looting :Japan VS US

I find it interesting to see theat there is little or no looting that appears to be going on in Japan, even after the most devastating disaster to hit the country. If this were the US I am sure it would be different. All we have to do is look at the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and the pics and vids of the looting that went on there.

What is the difference between here and there? In my opinion it might be the work ethic of Japan VS the entitlement mentality of the people of the US. The people of Japan cannot comprehend taking something that is not theirs even in an emergency situation. On the other hand the people of the US feel that they are entitled to help themselves to anything that is not bolted down, particularly in the urban environment.

However, one thing I have noticed that is comparable to both countries is the lack of preparedness of the people.

Does anyone else here have any other idea on these differences?

respectfully

rreluctantpawn

In my town after Katrina, most of the looters were the cops.

reply to post by mayabong


Listen when catasrophy strikes your on your own. it is called survival of the fittest.


And I can say I am pretty fit to say the least.

reply to post by mayabong


Not to mention all the people the police killed.
Thankfully some have been brought to justice.


I have always had a great deal of respect for the Japanese people.

reply to post by reluctantpawn


Theres a pretty good chance that no one has reported on it yet. Its silly to imagine that NO looting has taken place there so far

reply to post by reluctantpawn

.... particularly in the urban environment.

EEEEAAAAASSSSSYYYYYY!!!!!

reply to post by reluctantpawn


Essentially the difference lies in our cultures.

America is an individualist culture and Japan is collectivist.

America is a guilt based culture and Japan is shame based.

What this means is that the actions taken by a Japanese person are understood to affect other Japanese people. So they understand that stealing from the shop owner hurts the community and themselves personally. At the same time any action that is taken with out collectivist considerations brings shame, not just upon the individual, but the people attached to that person as well. (Family, friends, the employer)

In America is the exact opposite. Since only individuals are held accountable there is less risk when engaging in this kind of behavior. Couple that with the lack of a national cultural identity and you have a people that are inherently selfish. Guilt is then used to try to curtail those behaviors. But guilt doesn't affect a group on the whole and it isn't standard across the board due to moral relativism.

Originally posted by Rocky Black
reply to post by mayabong

 

Listen when catasrophy strikes your on your own. it is called survival of the fittest.


And I can say I am pretty fit to say the least.

That mindset right there.

Thats why they surely would triumph over us in the same situation.

As soon as disaster strikes here this mindset comes to play, where as it would seem that in Japan, the mindset is helping your fellow man, here it would be grab your gun someones gonna steal my iPad.

reply to post by reluctantpawn


It's not really surprising you when you understand how much honor and family bonds mean to them. They wouldn't steal from their neighbors so easily, especially after an event like that. They come together and share express their HUMANITY via emotional support, not robbing them.

Maybe it is form of respect for one another, it lacks a lot in America

reply to post by reluctantpawn


I think it's that the Japanese are taught from the cradle that society comes before the individual. Social order is paramount. If however, times become desperate enough, even they will begin looting.

Originally posted by WhizPhiz
reply to post by reluctantpawn

 

They come together and share express their HUMANITY via emotional support, not robbing them.

While it is altruistic, I think it is important to understand that what they are expressing is Japanese Nationalism. Not so much how they feel for humanity on the whole, in my opinion.

While Shinto isn't taught in school, it still passed down through the family so the Japanese national identity is very strong. While they might not desire to project that nationalism abroad, not yet anyway, it is still at the very root of their culture.

In some parts of Japan, the entire town was wiped out. Nothing to loot! I wouldn't put anything past a person trying to feed their child. I did hear that people were scavenging and roaming looking for food. Not sure what they did if they were lucky enough to find food. I wonder how many scavengers had yin on them?

Japanese culture is that of honor vs shame, but I'm sure those that were able to find water, food politely took it.

I think very highly of the Japanese people. They are noble and civilized.

In America it's laughed at when someone says "Oh man you are so wild!" America is everyone for themselves sometimes.

I think very highly of Shintoism also, it is close to the way I feel about things myself.

Too many people in America don't care about others or even themselves. They have no respect or honor.

To put it bluntly, alot of Americans just don't give a s##t. They have nothing, so they feel like they have nothing to lose.

Originally posted by reluctantpawn
On the other hand the people of the US feel that they are entitled to help themselves to anything that is not bolted down, particularly in the urban environment.

It's not particularly in any environment. As has been stated, Americans are selfish, self-absorbed and do not care about the country as a whole or their fellow man. They are concerned with themselves and their betterment. Period. Forget everyone else. That is what's wrong with this country.

The Japanese culture has what the American culture lacks. Honor.

Originally posted by Tuvok112
reply to post by reluctantpawn

 

Theres a pretty good chance that no one has reported on it yet. Its silly to imagine that NO looting has taken place there so far

But they were reporting on it. They showed reporters going around and talking about how empty the streets were, and that there was no looting, unless someone needed food, and then they were given the food they needed. They were even questioned on it during the reporting. People were even seen sharing their only bits of food and water. They came together as a real community in a time of crisis.

Many reporters from many different countries are over there, if they were looting, someone would see it.

It's a totally different culture, one with a very good mindset.

I'd rather go through a societal meltdown in Japan over the US based on their honor and service to others. I think not having a welfare state that rewards laziness and breeding helps too.
Survival of the fittest is only a temporary solution. Eventually when you continue to only take from others, they will return the lesson.

yeah thats sad, police looted and killed other people,d uring katrina. take the law into your own hands i saw, but with reasoning and respect, so yuo dont make the same msitakes they did and often do. cant trust em all.
i cannto picture the japanese today, going on a rampage like us americans would. we love and verthink sex, and want more and more and more. over in japan, they seem more laid back, thinkers, and not as vilent as we are, socially, im not including gangs n things like that.
look at katrina, murder, rape, looting, sexi violence...but i blame alot of that on local authoritys and plice who had told the vicitms of katrina they couldnt leave they had to stay..really are yuo suprised some of them snapped and went apesh***t? i cannot picture the japanese doing that.
but could be wrong, afterall, during and before WWII, they were amongst the most viscous people int he world at the time! torturing poeple for medical experiments jsut as jospeh mengele did, and not using anesthesia. throwing a baby ona bayonette int he phillipines, attacking china and looking at them al as subhumans as the germans did the russians...
so anything is possible i guess.

New Orleans was culturally unprepared for the devastation of a hurricane.

The Japanese have been contemplating a super-tsunami since at least World War II. Look, even the name is a Japanese loan-word into English. The closest we can come is "tidal wave" which is a complete misnomer.

I would argue that Americans are culturally prepared for a different range of disasters. Japan was occupied by US troops with a minimum of confrontation once the Emperor surrendered in 1945. I don't think ANY force on this earth could get Americans to gracefully submit to foreign occupation, even if the commander-in-chief ordered "his" people to surrender.

Practically the whole south was devastated by Katrina. Mobile Alabama was practically wiped off the map--worse than New Orleans, if anything. But you didn't see the chaos and mayhem, and that was only a hundred and fifty miles from New Orleans, but a world away culturally