Quote:
Originally Posted by DeadKennedys
No. People like you are quite possibly the saddest life forms on earth. Your plan is destined to fail, and you know why?
You're one of those geeks who considers anime the pinnacle of Japanese culture, you imagine yourself moving there and it'll be video games and and sushi and hello kitty all day! You soak up everything Japanese like a sponge.
You've learned the barest rudiments of japanese and throw it around in sentences like Peggy Hill.
The thing is, you know nothing more than your pathetic idealism about a land you think will accept your social ineptitude like you're some kind of gaijin goddess. On the off chance you make it there, you'll realize that under the shiny, pocky covered exterior we see on TV and the undoubtedly countless Japanese magazines you've subscribed to, it's just another country. It has its faults and strengths, just like the rest. Jesus, open your eyes!
For someone like myself who studies Japanese, it's insulting to see the otaku in my classroom. They have shirts with japanese characters they can't read, they say "hai" and "kawaii" in conversations like they're really speaking another language, they make up japanese names for themselves and drone on and on about last night's anime. Their grammar is terrible, their accents worse, and I laugh when I imagine the culture shock they'll experience, when they discover that when they were shunned and reviled in their home country, they actually thought the land of the rising sun would worship them.
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I think there is some truth to the whole "socially unacceptable nerd-a-zoid" soaking up the social sun in Japan theory. Now, i'm not saying the culuture will revere and worship such a person, but they'll sure as hell fit in better than let's say the average american.
I work with a guy who is exactly like this. As a matter of fact, some friends and I have had this conversation about him many times. The fact is that he is a tad off kilter in the social department and alot of people give him a hard time because of that. Like DK said about our new Fanime character, he feels ousted from his own culuture, and feels a need to find a new one. In my experience i've found the Japanese to be quite accepting and kind. The kid needs to feel welcome, and so far he hasn't found it in the states. He does happen to fit in quite well over here. He speaks decent Japanese, follows the wacked out clothing "trends", and has a strong desire to learn and fit in with the culture. If there was anyone that I know that after thier time in the military would come back and live here, it would be him. Either that, or he turns gay, that's another possibility. We feel bad for the guy. For once in his life he actually fits in and has alot of close friends (japanese) and in one month he's getting shipped off to Minot, North Dakota. Say bye-bye to a life!
I understand what DK means. Your average fat and seizure-inducing cartoon craving fan sees Japan as a whole new world where they can start a new life and wash away the pain of having their books kicked out of thier hands in the hallways. The likelyhood of them actually achieving this dream is slim. But for some I do think there is some truth to Fawn's dream. But sadly, like I mentioned somewhere else on the boards, the only way she'll get there is if she signs away her soul or decides to give out tug jobs in a dark smokey bar for 10 mins.
/end rant