To those of you who have bad things to say about Japan right now:

reply to post by mishigas

Originally posted by mishigas
I have the feeling that you would find some reason to be ashamed to call yourself an american, no matter what the circumstances were.

I don't know what you are talking about. Maybe I didn't come out and state it, but my comment was generally directed at all of the heartless comments that I have read over the last couple of days.

I am not a facebooker, nor a twatter, which leads me to believe that there are alot more heartless comments than the many I have seen. Yesterday, sometime before I made that comment, I saw a link that showed nothing but facebook comments. Each and every one was not only negative toward Japan. but also many had a sort of 'cheering' about it.

My wife and I gave some money, and we will most likely give more when we get more.
I don't drink much - but I do know that I am going to get a Sapporo and drink one or two for my best friends missing buddies in Japan.

The people writing comments about Japan just have tunnel vision. They can not see past the race, nor the cultural differences.

What a beautiful culture they have.

Now for that Sapporo: (Coolest Commercial for BEER EVER!)

I find it funny that Cuba was one of the first to offer aid to Katrina , and the US refused !

I would like to raise money for japan and the tsunami relief ,
I am planning a sponsored samurai / geisha / sumo walk through the streets of Glasgow

Originally posted by Jazzscapez
Humans are good people.
I cant imagine anyone who would NOT want to help.

I agree...well, almost. I'm waiting to see how much the trillionaire Rothschilds & Rockefellers help.

reply to post by nunya13


Welcome and thank you .. Apologies bit slow reply am on way downriver to get flight to japan ( a week trip downriver to get to "civilisation" and airport) weak signal on my mobile at present.. Currently most japanese have their hands full after the quake and tsunami so doubt much websurfing.. Most stick to japanese sites when online so doubt many have seen the vile comments that some have posted .. Though must admit many of my countrymen are still a bit xenophobic even though curious about other places / peoples .. But most tend to think similar to the way I do and dont judge a group over the actions of an individual ..
Also its still only a small percentage of us who learn other languages - most information from outside is translated to japanese thus doubt many will even see the vile comments that have been made..

If what has happened to Japan is karmic debt for Pearl Harbor, what were the attacks on 9-11-2001 in the U.S.A payback for? Or the bombing in Spain or London? Karmic debt is a lie. There is no such thing. Are you going to say it's karmic debt that a child living under the roof of an abusive father or both parents chose it before being born? If you will, you are a moron!

reply to post by soaringhawk


The USA knew that pearle harbour was going to happen. They let it happen. So any bad karma should be directed at them.

this thread is a troll thread. Where here are the masses cutting down Japan? Sorry, but I feel that this is a useless way of obtaining stars and flags. If you have an example of this Japan bashing, please give examples from ATS, and more than 1 please!

reply to post by SMR


On the subject of looting, I would dare say that there was some of it going on in places that were affected, but in the path of the tsunami, there was nothing left to loot. A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami would be much more destructive than a hurricane, not to downplay katrina in any way. Also, I think our mainstream media was more inclined to distort the reality of the situation than the Japanese press. They played those images of looters non stop and beat it into our heads that when "those crazy black folks down south" get hit by disaster they all revert to wild animals. I don't know if the Japanese media is any more or less compromised than our own, but it's obvious that they don't have the same divide and conquer agenda that our's does.
Cheers to the OP though, it's good to look back and see just how supportive our friends have been to us in the past. It should make us feel the a sense of duty to our allies and those who have been good to us in the past. Japan has been one of our closest allies since after WWII, they deserve not only our help and our prayers, but our respect.

reply to post by soaringhawk


This is waaaay off topic, but i cannot let ignorance go unnoticed. Karma had nothing to do with 9-11?! If I'm understanding your point, you're saying that the U.S. did nothing to bring on the attacks? Let's assume for just a moment that the official story is true, mideast terrorists did it. Those mideast terrorists were mad about us using them to repel the soviets from Afghanistan and vanishing as soon as the job was done. Other citizens were radicalized when they saw our businesses stealing their own natural resources out from under them, forcing them to work at the refineries and drilling sites, only to watch the bulk of the profits go into American pockets. Or how about the generations of freedom fighters who have watched us invade, destroy and evacuate in a violent cycle of death since the fall of the ottoman empire? Now let's say that the shadow government orchestrated 9-11 to usher in a paranoid police state, it's still our fault as the American people, for not being more vigilant and aware of what was being done in our names. If you get punched in the face, even though the person who hit you was in the wrong, 9 times out of 11, you did something to deserve it or at the very least to encourage it. Not working against something is the same as working for it.
If you think that 9-11 just happened for no good reason, you are not a very wise person.

Originally posted by RicoMarston
reply to post by SMR

 

On the subject of looting, I would dare say that there was some of it going on in places that were affected, but in the path of the tsunami, there was nothing left to loot. A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami would be much more destructive than a hurricane, not to downplay katrina in any way. Also, I think our mainstream media was more inclined to distort the reality of the situation than the Japanese press. They played those images of looters non stop and beat it into our heads that when "those crazy black folks down south" get hit by disaster they all revert to wild animals. I don't know if the Japanese media is any more or less compromised than our own, but it's obvious that they don't have the same divide and conquer agenda that our's does.
Cheers to the OP though, it's good to look back and see just how supportive our friends have been to us in the past. It should make us feel the a sense of duty to our allies and those who have been good to us in the past. Japan has been one of our closest allies since after WWII, they deserve not only our help and our prayers, but our respect.

I just want to point out your looting remark...it was a known issue during katrina the problems rescue teams had with looters and gangs. Many teams were delayed because of lack of security. It was also well documented by people who were directly affected by Katrina.
In this day and age, you do not have to rely on the mainstream media to see or hear what is going on in Japan. You can get local reports, bloggers who are right in the thick of things, tweets etc. etc. There are many foreign students and workers who have been commenting on how people are working together and there is no looting or crime going on in a large scale like what we saw during Katrina. The Japanese are very different Socially, hence the much lower crime rates compared to other 1st world countries.

According to Ruth Benedict's shame culture/guilt culture analysis, an important factor keeping crime low is the traditional emphasis on the individual as a member of groups to which he or she must not bring shame. Within these groups—family, friends, and associates at work or school—a Japanese citizen has social rights and obligations, may derive emotional support, and meets powerful expectations to conform. These informal social sanctions display potency despite competing values in a changing society.

Ownership of handguns is forbidden to the public, hunting rifles and ceremonial swords are registered with the police, and the manufacture and sale of firearms are regulated. The production and sale of live and blank ammunition are also controlled, as are the transportation and importation of all weapons.

Funny thing is that if this would have happened in the U.S. Riots would have been started a long time ago, looting would have been streamed on every news networks and murder % would have gone up in seconds. Yet, Americans go on twitter to joke around with the victims of the quake (50 cent, comedians, etc.) Shows you how other nations care and how some other countries like to whine about themselves. I'm not bashing Americans, i'm bashing anyone who feels concerned with this comment. I'm just f'n tired of how most Americans portray their country. For people from other countries, when they hear all of this non-sense said by entertainers, comedians, musicians, etc. What image of america you expect them to have?

And i'm invited ANYONE who has something bad to say about Japan to come and debate with me just so I can put him in his place

i'm sorry ATS members for this, I RARELY post (see my profile) but I'm just mad at humanity for being so stupid and insulting Japan.

I had to delete about 15 people from my Facebook account today for this very reason.


One can only suffer through so many moronic Godzilla jokes and Pearl Harbor related drivel before it becomes impossible to withstand the drooling, mouth breathing stupidity of it all.

Sometimes I feel ashamed for the whole human race.

reply to post by RicoMarston

As an American living in Japan, I feel the need to comment.
On the subject of looting, I do get annoyed at people who are far from what is going on and do not know what they are talking about.
I have been through a very similar event here in Japan (1995 Kobe earthquake), and I can assure you that there was virtually no looting at all, no cutting in line, no hogging supplies. Quite the opposite. Store owners were giving away supplies or selling it at cost, not jacking up the prices to take advantage of the huge demand. Each person waited patiently in line and graciously accepted what was given to them, without trying to take more than they absolutely needed. I have talked with other people who were in other areas during the Kobe quake, and they all said the same thing. Even right at the central shopping street in Kobe, there was no looting.
I would also like to comment on the generosity of the Japanese people toward each other. As an American who had seen how efficiently FEMA used to work way back when (25 to 30 years or so ago) when there was a disaster in the US, I was appalled at how long it took in 1995 for the Japanese government to get its act together and start helping people. I soon found out that the Japanese people themselves quickly filled that gap. Almost immediately, people in the neighborhoods started helping each other. As soon as the trains started running, even partially, people began hauling in supplies by backpack and pushcarts. They would wait 2 hours or more to board, and the wait wasn't because the trains weren't running (they were running about every 10 minutes) but because the station was filled with similar people bringing supplies to the affected area in Kobe. I talked with some of them, and it wasn't that they were bringing it to friends or relatives. Many didn't know anyone in Kobe. It was just that they felt they HAD to help. So they waited 2 hours or so to get on a train that was quickly packed with people to ride about 45 minute to an hour to the end of the usable train line, and then they got off the train, shouldered their packs, and walked another 2 or 3 hours to get to the center of Kobe. Companies also organized groups to bring in supplies, even when there were no employees in the affected area. And it wasn't some publicity stunt. Every single company in that region and surrounding regions were doing it, and no list was published because everyone knew that EVERYONE would be on it.
To my eye, it was the old community attitude of small towns in the US. My hometown in the US is still like that, helping each other out, but it seems as cities get larger, this attitude dies out. In Japan, it remains regardless of the size of the city.
I am luckily far from the affected area this time, but I am in contact with people in the areas involved. And the spirit of community and care for each other is what clearly stands out.