J-traditions in decline: the kimono

[kurogane]

I was interested to see propaganda posters in various places including shrines where it's proclaimed how lucky/good it is to be Japanese. There is no context such as in some other countries where these campaigns are used to tell the population that it's a good idea to help countries that don't have their fortunate circumstances.

I think one of my favouritest things about getting back to Japan is the sudden and joyous lack of fat white middling class charity monkeys in chinos and polo shirts engaged in sanctimonious public begging.

You're obviously a nice kid, but this English Missionary in Asia pushing for more charity crap needs to be kicked to death at every opportunity. Charities are parasitic sinkholes that serve as income subsidies for the overopinionated underemployed and the people that run them and think like that are the problem, not the solution. Once you learn to embrace that sentiment, things could get really, really good for everyone.

PS Japan donates billionses and billionses.

[matsuki]

While I agree with your sentiment Kuro, I think he's referring to the whole idea many Japanese subscribe to regarding belonging to some sort of unique and homogeneous DNA more than just being citizens of Japan.

[kurogane]

Are you suggesting they don't!!!!!!!??????????????????????

Thanks, though. Sounded to me like he was suggesting a need for more international charity. And as I noted, they are a huge donor nation in terms of foreign aid. Plus they pay their UN bill.

[matsuki]

Hahahaha, you never played the "What does being Japanese mean?" game before? It drives them crazy....

[kurogane]

Hahahaha, you never played the "What does being Japanese mean?" game before? It drives them crazy....

Well, other than half a PhD.............but that was a whole different game. It was like Spy Game. And at the end of it, I felt like Brad Pitt looked in the final helicopter escape scene.

I don't actually do that much, or at least not anymore. I have a rather irrational fear of plebian sociobiology theories, and actually putting them on the hot seat isn't half as much fun as watching them turn somersaults without knowing it. Like the hypocrisy over the war, or the regulations Canada imposes on Japanese wishing to emigrate there. Or how cruel it is to eat battery hen eggs. Or how foreign men prey on Japanese women.

[matsuki]

Or how foreign men prey on Japanese women.

Hey now, let's not get carried away.

[kurogane]

Or how foreign men prey on Japanese women.

Hey now, let's not get carried away.

Unless it's by one or two of those bountifully bottomed Kyoto babes. But I do have 2 drinking buddies that argue it is more something bad for me to date consenting Japanese women than for them to truckle with Asian and Russian hookers.

I don't get that one either, but I think it relates to me not having to pay for it.

[matsuki]

tumblr_mwtu7zEB0D1qcokc4o1_500[1].jpg

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article- ... mber43.xml

Katy Perry’s geisha inspired AMA performance has been labeled racist by tons of social media users.

The 29-year-old opened the ceremony with her latest song ‘Unconditional’ dressed as a geisha, although her costume was really a mixture of the Japanese kimono and a Chinese cheongsam, Kotaku reports.

The singer was also surrounded by cherry blossoms, Japanese gardens, The Great Wave off Kanagawa and back-up dancers dressed as geishas who spun paper fans.

AMA viewers took to twitter to vent their disgust at ‘Roar’ singer’s appropriation of Japanese and Chinese culture.

Viewer and tweeter Nathan Harris said ‘Oh, good. Katy Perry is dressed as a geisha. I was afraid her sharp vocals would outshine her racism.’’’

“Orientalist opening for the #AMA2013 ? How did anyone think that was ok?” another twitter user said.

Other tweeters leapt to the stars defense, saying that she was showing respect for the Japanese culture.

The performance is not the first time Perry has been accused of racism. Earlier this year she sparked controversy after speaking on Jimmy Kimmel about Japanese culture.

“I’m so obsessed with you [Japanese culture] I want to skin you and wear you like Versace,” she said.

[wagyl]

Choko. Child of racists, and a racist himself.


..and ooh, goodie, another news article premised upon comments on a social media site!

[GomiGirl]

Choko. Child of racists, and a racist himself.


..and ooh, goodie, another news article premised upon comments on a social media site!

Mob rules - didn't you get the memo?

[wagyl]

i suppose I shouldn't be surprised, the way journalists seem to obsess over twitter follower numbers and being blocked.

[matsuki]

Choko. Child of racists, and a racist himself.


..and ooh, goodie, another news article premised upon comments on a social media site!

I always wonder if the "Asian Americans" that usually get upset by shit like this have ever seen the reactions to it from the "victim" cuntry. Or see what goes on in the "victim" cuntry in regards to other cultures.





OMG! How racist!

(BTW, was is Ayu or some other tard that had a feather Lakota chief's bonnet on one of her album covers?)

[matsuki]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... wards-fuss

glorified Japanese prostitute

[sublight]

Jeff Yang from The Wall Street Journal:
"Her traditional outfit had been tightened at the bust with a triangular cutout designed to accentuate rather than flatten her generous bosom, and the sides cut to the waist to expose her pearlescent American legs."

Yeah, Japanese would never dress like that.

[wangta]

Choko. Child of racists, and a racist himself.


..and ooh, goodie, another news article premised upon comments on a social media site!

I always wonder if the "Asian Americans" that usually get upset by shit like this have ever seen the reactions to it from the "victim" cuntry. Or see what goes on in the "victim" cuntry in regards to other cultures.





OMG! How racist!

(BTW, was is Ayu or some other tard that had a feather Lakota chief's bonnet on one of her album covers?)

Yes, I've noticed that there's some weird disconnect regarding native American culture and people (not only in Japan) compared to other minorities historically discriminated against such as black people. Blackface has mostly disappeared with the exception of morons in Korea who enjoy belittling black people this way while pretending it's fun, idiots in the Netherlands blacking their faces to dress as Santa's helper 'Black Piet' and ignoring their black population who know what this stereotype really is, and artists like Beyonce who is black and also talks about her Creole heritage. Yet she received a bad reception for photoshoot in blackface by many African Americans as well as other people in the US.

Yet people can still run around displaying traditional elements of native American culture without showing any kind of understanding of the context or any genuine respect. I'm not politically correct, I am white, and I am not an American but I honestly can't understand how the Washington Redskins team can still carry that name and logo. Exclusively white sports teams in past eras with recent memories of the white 'victory' in the wars with native Americans started using those names and logos to reinforce it.

I am a critic of Obama for a number of reasons and none of them based on his racial background but he had it right when he suggested the Washington Redskins should change their name and logo. I don't think it was publicised much but I am sure the news was true and good on him.

[matsuki]

Choko. Child of racists, and a racist himself.


..and ooh, goodie, another news article premised upon comments on a social media site!

I always wonder if the "Asian Americans" that usually get upset by shit like this have ever seen the reactions to it from the "victim" cuntry. Or see what goes on in the "victim" cuntry in regards to other cultures.





OMG! How racist!

(BTW, was is Ayu or some other tard that had a feather Lakota chief's bonnet on one of her album covers?)

Yes, I've noticed that there's some weird disconnect regarding native American culture and people (not only in Japan) compared to other minorities historically discriminated against such as black people. Blackface has mostly disappeared with the exception of morons in Korea who enjoy belittling black people this way while pretending it's fun, idiots in the Netherlands blacking their faces to dress as Santa's helper 'Black Piet' and ignoring their black population who know what this stereotype really is, and artists like Beyonce who is black and also talks about her Creole heritage. Yet she received a bad reception for photoshoot in blackface by many African Americans as well as other people in the US.

Yet people can still run around displaying traditional elements of native American culture without showing any kind of understanding of the context or any genuine respect. I'm not politically correct, I am white, and I am not an American but I honestly can't understand how the Washington Redskins team can still carry that name and logo. Exclusively white sports teams in past eras with recent memories of the white 'victory' in the wars with native Americans started using those names and logos to reinforce it.

I am a critic of Obama for a number of reasons and none of them based on his racial background but he had it right when he suggested the Washington Redskins should change their name and logo. I don't think it was publicised much but I am sure the news was true and good on him.

I mostly just laugh off the stereo types and clueless twinkies that do that shit. I have more of an issue with how US history as taught in schools there is like 90% white/euro POV with maybe 10% from the black slave POV to come across as "balanced." Hell, there is even a big emphasis on "Black History Month" instead of just including all the awesome people of any ethnicity in regular history.

All this....when the original inhabitants of the land have nearly all their history/culture ignored and what is taught about us is nearly all from a white/euro POV with an US/THEM mentality.(like no Natives exist anymore??) It's even worse in my case as my ancestors are from land that was taken from them first by Spain, became Mexico (So is it Mexican history?), then was taken over by the US (who had befriended the leaders while they were fighting Mexico) who then moved the tribes to really shitty areas and even expelled most of one tribe to Florida as prisoners from 1886 to 1914. None of that shit was in my history books and you've got a better chance at being hit by lightning than finding a non-native American that knows any of it.

[Russell]

Blackface has mostly disappeared with the exception of morons in Korea who enjoy belittling black people this way while pretending it's fun, idiots in the Netherlands blacking their faces to dress as Santa's helper 'Black Piet' and ignoring their black population who know what this stereotype really is,...

It's a thing that is hard to explain to outsiders.

Personally as a kid, Zwarte Piet did not set any racial stereotypes for me. The great majority of Dutch do not think the custom is racist.

Anyway, good luck to get it abolished. Won't happen.

[kurogane]

The great majority of Dutch do not think the custom is racist.

Whether it gets abolished or not, it doesn't make it not blackface. I get what you mean, though, man. My grandparents came on a boat from Denmark, and their Canadian born children and grandchidlren still make slitty eyes and Chingchong sounds when they come to Vancouver. It always makes me laugh, but only at them. It really is terribly White Trash to do that sort of thing.

If the Chinese weren't so touchy and racist at the same time, we could all have quite a bit of fun. It would help a lot if they would just stop being Chinese, but that won't happen. These are the people that put up signs proudly boasting No Whites in This Shop in Canada.

[yanpa]

I have the pm,leasure of working with a white South African, who is not racist but "can't stand" the "blacks" and was so desperate to get out of the place that Japan was an acceptable choice. It doesn't help that he's a bit on the young side with an Ayn Rand-ian mindset and a hang for odd ideas, the latest of which involves a banana diet so he's bringing in this big box of bananas every day. Which lead to another co-worker from deepest darkest India saying "it's like watching a monkey eat". Which still cracks me up every time I think about it.

I guess you had to be there.

[Russell]

The great majority of Dutch do not think the custom is racist.

Whether it gets abolished or not, it doesn't make it not blackface. I get what you mean, though, man.

According to the rest of your comments, you apparently do not get it.

Talking of ignorant. Sheesh.

[Samurai_Jerk]

The great majority of Dutch do not think the custom is racist.

Whether it gets abolished or not, it doesn't make it not blackface.

And just because someone paints their face black, it doesn't mean they're doing blackface.

[Coligny]

Ermargerd... wacists...

8be460e2.jpg

/got nothing...

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I thought Zwarte Piet was when the Dutchies played lynch mob and chased around the darkie until they caught him, at which except they ended up getting stoned together on grass instead of rocks, standing in contrast to say, Alabammy, where they just string 'em up. Then, I remembered, the Boers are essentially Dutch (with some French and Belgian shit in the mix) and wondered whether my initial assumption was correct. Just before I get too sanctimonious, Australia's darkies share a common trait with many living under the Boer...they mysteriously die in prisons. I wonder if Dutch amnesia about racial vilification of non-whites is similar to that suffered by most Australians regarding our cuntry's indigenous population (who never really go and see where the darkies live anyhow, so it's not a great problem anymore, is it?)?
But, I'm ignorant and deluded and stark, raving bonkers, so maybe you can just ignore this post...I don't know what point I'm trying to make, if any. Does Zwarte Piet sing "Mammy?"

Do any Merkins know "Love they Neighbor," "Mind Your Language" or "The Black-and-White Minstrel Show?" These one-time staples of British TV , well, er, colored my views of racial relations in more formative years. Like Benny Hill, Dick Emery and Mrs. Slocombe's pussy, though, Blighty seems blighted by this aspect of its past (and when it does get reminded, like with Fawlty Towers, it expurgates those memories).

[Russell]

SJ, as short as his post is, is the only one who got it right.

[kurogane]

And just because someone paints their face black, it doesn't mean they're doing blackface.

Quibbling exceptions aside, that is exactly what it makes it. That's why it's called blackface. Isolating the act from its dark legacy (ba dum bum) of hate and ridicule doesn't make it not so. Or did I miss another memo, and Down really is the new Up????

At any rate, I am most certainly not accusing you or Russell of being actual tank top wearing racists. From what I have seen so far, you'd both be crap at it anyways. Which is a good thing.

[Coligny]

Ermagerd, France trying to stay relevant got its own blackface scandal...

http://www.france24.com/fr/20131128-aff ... structurel

Basically they explain the stigma in the US by the old 30' comedy pestacle pining the smart and manicured whitey against them unwashed niggurz...

Which is not so easy to picture for a French mind since the 20-30' in France wuz all aboot blaming the Djouzes to be german spies... (and after you wonder why we lost the war...)

[wangta]

Screwed Down Hairdo - I know where you're coming from because I'm not a young Aussie and I'm guessing you're older than me, something like 45 yrs plus but you're also rehashing some outdated concepts of Aboriginal people. Many Australians now have contact with urban Aboriginal people, a fair proportion of whom look as white as me.

It's been over 20 yrs since Aboriginality was re-defined in Australian law to include those who do not appear to be Aboriginal in terms of skin colour or even facial features but have links with an Aboriginal community in one way or another. Some Aboriginal people I have worked with (yep, my job before I came to Japan the first time was one where I worked closely with Aboriginal people) are indistinguishable from standard Anglo, Scottish, Irish or even Scandinavian people but they had at least one Aboriginal ancestor and idenified with their Aboriginal heritage. The broadening of the definition away from the old racist one has certainly helped with the self confidence of the newer Aboriginal generations.

But you will find among Aboriginal people themselves that sometimes this causes disagreement as those who do look Aboriginal feel that some of the ones who do not look dark or darker skinned and don't have Aboriginal facial features generally don't realise what it's like to be identified by others as Aboriginal and therefore didn't get the crap they had to go through at one time or another. But generally the situation for Aboriginal people has developed far more positively than the stereotypes of older Australian society hold.I also have a lot of contemporary info from a family member who works for an NGO that focuses on Aboriginal health.

For at least 20 years the Aboriginal health budget has been more than big enough to solve health problems but solving the problem also depends on factors like encouraging Aboriginals to work in the health system especially as nurses and doctors. Even with a lot of encouragement by extra money for Aboriginal students to live on when at uni etc, it's tough to get them because becoming a doctor is difficult or impossible for most people, regardless of ethnicity or race.

Under Whitlam and co was when the money began being pumped into budgets for Aboriginal people, that was the 70s, land rights came not much later as I often need to tell non Aussies. How it all has been handled has been a big part of the problem. Labor govts proclaimed that land rights would solve Aboriginal problems whereas in fact what were the non rural and outback Aboriginal people going to do? Urban Aboriginals don't want to go and live in the traditional lands.

Self determination has been the buzzword since the 70s and the cruel reality of it in the Northern Territory was that of many (not all of course) Aboriginals spending the social security money on payday on alcohol and junk food. The child abuse and assaults on women/boys occurring in those kinds of areas was kept secret by whites and Aboriginals and only in the last yrs of Howard was the information put out there. As Noel Pearson, traditional Aboriginal leader from Cape York said about the politically correct whites as well as Aboriginals in key positions protesting the Howard intervention - if a white govt intervention is what it takes to stop child and other abuse, then do it.

Aboriginal deaths in custody have resulted in some changes, in fact if you are Aboriginal and come into conflict with the law you will have easier access to free legal knowledge, help and representation whereas a poor white or another person won't have it set up that way initially. Legal rights work on behalf of the Aboriginal communities in Oz has been a key factor for at least 20 years. Sadly most of the deaths in custody of Aboriginal people have been in relatively isolated communities with too many white cops with no connections to the community and just about no Aboriginal cops.

Many of the cops are hardened by continual exposure to alcohol-fuelled problems and with not enough facilities to do something other than lock up somebody attacking somebody else. Contrary to myth most of the alcohol related lockups have not been and are not for Aboriginals just being drunk. Violent behaviour is the offence that sees people locked up. And deaths in custody have fallen significantly over the last ten years.

To Russell - I talked about idiots dressing up to be Piet in blackface and yep, they are idiots. I didn't say white Dutch people grow up with a tradition of racism but I do think the fact that a black man is Santa's servant still in 2013 does give the black population of the Netherlands something to protest about. And they have for a while now. I am sure many of the people watching the fesitivities are not racist but the custom has racist implications.

[Russell]

Just back from welcoming Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet to Kobe, where they arrived today by boat from Spain. It was nice to see all the little Dutch kids and some Japanese kids enjoy meeting with Sint and Piet, impressed as they were with the whole happening. For all the Dutch people it brought them back to their childhood, with warm memories in which family members read each others poems when unwrapping their presents.

It somehow resembles the US tradition of Thanksgiving where family members gather in just as much a warm atmosphere, but I am sure there will always be bigots who point out the cruelty to animals (that is, to the turkeys) and call the people involved all kinds of names. Well, that's life. It seems to be hard to convince the self-righteous.

In itself, painting one's face black is just as much discrimination of black people, as cross-dressing is discrimination of the opposite sex.

The reason why people go ballistic when a white person paints his/her face black is cultural. In the US it is apparently associated with the racism of the recent past, but in the Netherlands it is much less so. In fact, if one takes the effort to study the history in Europe of painting one's face black, one will find that the custom precedes slavery:

The moorish Zwarte Piet character has been tracked back to the middle of the 19th century [in the Netherlands] when Jan Schenkman, a popular children's book author, added an African servant to the Sinterklaas story. However, the original and archetypal Zwarte Piet is believed to be a continuation of a much older custom in which people with black faces appeared in Winter Solstice rituals.

Are the Dutch people happy with all the uproar over Zwarte Piet, especially the recent criticism voiced by a self-proclaimed member of the UN? No, they certainly are not, and they feel everyone has the right to enjoy this custom, whatever race they are. So, they will continue to discuss how to make it more acceptable to people who feel bad about it. That said, it will probably be impossible to satisfy non-Dutch people, since they do not know all the aspects of the custom, and only focus on coloring one's face.

It cannot be denied that there is racism in Dutch society. The best way to find out is to ask a non-white Dutch. A former colleague of mine had a GF from Suriname, and he certainly can witness to that. It is important to fight this racism through laws and education, and hopefully there will be a point in the future where a person in the Netherlands will not be judged by race but by personality, achievements, etc.

Making strong statements about a custom of ages old without educating oneself about its backgrounds is certainly not going to help to get there.

[Samurai_Jerk]

And just because someone paints their face black, it doesn't mean they're doing blackface.

Quibbling exceptions aside, that is exactly what it makes it.

If they're painting their faces black for reasons other than looking like a black person, it's not blackface. That's hardly a quibbling exception. The question is whether or not Zwarte Piet is supposed to represent a black person. From what I've read online since I first heard about him, it seems the answer isn't so simple.

[matsuki]

WhiteLikeMe_7867[1].JPG