Posted by Pham on October 13, 1997 at 23:41:01:
In Reply to: travel and translation: discrimination and arrogance in Japan posted by rainer ganahl on September 08, 1997 at 00:15:20:
: I think this is outrageously arrogant and discriminating. It is a shame for Japan.
Not surprising at all considering that most developed cultures discriminate. This is perhaps unavoidable due to conditions histories of confrontation, cultural, political, religous or otherwise. When I arrived at JFK from abroad, I noticed that the US Customs were extremely rude to travellers who could speak little English--especially ones from third world countries.
What I also notice about the Japanese youth (in Japan as well as in NY) is that they seem to place American culture above their own.
Girls who love Naomi Campbell will tan themselves to match her skin tone and perm their hair to achieve that "Black" look. I'm sure they realize that they will never be mistaken for a black girl. So, inadvertently they have created a mutation towards a third order ethnicity--one of simulacra.