Udhay Shankar N wrote:
the millennia of xenophobia that Japan can point to.
This is what is killing the country. And this is why they will simply
not change internally until they are changed externally first. Most
aren't even aware of it in the first place. They do have the ability to
change, though, and their history demonstrates that quite clearly and
dramatically. Although I see impressively blatant discrimination and
obviously clueless incompetence absolutely every day, I also see a lot
of genuine openness, remarkable skill and precision, and some damn cool
kids in Tokyo. But these kids are not revolutionaries. They are
talented, they'd like to engage with others (if they knew how), and they
are much more individualistic than their parents and grandparents (and
great grandparents). However, they are /profoundly shy/ compared to
western kids -- I can't stress that enough -- so it takes some real
doing to get to know them.
My observations are still based on only two years of living here, so I
could be off on a lot of this. This is my experience at present, though.
Jim
--
http://blogs.sun.com/jimgris/
