Japanese bombed the east coast

[Jack Cook]

The Brits are polite and queue up neatly for everything (unless they are drunk, soccer hooligans, or both),

and what of Americans?? In London I remember watched the palace guards at their posts so ramrod straight and serious with a bunch of tourist ie Americans making facing at them, talking smak, posing for goofy pictures all to try and get them to react. That sure made me proud to be a American

[BK]

People are rude not because of their nationality but because they are rude period. As proven here and everywhere rudeness has no boundaries.

BK (American of Japanese descent)

[Kyleb]

People are rude not because of their nationality but because they are rude period. As proven here and everywhere rudeness has no boundaries.

BK (American of Japanese descent)

If a behavior is acceptable in your normal environment, you may not realize it is obnoxious in another environment. If you do realize it is obnoxious and continue the behavior, that's rude. Otherwise, you're simply ignorant of what is appropriate in a given situation.

I think that is the case with many tourists.

[Robbo]

The use of the word Japanese(s) is offensive to at least one wixer who's wife is Japanese and therefore children are of Japanese desent. A little respect is in order.

There was a member who used to prattle on about "Japanese" all the time, Sabredriver/HGUCSU. His latest incarnation(s) bear hallmarks of the same inarticulate, ignorant prejudice and the same unfounded conviction that there's someone out there who's interested in these views.

[Robbie Roberts]

My personal view is that the reasonably decent, hardworking people we associate with today are "Japanese". The dirty rats who bombed Pearl Harbor, put a third of the world into war, committed atrocities, murders, performed inhuman experiments on prisoners and others, gassed, gunned, raped, dissected, murdered, beheaded, terrorized, tormented innocent civilians in an almost decade long war of genocide within the "Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" of their own creation, who had to be dug root and nail from every place they had stolen, were, and always will be "Japanese"

The Japanese of today are quite often unaware of their country's very bloody and aggressive recent past. This is because the subject of WWII has been so watered down, diluted, and redacted in the name of political correctness of the postwar era, that most are completely devoid of the knowledge of what their country did to Free China in the 1930s, Burma, IndoChina, Korea, the Philippines and many other places in the 1940s, etc. they do not know they attacked the US first(and give me no replies that we asked for it through FDRs policies against them. Had they puled in their horns, those policies would have changed) and that we had to take extreme measures in the end to stop the war.

Then- "Japanese". Today- "Japanese". There is a difference(but there are still some of the old elements agitating there:of this the world should be aware, and Japan should take heed and precautions against)

Robbie

[ZRX61]

Unfortunately, that is typical of Japanese tourists. Their cultural norms don't translate well in certain situations.

Take a look at Americans in Europe sometime... I thought all Americans were like the idiots with passports I saw in London. It was only when I came to the US that I found out that isn't so...

The Brits are polite and queue up neatly for everything

Excuse me? If *Japanese* is wrong then surely by the same token so is "Brits"?

(& yes, I'm taking the piss)..

[Citabria86614]

I understand where wixlover is coming from yall. Not to pour gas on the fire but............

First let me say that I am certainly no racist, I judge the man not the race. When I visited Pearl Harbor 2 summers ago obviously I encountered a good number of Japanese citizens. Now let me say that I have a good Japanese friend that I would never consider calling a 'Japanese'. At the Arizona memorial it was totally different though.

Im sure a good number of us have been there so I wont go into detail. But I have never seen a more disrespectful group of folks that were there that day than the Japanese present. Not just one individual, the whole lot of them. I had one push me in line at the gift shop, jump in front of me while I was taking pictures and just generally rude altogether.

The two events that still boil my blood today are:
1. There is a Pearl Harbor veteran that tells his story before you get on the boat ride. The Japanese in the theater were talking loudly carrying on and laughing throughout his story. He even stopped once and asked them to be quiet.

2. On the Arizona memorial, they showed absolutely no respect for the 1,177 Sailors that died there. Just giggling talking acting like they owned the place.

As someone who served and knows the price these men paid just doing their jobs, the actions of the Japanese folks that day deeply upset me.

I later spoke with a park ranger about it and he said that (not all) they tend to be disrespectful there.

Sorry yall, but this is how I feel, it would be like me going over to Hiroshima laughing my behind off and glorifying it. I would never think of doing such a thing.

I hope you guys halfway see my point of view and dont bite my head off.

I AGREE!!!! I visted Pearl Harbor last thanksgiving. I was looking at the Arizona's bell and was real quiet and was just thinking what all that specific bell has been through.....and all of a suden right behind me are two very loud japanese behind me just jabbering away and laughing. and they were talking during the movie before you got on the naval launch to board the Arizona. I was already a little mad(not rightfully so) at the Japanese because of where I was and thinking about what the japanese(of that era) had done. I always wandered what they felt. (remorse, saddness, or pride). I have nothing against Japanese but my experiance with alot of them at Hawaii was not good. (Sorry for any grammar errors)

[RyanShort1]

Take a look at Americans in Europe sometime... I thought all Americans were like the idiots with passports I saw in London.

Would you mind keeping them over there for us? I think a lot of your American tourists are folks who have a little bit of money and power feel like they rule the world! Sadly they act that way here, too, sometimes. Sometimes their power is just a fancy car that they probably owe money on anyway.

Seriously, I may have rubbed you the wrong way over on the 4th thread, but some of us do prefer politeness.
there are various strata of culture over here. Generally, I think it's a good thing, but sometimes they clash. For instance, my city is a very well integrated part of the country. People generally get along nicely - even along so-called racial lines, but I do very much dislike it when someone won't let me into line on the road, or when I pull over for the fire truck or ambulance and some bozo blazes right on past forcing the emergency vehicle to slow and honk...

Ryan

[ZRX61]

Would you mind keeping them over there for us? I think a lot of your American tourists are folks who have a little bit of money and power feel like they rule the world! Sadly they act that way here, too, sometimes. Sometimes their power is just a fancy car that they probably owe money on anyway.

Is there any particular reason why Americans in Europe (including the women) all seem to dress like Rodney Dangerfield? & I can't do anything about the Yanks in Europe, I'm in LA...

Seriously, I may have rubbed you the wrong way over on the 4th thread, but some of us do prefer politeness.
Ryan

Eh? I thought it was all in good fun

& as for Brits standing in lines... I was at CostCrap yesterday buying vittles. I get to the checkout & it's the last one over by the cigarette & booze compound. Some wrinkled little old lady who appeared to be Grandma Clampetts mother comes around the corner & almost crashes into my cart. I move back a bit to allow her to pass & the old bat promptly sticks her cart in line ahead of me & has some minion open the cig compound to buy 2 cartons of Marlboro reds.
I'm stood there thinking "WTF Over?" & the couple in line ahead of me thought it was hilarious. Even my kid was surprised by what she did. So while she was in the compound I shoved her cart up the next aisle & by the time she got back I had all my stuff on the conveyor...
....probably bloody French ancestry..

[ZRX61]

and all of a suden right behind me are two very loud japanese behind me just jabbering away and laughing.

Personally I'd have told them to STFU. I've been known to slap people in the back of the head for jabbering away (usually in Spanish) during the national athem...

[Citabria86614]

Thats the point were I really wished I could know what they where saying.(spanish and Japanese alike)

[BLR]

Jack thanks for making a comment on that, it’s a word used all too much on WIX so make it two who aren’t fond of it.

As for the use of it, I can only speak from what I’m told and as far as I know my Japanese wife doesn’t like being called a Japanese and we don’t appreciate my kids being called half Japanese. Matter of fact, I can’t think of one Japanese person I know who likes being called that.

I think not using it is just a matter of respect and it is different than being called a Brit, Canuck or Yank. Many Japanese see it more along the line of being called a chink, gook, nazi, and dare I say it, nig**r. But I will say that I’m in favour of freedom of speech and for those who want to use the term Japanese or any other derogatory name to describe what they see as a minority group, knock yourself out, that’s what our grandfathers/fathers fought and died for. Myself, I tend to teach my kids respect for humanity as a whole. And yes, I tell them about their Japanese heritage in WWII because I believe it’s something they need to know about. I tell them that's that was a different time but history can repeat itself that why we need to remember.

The war is over for most of us, let’s not forget, but let’s move on.

As for the Japanese tourist nattering away at the Arizona memorial, tell them to shut up and show a little respect (hold your finger to your mouth and go shhhhhh. They’ll understand). That’s what I do when someone is showing disrespect; it’s amazing how fast someone clams up and is embarrassed.

Brian..

[k5083]

Those who call Japanese "Japanese" simply do so from bigotry and ignorance.

That goes for the WWII Japanese as well as the present day Japanese. No matter what happened to your granddad in the war, the vast majority of the Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen he fought against were doing their duty with honor, just like him.

"Strange thing is they make such bloody good cameras."



August

[goshikisen]

Those who call Japanese "Japanese" simply do so from bigotry and ignorance.

In the here and now of 2008 anyone who uses the term "Japanese" is telling me a hell of a lot more about their own character (or lack there of) then they are about the Japanese people.

[David_Aiken]

Again I read the hallowed words....

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

We may speak about America today and cherish our freedoms...we also consider ALL men, no matter their nationality, and help them toward these same truths which we hold dear.

Yes, there are those who are still learning...and they must learn or we all shall suffer the repeating of the lessons of war.

No one hates war more than the soldier, yet I shall fight again to keep the truths self-evident when called upon.

Aloha,