Originally Posted by mercedesjin (Post 731673)

Perceptions of black people in Japan, in my experience, aren't exactly positive. Japan's idea of black people are based off of foreign country's ideas, which of course will be racist. I've seen TV shows and music videos where the only black characters are villains wielding guns, or maids and servants.

Racist images such as blackface and golliwogg dolls are also sometimes pretty popular in some parts of Japan. I don't think this is vindictive racism, I think that this is just innocent ignorance because not enough information is available teaching the history of blacks around the world - which is WHY you, a person of African descent, should go.

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 731767)

Racism is whereever you want to find it. In the case of Japan please don't mix up racism and ignorance. Blacks were never enslaved there, so some of the images appropriated from the American and other media that is used (i.e. black face) isn't intended to offend because in Japan it isn't offensive. Where this is a sensitive point to you, you might just as easily offend a Japanese person by, say, walking into their house with your shoes on. It doesn't mean you are racist, just being ignorant.

That distinction is important.

Originally Posted by mercedesjin (Post 731773)

Like I said before:

I don't think this is vindictive racism, I think that this is just innocent ignorance because not enough information is available teaching the history of blacks around the world...

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 731767)

Racism is whereever you want to find it. In the case of Japan please don't mix up racism and ignorance. Blacks were never enslaved there, so some of the images appropriated from the American and other media that is used (i.e. black face) isn't intended to offend because in Japan it isn't offensive. Where this is a sensitive point to you, you might just as easily offend a Japanese person by, say, walking into their house with your shoes on. It doesn't mean you are racist, just being ignorant.

That distinction is important.

Originally Posted by HikariTenrai (Post 734218)

Originally Posted by mercedesjin (Post 734223)

Um - sorry, I'm a little confused. What do you mean by this?

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 731767)

Racism is whereever you want to find it. In the case of Japan please don't mix up racism and ignorance. Blacks were never enslaved there, so some of the images appropriated from the American and other media that is used (i.e. black face) isn't intended to offend because in Japan it isn't offensive. Where this is a sensitive point to you, you might just as easily offend a Japanese person by, say, walking into their house with your shoes on. It doesn't mean you are racist, just being ignorant.

That distinction is important.

Originally Posted by Tenchu (Post 734273)

Yeah, but I still get a kick out of seeing Thais walking around with Nazi swazstika flags on their T-shirts and bike helments...

Yet no one actually knows who Hitler even is here... I wonder if they'd still advertise Nazism if they knew??? Seriously, Thais are on average, dumb... like, celebrating Christmas, but not knowing who Jesus is, or if they do know, they can never guess his birthday... but Christmas IS huge here... anyway...