Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul11
When people say they understand what it's like to be a minority after living in Japan, it may not be the same, but it gives enough to draw inferences. There were a ferw things that happened to me because I was a foreigner, so I feel I have at least a taste of being a minority.
Also, MMM said something abuot being white in Japan brings mostly possitive responses. True. However, you'll find people trying to be your freind solely for your being a foreigner. that sucks. It takes a while to know who is sincere. In America, black folks may face discrimination, but they are also subject to endless fascination. Young white kinds listening to rap and emulating that culture and adoring sports fans. everyone wants a peice of those people. To be white in Japan is to be treated differently and also be the object of fascination. It's a love/hate relationship. It may not be so bad, but like I said earlier, it gives just enough so one can draw further conclusions.
On the first day of my current career (7 years ago) 70 people stood-up and introduced themselves. It was fascinating how many poeple used an ethnic stereotype to describe themselves and detemine some of their behavior.
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You can learn what it feels like not to be in the majority, but that's not necessarily the same as feeling oppression, racism, and mistreatment some minorities feel in some countries on a daily or even hourly basis.
I am not diminishing the experience, I learned a lot from my time as the only non-Japanese in my neighborhood, but I wouldn't compare it to the exoereince of beinga minority or foreigner in the UK or in the USA.