Calling J-people sheep, or drones, or whatever is just more stupid stereotyping. You say I don’t know what they are thinking- and you do? If you really knew what they were thinking, I think you’d have sympathy for their ‘hive mentality’. How can you blame someone who is in the Matrix for being ignorant of the Matrix? If you truly think you’re above them, and not a drone, you’re a ‘thinking individual’ compared to them- then how on earth can them not sitting next to you bother you? That’s like being angry at a sheep- a waste of energy.

Plus the whole drone thing- I take exception to that. You could say that about anyone in any city- they do what they do because it’s what they have to do to get by. Sure being a homogenous culture they’re a bit more same-thinking than others- but how can we hold that against them? It’s changing- people like you (which concerns me) and me are here spreading our ideas, while taking on their ideas in return. That’s the memetic tide-pool swirling up the world’s ideas, to everyone’s benefit.

You hate the kind of goof that acts fake Japanese. Hmm. Hate? Again, I’d think you’d pity these fools, considering yourself above them. Your anger at them suggests some unresolved issues on your part. Am I one of those people? Ha. I’ll let you mull on that.

Well I dont see any green vans driving around in the USA blarring out on loud speakers about WW2 but I see and hear plenty of it here in Japan. Ive been told by Japanese coworkers that Japan would be better off if Japan would of won the war. We see who the mayor of Tokyo is and what he believes about post war Japan. Ordinary people elected him. The problem with you is that you dont know what the ordinary people here are thinking. Most of them are sheep, and embrace the hive mentality. Its not just the train issues or being denied housing or the rude comments, its also being denied everyday work because Im a foriegner and a host of other issues. No, I dont care if somebody gets up next to me on the train in NY, because Im an equal to him. Im not an equal to anybody here because of their caste system so your point is mute.

“This kind of attitude is the thing I dislike most in foreigners here. They think J-folk are the enemy. You are a dumbass, and you’re just making things worse.”

Well your the kind of goof that I hate the most here in Japan. I see them, acting fake Japanese and answering me in Japanese when I ask a question in English. What the hell is that? Im sure your one of them. The joke is on you fool. You just aint figured it out yet.

Thats so kind and sweet of you, such helpful advice. Smiling on the phone attitude gets old and in the long term it plays out because Japanese know your not one of them and hate it when you mimmick their traits because they know its fake. Ive found the best way to deal with Japanese is to fight fire with fire. For example when Im sitting on the train and somebody moves away from me I put my bag there. When more Japanese get on the train they stare at me like how dare you put that bag there? Now my bag has more importance than them and it frees me up to be more comfortable. I feel better, they feel like shit. Its going to be either me or them. Id rather it be me. Its your thing…do what you got to do!

Adamu raised some very good points in his lengthy initial post, the most important of which I would paraphrase as: 1. Don’t think of your strengths as a foreigner in Japan, think of your strengths as a person and go from there; and 2. If you’re trying to generalize on the experience of any group of people anywhere, you’re getting yourself into a losing battle. Who exactly would be included in “foreigners” anyway? Clearly we’re not talking about Special Permanent Residents here. Probably not Chinese immigrants, either, although they’re a massive immigrant group compared to expat Anglophone Westerners in their 20s and 30s. It’s best, as Adamu helpfully (I thought) pointed out, to take a specific case, go through it, and hope that it’ll be of use to others. Why is the story of the renaissance of Panasonic interesting while abstract business textbooks bore most people to tears? It’s specific, real, and accurate – even the most intelligent, insightful, best-intentioned attempts to generalize what is essentially an individual experience can’t match that.

Adamu, well done.

Debito, I like you as well, but please don’t let non-existent thorns get stuck under your saddle. Criticism is not the same thing as an attack or an act of trolling. Far from being a nuisance, comments like Adamu’s initial comment are precisely what all bloggers should appreciate.

Finally, for what it’s worth, I’ll offer my own generalization (although I can easily see how many people would disagree): If you don’t like having every situation revolve around your foreignness, the change can only start with you. When you cease to view most, or all, situations through the lens of “them” and “me” and try to stop assuming that your race or nationality are somehow involved in every reaction anyone has to you, you’ll be liberated. You’ll be able to go through much, if not most, of your foreign life feeling like a regular guy, the fact of your alien roots and appearance no longer at the forefront of your mind.

Just like smiling on the phone, this view will change the way people respond to you. A defensive posture is likely engender a less pleasant response and bringing up your own foreignness puts it at the front of other people’s minds as well. True, sometimes it will be an issue, but it doesn’t have to be and I think we (Anglophone Westerners who moved to Japan as adults and probably started out as either exchange students or eikaiwa teachers) are far more concerned with it than most Japanese people we encounter and more often make an issue of it.

Jim- Indeed, bravo.

Boney- Come on, who cares?!