotel and never invited out. A peculiar state of affairs as in Los Angeles huge efforts were made to make sure guests and visitors were looked after. And I can assure you all my sister is an angel. Polite and quite charming. She DREADS going to Japan for work. It's unusual of my PC liberal sister to say so.
My own experiences have been similar to my sisters. Add in rudeness, blatant and rather absurd sexism ("Are there no men who work in this office?" "Yes. All the senior bosses are male" "Oh thank goodness" "Whatever. We seemed to do ok under female leadership in the UK. Ever heard of Thatcher" "Yes" chortle chortle chortle)
Finally - can I ask why England "invited cultural suicide?" How did we invite it? As far as I can tell most all western nations have "invited cultural suicide" and I would include in that the USA.
Anyway. Lord Tebbit seems to like the Japanese enough and he served during the war - so I'm sure you cannot generalise.
One final point. You guys need to visit France if you think Europe has lost its way and is some multi culti hell hole. I spent half a decade running a study on French integration. The French in particular are very much like the Japanese. My French Arab boyfriend was often referred to as a dirty Arab and noone, least of all him, batted an eyelid.
ReplyDeleteAlison: All valid points. TSMP took her undergraduate degree in Japanese and worked as a translator for a number of years before she got out of that bid'niz altogether. Why did she quit? Because she had to deal with Japanese businessmen. There wasn't a day that went by when she didn't come home from work with some horrendous war story, and I'm not exaggerating. A lot of her stories had to do with conversations overheard in elevators and such. She, being a blue-eyed blonde, was never even CONSIDERED by Japanese males (strangers) to be fluent in Nihongo, so they felt free to make the rudest comments imaginable. Being a professional woman in Japanese business basically sucks. So... I know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteThe two of us described our relationship with the Japanese as being a love/hate affair. Like the Little Girl With the Curl... when they are good, they are very, very good; but when they're bad they're HORRID.
VERY interesting. I shall let me sis know your experiences as i know she will be fascinated.
ReplyDelete