Re: TIME magazine on Akebono

On 2003-11-20, The dog from that film you saw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> "PROMETHEUS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>
>> =====
>> The YOKOZUNA PROMOTION COUNCIL is made up of older people who are not in
>> SUMO. Businessmen, writers, politicians, etc. AKEBONO would not fit into
>> this crowd. Besides, it's for Japanese only, not naturalized Japanese.
>> =====
>>
>>
>
> is it me, or are a large quantity of japanese people racist in a way our own
> racists couldn't manage? - it's as if it's considered perfectly normal and
> nobody frowns upon it.

That depends on what your definition of "racism" is.
Everybody uses a different definition.

It also depends on historical and social reasons for that behaviour.
That makes applying such labels even harder.

In my experience what sets japanese people apart from us westerners is a
more intense sense of belonging together.
If you don't belong to the particular group (be it japanese, or member
of a corporation) you are automatically suspect.
By showing respect and the will to adapt you can usually overcome this,
but by showing ignorance by calling them racist you won't.

Example: if you go to a japanese bank in order to get a credit card, and
you are visibly not japanese, you may not get one because of that.
It seems to happen quite often depending on where you live.
This doesn't happen because they think that you are in any way inferior
because of your race, but because it clearly identifies you as not being
part of their society.
So what do you do?
Complain, and you show that they were right in their suspicions.
The better way is to find neighbours who speak in your favour or people
from the company you work for. Then there usually will be no problem.
It shows that you are willing to work with them instead of against them.

If they were truly racist, it wouldn't matter how much you adapt.

As for Sumo:
Don't forget that this is one of the most japanese institutions.
I guess it would be possible to change that non-native-japanese ban, but
like so many other things it would take time.

It already worked for admitting non-japanese to the sport.
As for the Yokozuna Promotion Council, well, I think Akebono's switch to
K1 didn't exactly help things change.

Bottom line: It's a different culture.
It really is.
Applying western-specific (particularly american-specific) terms of negativity 
is usually a very wrong thing to do.