[Tsuwabuki]

Originally Posted by cranks

GoNative and Tsuwabuki,
I'm not supporting the "Japanese Only" policy at all. I think it should be condemned. However, if you really know WHY it happened in the first place, and if you truly understand Japanese culture, you can't just say 30% of Japanese population are hardcore racists who refuse to service foreigners just because they hate them. He's pretty much making it sound like it, and that sure piss other Japanese people off.

You'll find few of us who have lived in Japan for years who think Debito's tactics are appropriate. I like the guy. I have had some pretty deep conversations with the guy, and I think his heart is in the right place. I still don't think he goes about it the right way.

You're not going to get an argument about this from MMM, Nyororin, myself, and probably not from GoNative either. Debito's antics are well known.

Let's say we've got a bunch of Martian in town. They are pretty similar to us but don't know the culture on Earth. They don't use silverware when they eat, and use their hands instead. In their culture burping at table and spitting is a good manner to show the host their satisfaction.

Now you have a group of them in a classy restaurant. The manager sure gets complaints from local patrons. But he doesn't speak Martian so there is not much he can do. He gets a group of Martian once a week, and more and more complaints. After 2 months, he decides to put up a sign in Martian saying "Earth people only".

If he can take the extra time put up a sign in Martian saying Terrans only, he can also take the extra time to put up the rules in Martian.

Now, I'm not saying Martian should be excluded from the restaurant, but if you know both languages and cultures, shouldn't you be promoting the understandings between them? It seems to me, Debito is rather purposefully staging the dissensions.

Again, Debito's tactics are generally considered to be questionable.

Like in this video, he's asked for his alien registration card by a cop, super politely in my opinion.

YouTube - 反日アメリカ人 vs 洞爺湖サミット警戒中の警官

And he keeps saying "日本人です"”日本人です” . But come on. He has a strong foreign accent, and his grammar is a bit shady too. Why can't he just say "帰化したので、今は日本人なんですよ（I neutralized）". One word could have instantly solved the situation. But instead, he kept on nagging and nagging the cop.

That's "naturalised."

You will learn, if you live in Japan even for a short while, that Japanese people can be just as sarcastic, nasty, and condescending as anyone else on the planet. Just because the Japanese language they use is textbook polite doesn't meant they're being polite.

Debito is a citizen and has every right to refuse to offer identification unless suspected of a specific crime. In which case the police officer needs to say that, and the suspicion must be based on more than just "yonder babaa saw a white face doing something she didn't like." Certainly a police officer can request identification when a person is a suspect or a material witness, and you are obligated even as a citizen to comply. You are certainly not obligated to comply just because the police officer feels like he wants to be a douchebag today and decide to determine the legal status of every non ethnic Japanese person that walks by.

If you are asked for an ID in the states by the authority, and speak in thick Mexican accent, and goes like "Me american. Why you want ID?" and refuse to show it, you can get arrested.

You can be arrested, sure, and then you sue the police for false arrest. It is unconstitutional to stop someone and check their immigration status because they look and sound "Mexican" and not because there is probable cause. That's racism. It's wrong and it's illegal.

Why do you think the Feds are suing Arizona?

You can be asked for your name. SCOTUS ruled that police can ask for your name. They cannot ask for anything else, and you cannot be penalised strictly for refusing to answer further questions or to show ID. And John Paul Stevens wrote the dissenting opinion even claiming THAT was against the Fifth Amendment.

I'm not saying his intension is bad, I'm not saying "Japanese Only" policy should be allowed. The lawsuit against Onsens in Hokkaido was probably a good thing. But his taking a very American approach to very Japanese problems, which is ironic considering he wants to be treated as Japanese. Regardless of what his intension is, what he's doing, at least some of them, don't look to be really promoting the real understandings between both parties. In fact, that video surely attracted some hatred towards Americans.

He wants to be treated as a citizen. He is not and can never be ethnically Japanese. He knows this. Even before he had citizenship, he was an activist. He followed the process, and he became a citizen. The Japanese authorities found no compelling reason to deny his petition. Therefore, his cultural background is really immaterial.

I'm also not a cultural or moral relativist, so I'm not one to think about "the Japanese way" or "the American way" on the matter of civil rights. There is only protection of rights and the oppression of rights.