Anyway, there are so many layers to this… All I can say, is that there is something so very “American” about this whole thing (and I am American). I truly believe there are human beings that come out of the womb whose mandate in life is to find a cause, any cause, and fight it… Fortunately, this has produced the Martin Luther Kings and Gandhis of the world, fair enough. But I can’t help wonder what Debito would do if he woke up one morning and found that he had been 100% accepted as Japanese- no more discrimination, no more racism, no opposition. Would he be willing (and happy) to lead a quiet, anonymous life? There’s a certain celebrity that comes with all this “fight The Man” activism and I suspect he would feel its absence deeply. Of course this is an issue of human rights, but if you’re at an Onsen where you know you’re not welcome, where you know you’re making everyone uncomfortable, wouldn’t a little voice inside you suggest that maybe you should leave it alone and go somewhere else? It’s Japan, not the American south in the 1950’s! You’re not the descendant of slaves.Impossible to compare the two. Japanese don’t do well with “absolute truths”.

Nevertheless, we’ve all had our feelings hurt at some point (like Joseph being refused a haircut), and I do feel a sense of vindication watching this guy fight his fight, at the very least in order to bring it into the consciousness of the average Japanese.

Very interesting debate, and this is why I enjoy reading the Mumble- always provides brain food!

Thanks for your kind comments.

I’ve been surprised not only by the number of people who’ve criticised Debito for what he does, but also by the childish and personal manner in which they do it.

I spoke briefly to Debito about the thread of comments over on Japan Soc (which now run to 52) – he was saying how he’s never met any of these people.

Some appear to be using their online status (acquired by, for example, running successful statistics sites) to bully someone whom for some reason they feel threatened by. As Orchid64 mentioned over there, I bet half of them didn’t even watch the video, but just saw it as an opportunity to criticise him. As David said, Debito’s a pretty jovial fellow, and I would hope that those who took the time to watch the interview got a sense of that.

Bingo, Orchid, especially point 4. Unfortunately, what I find gets you the “most liked by the Japanese” is fulfilling every foreigner stereotype you can think of. Marvel at everything, stumble on the language, and avoid controversy. I like to think I don’t take as much shit as others, and have gotten a little down and dirty with friends, teachers, and my host family, but Debito’s on a whole other level, and I think there are few people with the experience, ability, integrity, and track record to be able to legitimately criticize the guy for anything.

Also, if you’re convinced that he’s just in this country to be angry and stir shit up, you need to sit down for a beer with him. He’s actually quite a jovial fellow beneath the activist exterior.

All that having been said, I do think Orchid’s comments could be a little more diplomatic, but what he’s saying is quite true to a large degree!

I’m not the least bit surprised that people criticized Debito. There was once an article about advocating for foreigners on Japan Probe (another site which is mainly about stirring up problems and creating as much backbiting and fighting as possible) and the consensus was that they wanted someone to represent them with the Japanese, but not Debito. Of course, not one of them was willing to step up to the plate. What Debito does is a completely thankless task, though I would thank him (and once did in response to one of his Japan Time articles, and I was told my response was forwarded to him).

I said this before on my own blog and I still believe it. Anyone who advocates racism is, at heart, a racist. They approve of the way the Japanese treat foreigners because, deep down, that’s the way they’d like to treat them if their home countries’ laws and social constraints didn’t prevent them from doing so. You don’t apologize for people whose actions you don’t approve of.

After so long here, I have also developed a theory that the most vocal (and possibly the majority, but certainly not all) of foreign males in Japan are insecure and competitive amongst one another. They will do anything to be the most liked by the Japanese. It’s like they were the unpopular kid at school and have poor self-esteem so they come here and want to be liked unconditionally. If selling their souls and chucking ethics and humanity out the window is the price to pay for an ego boost, it’s a price they’re delighted to fork over. The chance to finally be “special” for doing very little is more important than anything. Tolerating a little racism so you can feel extraordinary when you are clearly ordinary doesn’t strike them as being too big a price to pay.