All the ALTs I’ve met in my company have actually been all pretty cool dudes. But when I’m out and about it seems like a lot of the foreign white people there are a bit…skeevy, I guess. In a society like Japan’s, they stick out like sore thumbs – not just because they’re foreign, but it seems like they don’t even attempt to be a type of person that meshes well with Japanese society as a whole. I don’t mean conforming to the narrow range of expression that young Japanese men and women are pressured to follow – we are foreigners, after all. But I think there’s definitely a type of foreigner that meshes well with these existing Japanese archetypes.
If I had to put it into words, I think the most successful foreigners I’ve met have been well-kept and friendly, being polite whenever possible. However, I also think the ideal foreigner is also outgoing in a way that Japanese people can feel like they can talk to without worrying about the strict societal standards of Japanese society.
Half of the foreign white dudes I’ve met don’t even seem to try to do anything close to that.
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not really
Live and let live is my motto. As long as it doesn’t affect me, I don’t care what they do.
So all of the Africans, African Americans, Hispanic’s, Asians, South East Asians, all white women, and half of the white dudes, that you have met all mesh well with Japanese society? According to you, if you’re a white guy, and only if you’re a white guy, than there’s a 50% chance that you’re “sketch,” and don’t fit in with Japanese societal standards.
Did I get that right?
Go to any decently sized meetup event and likely you are gonna find at least a few weirdos whether they are Japanese are foreigners. They stick out like sore thumbs, and will hide the fact that most others are completely normal people. Just the weirdos are sticking out and you don’t notice all the people who are blending in without any problems.
I think more than half of everyone I meet in a big American city is sketchy/anti-social
Probably half of a random sample of the Japanese population is also sketchy/anti-social
It’s not that weird
Try meeting some of the foreign white people (FWP) hanging out in Thailand….and be glad at least 50% of the FWP’s in Japan are ‘normal’.
The most “suspect” men I’ve met in Japan are Japanese.
My friend recently shared with me the most perfect acronym; LBH (losers back home)
Not my circus, not my monkeys