....that the Japanese are doing this, especially from their cultural view.
I live in Japan. Yes, like many others, I am an English teacher. I teach their CHILDREN, I mean, middle and elementary, and they want to brand me a criminal? Don't get me wrong- I speak Japanese bilingually (unlike most of my fellow teachers), but just because the others cannot does not make them anymore of a security risk than I.
The thing is, it's true- FINGERPRINTING IN JAPAN is reserved only for proven criminals.
And this law treats everyone the same. Like a criminal.
Doesn't matter how long you've been here, what your job is, as far as *many* Japanese are concerned, you are dangerous simply because you are a foreigner. This is due to: drunken fighting Russians (in my area), Pot smoking teachers from my USA (also arrested in my area), and a general fucking SAFETY COMPLEX of the entire population. I won't even begin to impress upon you the depth of how far the last one goes, but just so you get an idea, they devote national TV time to discussing single local problems of mundane risk- I just watched a program show a whole news story on how people in one village are pissed that everyone pulls U-Turns in their intersection. It's fucking surreal. This is my second time living here, and I still can't believe it. Daily life here is a continual safety thesis overanalyzed by an increasingly frightened and xenophobic populous. All it takes is one of us fucking up and the whole nation notices- take Mr. Pothead- he had to apologize on NATIONAL TV.
Couple this with every single portrayal of foreigners on shows, commercials, & TV personalities, which paint us all as blithering otaku idiots incapable of speaking Japanese without overly emphasised ridiculous accents, and THAT FUCKING VIDEO from the Ministry, which only makes us look worse, and it does it with such blunt smugness and everyones favorite keywords "9-11" & "terror", and the Orwellian doublespeak "Fingerprinting YOU is for YOUR safety"...
If this was addressed to the Japanese people, they would be infurated & insulted beyond belief in the way their own standards of conduct are being completely SHIT upon as they are smiled at by the woman in the video.
So why aren't the Japanese complaining about this labeling of people working here and 99% living peaceably?
Because it's not them. Because it's anyone BUT them. Complete moral disregard. I love the Japanese, but HOW VERY UNJAPANESE THIS IS. My personal biometric data is none of your goddamned business UNLESS I COMMIT AN ACTUAL CRIME. Excuse me while I burn my fingers on the stove oh so conveiniently.
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....that the Japanese are doing this, especially from their cultural view.
I live in Japan. Yes, like many others, I am an English teacher.
I teach their CHILDREN, I mean, middle and elementary, and they want to brand me a criminal?
Don't get me wrong- I speak Japanese bilingually (unlike most of my fellow teachers), but just because the others
cannot does not make them anymore of a security risk than I.
The thing is, it's true- FINGERPRINTING IN JAPAN is reserved only for proven criminals.
And this law treats everyone the same. Like a criminal.
Doesn't matter how long you've been here, what your job is, as far as *many* Japanese are concerned, you are
dangerous simply because you are a foreigner. This is due to: drunken fighting Russians (in my area), Pot smoking
teachers from my USA (also arrested in my area), and a general fucking SAFETY COMPLEX of the entire population. I won't even begin
to impress upon you the depth of how far the last one goes, but just so you get an idea, they devote national TV time to
discussing single local problems of mundane risk- I just watched a program show a whole news story on how people in one
village are pissed that everyone pulls U-Turns in their intersection. It's fucking surreal. This is my second time living
here, and I still can't believe it. Daily life here is a continual safety thesis overanalyzed by an increasingly frightened
and xenophobic populous. All it takes is one of us fucking up and the whole nation notices- take Mr. Pothead- he had to apologize
on NATIONAL TV.
Couple this with every single portrayal of foreigners on shows, commercials, & TV personalities, which paint us all as blithering otaku
idiots incapable of speaking Japanese without overly emphasised ridiculous accents, and THAT FUCKING VIDEO from the Ministry, which only
makes us look worse, and it does it with such blunt smugness and everyones favorite keywords "9-11" & "terror", and the Orwellian
doublespeak "Fingerprinting YOU is for YOUR safety"...
If this was addressed to the Japanese people, they would be infurated & insulted beyond belief in the way their own standards
of conduct are being completely SHIT upon as they are smiled at by the woman in the video.
So why aren't the Japanese complaining about this labeling of people working here and 99% living peaceably?
Because it's not them. Because it's anyone BUT them. Complete moral disregard. I love the Japanese, but HOW VERY UNJAPANESE THIS IS.
My personal biometric data is none of your goddamned business UNLESS I COMMIT AN ACTUAL CRIME. Excuse me while I burn my fingers on the
stove oh so conveiniently.