[Info-vax] [OT] Japan, was: Re: HP short of ideas - hiring dancers for inspiration

[Simon Clubley]

On 2013-04-23, MG <marcogbNO at SPAMxs4all.nl> wrote:
> On 23-apr-2013 19:33, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> Actually Fukushima showed us something else. It showed the average Japanese
>> person in the street acting with dignity and honour in the face of disaster.
>>
>> The Japanese victims brought great honour upon themselves and their country
>> as a result of the way they conducted themselves during that disaster.
>> It's a example some other cultures on this planet could learn from.
>
> Ever heard of Arudou Debito?  He wrote some interesting things about
> the aftermath there, about the attitudes (even in the media) with
> regard to "disloyal foreigners" there and related subjects.
>
>     <http://www.debito.org>
>

Um, "interesting" website. I didn't know about it, but having read a bit
of it, it comes across as sounding like one of those US Tea Party/right
wing websites which can only say bad things about others.

>
>> BTW, it's perfectly ok to criticise current cultures if you base those
>> criticisms on facts still valid today. It's wrong however to take values
>> common during a war in the middle of the last century and just state
>> without evidence that those values still exist today.
>
> How does that work out for the Germans?  (Especially in the place you
> are from.)  Or the Argentinians, for that matter.
>

To me what happened in Germany during WW2 is ancient history and in my
eyes the German people of today have no connection with the people from
that time.

There are incidents from that time which resonate strongly today; for
example it's impossible not to be moved by the story of a terrified
girl writing a diary while in hiding.

However, I see our continued telling of her life story to our future
generations as more a warning to the future so it doesn't happen again
and as a way of not forgetting about her and others like her. It would
be insane to even suggest today's Germans have any responsibility for
what happened to her or for other similar events.

Argentina is a bit more recent, but if I was asked to form a opinion
on the country I could want to do a lot more research about how it is
today before coming to any conclusions. I would not just assume behaviour
from 30 years ago was a reflection on behaviour today.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
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