My god, it must be so unpleasant to be the kind of person who thinks about that for the hours necessary to write an essay like the one he wrote ten years ago, and to continue stewing on it for ten years.
I’ve lived in China for more than seven years and I definitely have an empty seat beside me on the metro more often than Chinese people and children and tourists say 老外(foreigner) regularly enough. So what? Life is good. I’m never going to be Chineses, same as he’s never going to be Japanese. If that bugs him why not go home? No one’s making him stay in Japan.
Change the things you can, accept the ones you can’t and if you can’t deal with that get out.
Wow. This is a truly horrifying attempt to normalize racism. "If you don't like it, just go home." He's been there for a decade. The author likely sees Japan as his home.
The social mechanics of Japan are certainly quirky by western standards, but that doesn't mean that some things aren't universally unacceptable. You might as well say, "If you don't like persecution of gays, stay out of Nigeria." "If you think women should be able to drive, stay out of Saudi Arabia." (recently changed)
As a traveler, and someone that's been to almost 50 countries, I tend to keep my head down and not make waves when I'm out of my the cultures where I feel at home. But that doesn't mean that I can't write about injustices. That's what you're literally saying the author is not entitled to do. After a decade in said country.
> "If you don't like persecution of gays, stay out of Nigeria." "If you think women should be able to drive, stay out of Saudi Arabia." (recently changed)
I mean... yes? I cannot recommend living in either country as a member of one of those groups. Nor can I really understand the egocentric view that if you voluntarily choose to move to a new country that country's culture should change as to be comfortable for you.
I think when you experience prejudice regarding your race, it’s unfair to characterize that as “stewing”.
Maybe you don’t find this article or his initial piece insightful; that’s fair enough.
But I also think it’s fair of him to shine a light on unfair treatment in the place he lives, without people suggesting - without irony - that he “go home”.
FWIW I live in Japan and I get uneasy around foreigners. And I'd be especially uneasy around folks from my home country!
> experience prejudice regarding your race
I think it might be more about culture than race. Race is a good proxy for "not Japanese". While Japan is not 100% ethnically uniform, if someone doesn't look Japanese they are most likely not Japanese.
When I see a foreigner I don't know if they've been in Japan long enough to share the same values, respect the culture, and the rules. Can I trust them the same way I trust the Japanese? Japanese have earned my trust over time. And spending time in Japan has changed me.
But a foreigner?! I don't know where are they from. I don't know what their country is like and I don't know what they are they like.
Japan is probably the safest place in the world (maybe Singapore can compete? But it's so tiny it's not fair competition). The rest of the world feels like a jungle. Full of wonder, yes, but also full of unknown dangers :)
If you spend extensive time reflecting on an injustice you can’t do anything about and that isn’t going to change that is absolutely “stewing”. I know someone who is still bitter at someone years dead and brings them up to bash them regularly. They were wronged and they’re stewing.
The article’s plenty insightful, it provides a wonderful insight into what it’s like to be the author, and secondarily, an aspect of being a foreigner in Japan that obviously really disturbs some.
There’s no need for quotation marks on home in your last paragraph. Mr. McNeil is not attempting to be Japanese. He’s professionally American in Japan. He writes for English language publications, campaigns for American cultural attitudes and despite living in Japan for 15 years and being a writer his Wikipedia page is only in English.
If he’s being treated unfairly there’s no evidence of it in the linked article.
I don't understand the conclusion that just because he wrote a couple of articles about it ten years apart, that he's been constantly stewing on it for that entire time. Maybe it's something that only occurs to him when he's on the train, and even then maybe only sometimes, and maybe - as a writer - he's trained to recognize these transient thoughts and tease them into articles. That's what a lot of these slice-of-life articles are, focusing on moments that would otherwise slip by and escape notice.
It's not "unfair treatment," it's perfectly normal for people to feel more comfortable around their own. They don't know if this guy knows train etiquette, if he has body odor - only around 10% of East Asians do, or maybe it's just that he's wider than the average Japanese person, as it appears so from his picture.
He's a guest in their country, and it's impudent for him to think he has the right to be sat next to at the same rate as Japanese people. If he doesn't like it, he should leave.
The East Asian ABCC11 allele results in less spontaneous body odor, but exactly because of that many people of East Asians descent (particularly in East Asia) bathe less often than Americans.
You know who also enjoy reduced apocrine secretions? Old people. But there's a definite musk to old people, very much like the musk of a bunch of non-sweaty people on their second or third day (or longer) since showering.
But I wouldn't not sit next to somebody because of that; certainly not in the expectation that I might smell something. (Although certainly I've wished I hadn't sat somewhere because of this.) I find it difficult to believe that even the Japanese would do this, even for a black foreigner[1]. More likely their aversion is more general and non-specific. It takes effort to be that racist, considering the circumstance (crowded train) and prevalence (everybody for years, so like thousands of people; and an experience shared with many other American expats).
Anyhow, being "racist" isn't like some mark of Cain. As you imply, we're all racially prejudiced. And the author is pretty clear that he's in a state of perpetually "making peace" with the situation, which is basically a way of saying that though he holds some very strongly held beliefs about the way people should behave, and some visceral feelings about the way he's treated, he's nonetheless aware of the reality of the situation, that these people aren't trying to be mean, and that he recognizes an unresolved moral quandary by judging them and their culture.
[1] I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that most blacks in Japan are American, not from Africa, and therefore much more likely to be daily bathers who use deodorant. Which means it's very unlikely he actually has a strong odor, and far more likely people assume he might, to the extent they're assuming anything specific at all.
1. he may not be in a position of being able to leave easily after this long--a random example could be a significant other who does not speak English well.
2. the attitude this comment takes (and I've been living in Seoul for the last four years so I've spent a while thinking about this[1]) is absolutely unacceptable to most people if placed in a western context. Different race? He's a guest in their country!
What is it about East Asia that makes this attitude so tempting? is a question that doesn't let go once it gets its hooks into you. The ethnic homogeneity of Japan/Korea and to a lesser extent China must be a part of it. Race and the assumed privilege (privilege to leave, etc) of being a westerner also factors in.For example, things would be murkier if the author of the article were a labourer from SE Asia. But I haven't fully worked it out yet and maybe never will.
[1] Koreans don't do the empty seat thing when the train/bus is crowded. I'll also note that I've been an enthusiastic proponent of "if you don't like it leave" at various times, depending on the situation, and am not pretending to have all the answers.
On the contrary, I believe that ethnonationalism is ethnonationalism no matter where you go, as are xenophobic attitudes. The difference lies in what outcomes these worldviews produce in the world. I'm happy to let this interaction end on that note, thanks.
Of course, I commented on his picture and it would be pretty hard to notice his width and not his race. I don't see why this is pertinent, though, he's not Japanese and I was commenting on the fact that he's not Japanese, not on what race he was.
Width? Don’t make me laugh. It’s racism. Call it what it is. So we can pause, to allow improvement and to better uphold the idea that people are equal.
This kind of avoidance and apologizing of racism are what plant the seeds of xenophobic ideologies.
Honest question, Are Japanese any more likely to be racist against black people than white people? Or a Chinese person?
Usually racism (the hatred variety at least) comes from a degree of familiarity. You won't find a lot of KKK members in Scandinavia and you won't find much antisemitism in areas with no jews.
American race relations are universally applicable.
So? Is the black race so tortured that blacks must feel extra disturbed when subjected to some sort of racism wherever they are in the world?
Racism isn’t something you should always take personally. It is possible to harbor racist feelings toward a race while still making an exception for individuals you get to know on a personal basis.
When I’m in Japan, I know people will take one look at me and think I’m a filthy gaijin. Fair enough, I don’t blame them as they live in a very homogeneous country and outsiders are rare. It is the price I pay for being in their country, and I won’t try to change that, I’ll just try to do my thing and stay out of the way. I don’t want any trouble.
Out of curiosity, would you be ok with someone telling a non-us citizen black man in the US "If you don't like people acting racist toward you, go back where you came from"? That is fairly widely considered inappropriate in the US (though not universally).
The US is pretty much the other extreme from homogenous country/society. Regardless of one's answer to your question, you are gonna need to pick a different country name in it to have any kind of comparison to Japan
It's rude to say that to someone, but as a foreigner if you can't come to terms with the face that you ARE an outsider, leaving's your only alternative (America's pretty diverse so eventually anyone can become a local, but in many places the visual difference will always set you apart).
I've been the foreigner before and there's a big gap between not being treated like a local and being actively encouraged to leave.
I think tilting at windmills is a great way to spend precious hours or years of your life to a net negative effect on your life. It may redound to the benefit of other people later but you’ll pay the costs, not them. If that sounds like a good deal to you go for it.
I am personally a big fan of going where I’m wanted and where I feel comfortable rather than trying to change other people.
Out of curiosity, would you be ok with a non-citizen Japanese person lecturing you on why Americans are bad because they don't have the exact same outlook and attitude as Japanese people?
Because that's what the author of this article is doing.
If that outlook is “is it ok to treat this person as a lower class of person”, then you should stand up for your values. Not all cultural relativism must end with blind acceptance.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
"But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." - Carl Sagan
If you feel like going on a one man crusade to change the world is what you want to do with your life go for it. If you want admiration for it make sure you win.
First, having lived in China in different cities and in Japan, the empty seat phenomenon is nowhere as pronounced in China as in Japan. In Japan, you sometimes end up seating next to an empty seat in a packed train, I've rarely seen that in Japan. Yes as foreigners, we are more likely to be seated next to an empty seat in China but once the train is packed, the seat doesn't stay empty.
It's a very different feeling in Japan.
I also rather disagree with the suggestion to get out. Getting out is not always easy and besides that, why should one systematically accept racism? It's ok to complain about it. Doesn't mean that he doesn't find some positive aspects about living in Japan but he has a right to complain about this kind of behavior
You're presupposing a lot about the author's situation: maybe he's not in a situation where he can easily leave, or the things he likes about Japan outweigh occasionally being snubbed with an empty seat.
Clearly, he feels like it's just slight background noise in his life, but there's nothing wrong with being little annoyed that he's still being prejudged by the society he's living in after trying to fit in as best he can.
I bet I know what will really help "change the things you can". Instead of writing that article about racism for people to read about it and react, and prompt reflection on prejudice in all aspects of life -- you should just shut up and go home. Challenge nothing and no one. Do not stand up for human rights. Object vocally when others do.
> I’m never going to be Chineses, same as he’s never going to be Japanese. If that bugs him why not go home? No one’s making him stay in Japan.
I’m so happy to read this comment. I lived in Japan for 4 years and had the same feeling. People are always upset they’re not seen as Japanese despite the fact they are indeed not Japanese. I could see an argument if you were a child of a western parent, born and raised in Japan with Japanese values constantly having to remind people that you are a Japanese national but these are just foreigners living in Japan with a chip on their shoulder because they weren’t born Japanese.
I hear you, but I also notice how different the expectations and standards are around race in the west. If we transplant some of the things said above into America, I notice I have a very different reaction.
Eg, “[Because he’s not white] he’s never going to be American. If that bugs him, why not go home? Nobody is making him stay in America.”
“[Immigrants] are just foreigners living in America with a chip on their shoulder because they weren’t born American”
(Edit to be really clear I’m not condoning or condemning. Just noticing.)
America actually is unique among countries. I could move to Japan, but I'll never be Japanese; I could also move to Denmark, but I'll never be a Dane. But I moved to America and now I am American.
The vast majority of countries don't work this way, nor would it be better for all of them to. But it's great that at least one does.
> Eg, “[Because he’s not white] he’s never going to be American. If that bugs him, why not go home? Nobody is making him stay in America.”
No, because America is not a racially homogenous society. Japan mostly is. Japan's residents are 98% japanese and most of the other 2% are other asians.
Race probably not the issue there, at least not tonthw degree some assume it is. I've seen the very same santiment "you will never be X" from the people which emigrated to the countries where the wast majority is of the same race.
If you happen to be in a visually homogenous society (i.e. rural America, or Japan), you're gonna be treated differently because you stand out.
This common occurrence for American-born children of non-white immigrants in American.
"Where are you from?" "Kansas City" "No, where are you really from?"
This being said, America's had more immigrants come in than Japan, so by collective experience, America should be more open-minded about outsiders than Japan. Which is what we see in big cities like New York.
The same thing is true for anyone in the US though. They always describe themselves as being [insert grandparents’ nationality before coming to the US].
You’re really clinging to your “he’s too wide” rationale. Read the article. He’s subject to racism. It’s okay for him to comment on that, and the response over time should be that a society better upholds the idea that each human is equal.
But I’m sure you’re still convinced it’s something to do with the width of the seats.
I experience this empty seat phenomenon in America, as a regular white man. I noticed it in college. Nobody would sit by me unless they had to, but they were never obvious about it either as far as I could tell. It just seemed like I had some social forcefield around me that pushed people away.
I told me wife about it, and we had a laugh. But over the years it continues to manifest itself. I send me wife pictures of me at a full conference with empty seats only around me. I set up experiments to test my theory. At the airport, or even at work, I will deliberately sit in a middle section that would force people to sit next to me. Yet time after time, the seats next to me are the very last to be taken, if at all. I've tried being extra approachable (smile a lot), dull, aloof, be on or off my phone, etc.
I am a good looking skinny guy who has excellent hygiene. But I have some negative social forcefield I can't explain.
This just seems like pure racism to me. I spent 2 weeks in Japan recently, and I took all kinds of trains, from the Shinkansen, to Tokyo metro to random local trains. In various cities and towns. I am, and I look white af. Not even remotely Japanese or even Asian. Not once on my trip did Japanese people "avoid" me or leave an empty seat between us. In fact some of them even slept on my shoulder! The only time there were empty seats was when only a few people were on the train and everyone naturally spreads out.
The only difference I can tell between myself and this guy, is that he's black and I'm white. But we are both distinctly non-Japanese. So again, it just seems like racism to me. I'd be glad to hear why that is not the case though. Let me know what you think.
I'd never sit in the last or even last 10% or so of seats on a subway train, as a healthy middle-aged man who isn't escorting a child or something. I'd also be highly suspect of a man who did that, and would be reluctant to sit next to him if I were disabled/woman/with-child/etc. Much more so in Japan. The illustration also shows him seated in a 'priority seat' where I'd never sit even if the train were empty. (This might just have been the illustrator, however.)
I think there is a lot of over-interpretation of his. It never seems to happen to me. When you want to be the victim, you might seem to notice it happening. And certainly, there might be some people who don't like foreigners. But as far as I can tell I don't notice it. Perhaps the author has some other features that might make one want to sit beside someone else. The discriminative feature might not him being a foreigner. Furthermore, as a kid I did not like to sit beside foreigners (anyone I did not know) either. I was scared of anyone.
I've lived in Japan for twenty years, mostly commuting in Tokyo, and the world described in this article is utterly foreign to me.
People sit next to foreigners here all the time - and to consider the inverse, seats get left vacant all the time even with no foreigners present. I really think the author is reading more into things than is there.
I've lived here for 5 years and it's something that doesn't really bother me a lot. At the very least I'm not getting racial epithets shouted at me which I saw happen to a lot of foreigners (riding public transport) growing up in New Zealand.
As a visible minority in Japan, experiences like this are extremely commonplace. In fact, I think the frequency is the most troublesome part.
Every time you step out of the house there is someone there to remind you you are foreign. Just moments ago I bought some donuts and the woman in the shop awkwardly gestured at me instead of speaking to me.
Obviously, this is not the end of the world and it's nothing to lose sleep over but I would advise people thinking of coming to live in Japan that attitudes and norms around race are quite different.
Sure, Japan is a monoracial country and there isn't the level of racial awareness there that you have in the US. I feel like you have to accept some of this if you choose to live in Japan as a person of color.
I experienced this myself when I wanted to do the "teach English abroad for a year" thing in Japan after college. I have Top 1% English skills and have won literary prizes for my writing in college, and speak in a normal American accent that you might find in a news anchor. But everyone wanted a white person.
This guy should cash in on the empty seat by having a staged Japanese friend break the ice and sit very conspicuously during his approach and settling in to claim that empty seat. Maybe even with verbal announcements along the way, walking through a crowd from an adjacent car to meander next to the expected to be empty seat. If they could stage cameras about to capture reactions from the crowd that could be slightly entertaining, possibly more.
I’ve lived in China for more than seven years and I definitely have an empty seat beside me on the metro more often than Chinese people and children and tourists say 老外(foreigner) regularly enough. So what? Life is good. I’m never going to be Chineses, same as he’s never going to be Japanese. If that bugs him why not go home? No one’s making him stay in Japan.
Change the things you can, accept the ones you can’t and if you can’t deal with that get out.
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