Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki
Facts are objective, what constitutes "foriegnness" is very much subjective. It is an opinion. Sometimes I think New Yorkers or Californians are from a different planet, doesn't mean they really are. And I'm not sure I understand how Anne Coulter doesn't drive herself insane. These are examples of "foriegnness" that I feel hold a lot more weight than citizenship/nationality. Politically and culturally, I would say most Japanese make perfect sense to me, and I to them, whereas I can start naming entire groups of Americans I find to be completely nonsensical.
We, as humanity as a whole, need to move beyond this idea that pieces of paper like passports, social security numbers, or alien registration cards can define who we are and how we should relate to a community. It's silly, and while I will go through the legal motions, I won't internalise it the way you have and choose to believe the convenient fiction we print as opposed to the reality of how we feel about ourselves and our place in our communities.
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I agree with both Sangetsu and yourself both are excellent posts. From an observer's view your posts:
A foreigner will always carry the foreigner label.
Even if you are married to a Japanese, children with a Japanese, acclaim citizenship etc... by a majority of the public. Even "Half(s)" sometimes have this issue. You can dress, speak fluently with idioms but your looks and if your background is known you always have that possibility of being treated differently. Little things like being stopped in public and asked for your ID just because the officer can. Being stopped for driving a car and asked why the Japanese in the car is not driving despite having all the credentials. This affects finding a new job and how far you will go with a this job at a Japanese company.
Small things sometimes can get to you.... Even those with good intentions.
Yes, the only things that bother us are the things we let bother us, but it can grow on you.
But that is all it is, a label. I know it, we know it.
I think what Sangetsu was trying to say is that even though it is just a label, and it can be ignored, it is **always** there. And that is bothersome over a very long period of time.
Asian foreigners that look Japanese can either get none to less of this this treatment. For non-Japanese faces its will always be there.
Stereotypes will never vanish from Japan. Japan is not a melting pot like North America so I don't expect this.
In the end this isn't a "real problem" for a white American living in Middle Class Japan. You learn to ignore this and move on. Your family will never see you as this. You make friends that treat you no differently than their Japanese friends etc. Also the white foreign face can work for you positively in other aspects.