Green is... pretty.
Let me esplain.
The fact that Hashishita
even brings up the idea of discrimination is really odd. Especially in that article by Mr. Johnston, where our poor hero laments:
“What the Asahi did was comparable in the U.S. to affirming racial discrimination and in Europe to affirming the Nazis.”
Ironically, the article
mentions Holocaust denial as a criminal offense in Germany while there appears
to be nothing like that in the capitol of Harmony Land, especially when it comes
from T’s old new squeeze as well as other controversial people and similarly aspiring public figures.
Pretty... green. |
I mean, those silly ‘liberal’
teachers unions who defend those who refuse to patriotically salute the flag and those “shitty boards of education” that are so deservedly railed against. Are they more likely to support Toru's
ideas of equality than, let’s say, the way it was when Japan’s old-guard was
unrestrained and a certain class of poor were relentlessly oppressed?
Okay, this maybe that facts are getting a little confused here, a side effect of living in such a peaceful, safe, and regimented place. Which is exactly why the following must be true:Bur4kum1n
"What's needed in the politics of today's Japan is a dictator — power to the extent you'll be called a dictator"
-T. Hashishita
A what-tater?
Seriously now. I've got a better idea. What not just call in the pros? They've got real style, generations of experience, and they really know how to celebrate good times in a way that even Kool and the Gang would be proud of. Maybe.
Or maybe people just need be held accountable for their actions. In the old stories we were told when we wus just knee high to grasshoppers, we were warned we definitely needed to be careful who we hung out with.
What people have gotten away with and continue to get away with is disturbing. All this talk of restoration, should it head south in a hurry, I really do hope there is some kind of accountability should anyone get any blood on their hands.
Personally, my experience here with left-leaning folks has been disappointing; they kind of remind me of Jake. Only Mr. Spoon did it right. (You have to have watched the video to have gotten this last bit)
I recently added Departures to my netflix queue, I had no idea such stigma was attached to undertakers.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, hanging with the wrong people is something I try to avoid. I did a few times when I was younger and all it did was come back to bite me in the ass. Once you tarnish your good reputation with the likes of low-lifes, it's hard to get back your rep the way it was. Easier to soil a good name than it is to clean it up...no matter how hard you try.
Departures... haven't seen it. Perhaps I should. The Bur4kumin or 'village people' still, from what I understand, face limited number of options in terms of education and jobs. Not too long ago, I saw a propaganda poster in a city office that asked people to not discriminate against the village people.
DeleteDepending on the circumstances, sometimes a good reputation is not so great to have. Then again...
It's clear that so many politicians here are dramatically out of touch, but this guy worries me because he knows what people want to hear and he feeds it to them. Did you read about how he wants to shut down the Osaka Liberty Museum? Apparently, he thinks Japanese ought not to be reminded of racism and discrimination that has taken place here. Instead, they need happy images and symbols to make them feel good about their country, he says...
ReplyDeleteEverywhere I look, I only see the happy, sparkly stuff...
Happy, sparkly stuff can blind people to the truth. Which, according to Grandma, wouldn't be a good idea. At all.
DeleteHave read about the museum. Generally speaking, I'm not sure if people are able to make the distinction between patriotism and nationalism. As comfort zones get squeezed, I am concerned that this will be even more difficult to talk about than it already is.
Bright and shiny, bright and shiny...
"I'm not sure if people are able to make the distinction between patriotism and nationalism"
DeleteI'm a Patriotic Nationalist ;)
I am proud to wave the flag and ask anyone without proper papers to get the fuck out.
Just like I'm a social liberal and fiscal conservative.
I guess I'm a Libertarian in the "leave me the fuck alone" sense
I still haven't figured out how it works here, in part because I'm not sure the locals have figured out how it works here. Japan is definitely not liberal when it comes to social values and gives me no reason to think that anyone is anywhere near being fiscally conservative.
DeleteAt least they've got a flag now.