From: Grant Callaghan (grantc4@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun 27 Oct 2002 - 15:11:16 GMT
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bill Spight" <bspight@pacbell.net>
> Kenneth,
> > > Just another drop- out, just another
> > > failure, just another who fails society and our culture...and every-
> > > body shuts up, no phone, no discourse, no information leaks out.
>Bill,
> > In Japan there is no such thing as "just another drop-out". People would
> > notice. And talk.
> > Before this phenomenon, the only widespread dropouts in Japan of which I
> > am aware were housewives who left home, address unknown. I haven't lived
> > there for a long time, but my guess is that they still do.
>Kenneth,
> > > In the program not a single one example was in anyway asked
> > > by the local auhories, by the police, by teachers or by friends
> > > for that matter to come back to school, neither a single autho-
> > > rity forced those kids out of their room.
> > > They all kept quiet and did nothing and that is the fact !
>Bill,
> > Of course not! Doing so would make waves, potentially cause discomfort,
> > embarrassment, shame, loss of face.
>
>I still don 't know Bill, what you wrote sounds contradictive to me though
>!
>Doing something would mean embarrassement to both the parties involved,
>parents would be discomformted by the fact neighbours would know, autho-
>rities would be ashamed that something like hikikomori could exist within
>their territory or in their country for that matter.
>
>The former are the talk of the town like you presume but IMO the others
>show than a great amount of keeping their nerves. Talking about something
>by which the parents of those kids are kept in the blue shows a great deal
>of restriction, respect also but you can 't keep it hidding forever.
>Or of course, the parents simply don 't wanna know...
>
>In the case of the latter, their attitude is connected with what is IMO
>Japanese society, productivity, a high level of education, of prosperity,
>manners and decency_ all who fails, all who wander are in the eyes of
>the ones who won the battle with themselves, lost_ forever.
>Taking care of those people, would makes waves, would mean in a
>sense that you show signs of weakness yourself, of shame, that you
>were to be embarrassed in some aspects of the society you live in.
>
>IMO, with all do respect, I think you make the same mistake, that
>is not the right term,... you take the same psychological approach
>as those in Japan_ you just don 't wanna see the notion of the
>survival of the fittest at work !
>Your approach is in that respect naive, memeplexes of a higher
>order have takin' over, in this case I would suggest_ economical ones.
>The ' sane ' have an economical value, they can withstand stress,
>they are usable within Japanese society_ the others are lost.
>You act from a ' political correct ' point of view, having compassion
>is a virtue, but not from the memes' their stance.
>
>The same thing is happening here in Belgium, highway pile- ups
>slow down the economical potential of the country, state, region.
>So, politicians are doing everything what lies in their power to try
>to get us drive savier/ slower_ 1500 people die each year on the
>roads in Belgium.
>But about the 2500 deaths by suicide they do nothing.....
>
>About what can break the spine of a country, seen internal
>as well external people do nothing, the token of Japan in
>the outside world must be kept in place... those kids are
>useless, they besmear, in a sense what Japan stands for.
>Groupsbounding aspects/ affects come to mind, if you place
>yourself for whatever reason on the outskirts of society you're
>bound to be expelled. That is what is happening in Japan,
>I think, the main difference with other examples is that the
>group we' re talking about consist out of more than one
>million people !
>
>Regards,
>
>Kenneth
>
To get a better grip on Japanese thinking, remember that saying among
Japanese executives: The nail that sticks up must be pounded down." It
doesn't pay to stand out from your neighbors in Japan. If you look at the
history of Japan, you can see that those who survived were those who did not
attract the attention of the authorities. You can't compare Japanese
society with western society when talking about social mores.
One reason the Japanese were so hated by the people they conquered during
WWII was that they ruthlessly put down anyone who appeared rebellious in any
way. In modern society that has translated into ignoring certain kinds of
rebellion because there is a feeling of guilt about how the war turned out.
There is a conflict within the society about what should be done about
people who rebel but don't actually hurt anyone. Right wingers feel people
should be made to conform and left wingers feel compassion is more important
than conformity.
The authorities are likely to inquire about strange behavior, but if it's
not causing problems for other members of they community thep probably won't
do anthing about it. During WWII, they would have come down on those kids
like a ton of bricks. Some teachers still act that way, as you can see in
the article I sent you. What goes on within a man's household is the
responsibility of the father and husband. He's the one who has to take care
of it. If it causes problems beyond the household the authorities will get
involved.
Cheers,
Grant
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