Quote:
I enjoy some aspects of Japanese culture, such as their respect for the elderly, extensive use of trains and railways, and appreciation for cute things. And of course, I enjoy lots of anime and Japanese games, although they don't reflect Japanese culture that well.
At the same time, I find many parts of Japanese culture absolutely disgusting. Their work culture is horrible and oppressive. Many salarymen never get to spend quality time with their family because they work several hours overtime and are obligated to attend after-work drinking parties with coworkers. The education system is inefficient and the teachers discourage discussion and student-to-teacher interaction as they rant on and on in their one-sided lectures. And I'm generally ticked off by the whole stupid humble and self-depreciating "polite" facade Japanese people like to put up in order to be accepted by others: for instance they always try to "decline" a gift from someone that they actually want, hoping for the other person to insist they accept it, instead of just accepting it and saying "thank you." In fact, I tend to avoid Japanese people I see in real life, because their general behavior tends to make me irrationally angry.
|
hahaha, this perfectly depicts my own impressions and self of how I view Japan. True true.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
No one denies that people from different parts of the world look different or have different genetic affinities. The way I see it, the real fundamental problem with the traditional concept of race has nothing to do with whether differences exist and everything to do with how we demarcate and categorize these races. In simpler language, where does one race end and the other begin, and who belongs to which race? Also, how many races exist, and what constitutes a race to begin with?
Take African people for example. We colloquially sort them into one racial group, but as mentioned earlier they are not homogeneous. Let me demonstrate a few examples of Africa's various phenotypes:
|
Correct.The way I see it is that it stems from the innate social tendencies of societies as a whole ( aka Humans. ). Lets first analyze some behavioral patterns of a normal person that interfere with the ability of one to properly analyze/act upon a notion without bias.
1. Compliance : According/Yielding oneself to rules or standards relative to the individuals impressions. EX: A boy feels he will get his ass spanked if he disobeys his mother who is demanding him to take out the trash .
2. Conformity: Tendency of an individual to shape/mold their standards,ideas, and beliefs according to how they view the world and how that perspective corresponds to their nature.
EX: A timid child who is weak in spirit wants to fit in with other people. He feels that in order to do so, he needs to change or at least act like others do.
3. Actor-Observer Bias: Attribution of our own actions to external factors, while attributing the actions of others to internal factors. EX:
http://psychology.about.com/od/ainde...r-observer.htm
4. Dunning-Kruger Effect : The cognitive inability of an unskilled individual to recognize their own mistake. Generally mistaking their incompetence as competence higher than others. Simpler meaning : They suffer from illusory superiority.
5. Collective impression: The tendency of a person to feel greater "credibility" towards a certain idea from experience to somehow seem "correct" or right. EX: A person is unsure about a statistical fact in class. The teacher does a poll about what is the correct answer. More people answer yes about a certain answer. So the person feels that the most popular answer is correct. The meaning of "collective impression" extends to greater aspects, but that's left to the reader to decide.
How do these meanings apply to racial division? Well people within our society have given themselves to instinct rather than logic. I honestly feel as if these same people who have manifested themselves through cultural/social groups are judging and condemning others through a prejudicial bias. They act on "impressions" rather than the truth of matters. When you look at all different kinds of ethnic or social groups throughout the world, you can see that these people look at others with a clear selective standards. Inclining themselves towards their native groups of "comfort". It's not simply race that the masses adhere to judge. In all aspects of life, you see people who
act upon their impressions to satisfy themselves. Whether its gossip to sate their vanity, giving an obligated charity, or forced ideals ( aka middle east and their religious prosecution ).
If humans took the first step to humble themselves just enough to listen properly to what other people feel, we would be a great leap closer to cooperative peace. I'm not religious but this bible quote is applicable to the masses. Proverbs 12:15, which states: "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. I haven't bothered to go in depth about human nature as a lecture is boring however...
Well this is only an opinion from me. Take it as you will.
-----------------------------------------------
A personal story of me. I don't state this with arrogance in mind, but I'm handsome. But... my inner personality at a younger age was timid. To the extend it could possibly referred to as a social phobia. I was a VERY shy person. Now imagine a mystery guy who rarely talks, has a positively impressionable build, has a deep voice, and seems serious all of the time (wearing glasses also ).An Ikemen in American society. Basically rumors started spreading based on the impressions of the masses. That I was some badass ninja, extremely intelligent, and a master martial artist. Because of this, I never truly got anyone to understand me, leaving me severely depressed. Soon when i opened up as I grew up, people began to say "oh, your a normal person" and left me alone. Now that I think about it, aren't people naturally inclined towards the "different" or "abnormal" when it piques their interest? Especially when they themselves refuse to act how they truly feel because of their yearn to act within the clutches of conformity.
A quote from Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side.
Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another. "