Telling people exactly what you think can be the best stress relief.
'Metropolis' featured this article, "Hard Time" on September 7, 2007 about a foreigner jailed in Shinjuku for 19 days after getting into a fight. 19 days in the slammer, especially in a foreign country must be a terrible experience, but I believe there is a larger lesson behind the trials of Paul Green that 'Metropolis' over-looked in their article.
Japan does not deal lightly with violence because it is a society based on harmony and higher levels of trust than most Western countries. Paul should learn that the "I didn't start it" excuse does not work for adults, especially in Japan. At the end of Paul's article, he calls Japan the "free world of robots," indicating his still smoldering contempt of Japan. Japanese people may seem like robots, but for the most-part they understand the concept of personal responsibility.
For example, if one notices something wrong, or out of order, it is their responsibility to initially fix it. In America, we tend to think that others will naturally take care of disorder for us. A simple example: The other day the disorder of papers on desks at my office started to drive me nuts. Because it was shared space, one would assume that everyone in the office should help clean, but this is not necessarily the case in Japan. Big office cleaning days happen once or twice per year; the rest lays in the hands of peoples' general tidiness. I told my co-worker, "wow, this is really a mess." She responded, "yeah, we'll clean it later." When I asked about when, she said "during "osoji" (big cleaning) towards the end of the year." "What about "kosoji" (little cleaning)?" I asked jokingly, and she responded "you do that when you notice."
This little example of personal responsibility can be projected onto larger issues in Japanese life as well. If one notices disorder, or feels out of place, it is their responsibility to fix it. As soon as one feels out of place in Japan, they must take responsibility for their role in the disharmony, but many foreigners have trouble understanding this. I have found many Japanese people very accepting once I show that I understand the basic concept of being humble towards others, regardless that I will never actually be Japanese in the black hair, ethnic sense of the word. The easiest way to describe this sense of personal responsibility is "give and take." When meeting Japanese people, whether it is your boss, a friend, or a drunk bully on the street, one must always give respect first. A large ego that only sucks respect in for one's personal pride is quickly pushed out of the circle in Japan. One raises others up first, and to do this convincingly, one must honestly trust and respect those people around them. In that sense, living in Japan and around people who understand the basic nature of respect, is both a great learning experience and a great relief for me.
The heart is an amazing thing. When it is calm and at peace, one smiles and naturally attracts similarly happy people, and when it is angry and dark, it similarly attracts the same. Neither Paul, nor Kenji were at peace the night that they got into the fight with each other, as written in "Hard Time." Their negative energies brought themselves together; each one projecting itself onto the other, and neither took responsibility for their hate and anger, which resulted in a broken nose and a split forehead for Kenji, and 19 days in Japanese prison for Paul.
All foreigners living in Japan end up fighting daily battles. Though I would wish 19 days of Japanese jail on no-one, Paul isn't particularly special. Foreigners have to put in extra effort everyday to learn Japan's language and customs, and those who really want to live and grow in Japan need to see the larger lessons behind obstacles to life here. 19 days might seem to be a bit harsh for a foreigner, but I am reminded of a certain caning incident in Singapore, which, though harsh, was applauded by many people in the states.
On that note I wrote this letter to the editor at 'Metropolis':
-----------------------------------------------------
Dear Metropolis Editor(s),
Your feature about Paul C.J. Green's 19 days in Japanese prison, "Hard Time," (Sept. 7, 2007) is a negative and reactionary article. Paul deserved his punishment, 19 days in Jail, for repeatedly punching a person to the point of a broken nose and split forehead, but instead of choosing to learn from his experience, Paul, and apparently Metropolis, would rather blame it on an unfair Japanese justice system. At what point does Paul's personal responsibility come into play?
Paul should have defused his miscommunication with Kenji instead of attacking him. Paul realized that Kenji mistook his drunken behavior, a limp, as an insult, but instead of apologizing, Paul told his friend "I'm not gonna take any of this" and admits "I hated him (Kenji) and people like him and I wanted to show him." It was Paul's personal failure to be adult that bought him 19 days in prison; not an unfair justice system, and he should be willing to learn from his mistakes.
I am surprised that you would make a feature story from Paul's experience in Japanese prison, which included near-racist comments such as "monkey forehead," but then not include a reflection about why this event happened in the first place. Instead of helping foreigners feel sorry for themselves, why not teach them how to better function and live in Japan? Japan is a stressful place for Japanese and foreigners alike, so we must learn to release stress in positive ways. At the very best, your feature story "Hard Time" should have been an example of what not to do when confrontations happen, instead of an incessant bellyache about the Japanese justice system.
Yours truly, Andrew Smith, Yamanashi-ken.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The whole problem with the article "Hard Time" is that it shows Paul still fails to take responsibility for his actions. You know? Sometimes you really do need to deck somebody in the nose. I respect that, just don't bellyache about the punishment. I am sure that back at his favorite hang-outs Paul is happily drinking beer with his friends laughing about giving Kenji just what he deserved. "Yeah, I spent 19 days in Jail for decking a guy, but it was worth it!" That would be a short and interesting article that I would enjoy reading.
In the end, I hope that Paul C.J. Green will be able to see beyond his experience in Japanese prison, and once again work to enjoy charm of Japan.
"Furinkazanko 2007," the Motosuko Lake Party coming soon at Lake Motosuko. We hope for good weather and to see you there!
'Metropolis' featured this article, "Hard Time" on September 7, 2007 about a foreigner jailed in Shinjuku for 19 days after getting into a fight. 19 days in the slammer, especially in a foreign country must be a terrible experience, but I believe there is a larger lesson behind the trials of Paul Green that 'Metropolis' over-looked in their article.
Japan does not deal lightly with violence because it is a society based on harmony and higher levels of trust than most Western countries. Paul should learn that the "I didn't start it" excuse does not work for adults, especially in Japan. At the end of Paul's article, he calls Japan the "free world of robots," indicating his still smoldering contempt of Japan. Japanese people may seem like robots, but for the most-part they understand the concept of personal responsibility.
For example, if one notices something wrong, or out of order, it is their responsibility to initially fix it. In America, we tend to think that others will naturally take care of disorder for us. A simple example: The other day the disorder of papers on desks at my office started to drive me nuts. Because it was shared space, one would assume that everyone in the office should help clean, but this is not necessarily the case in Japan. Big office cleaning days happen once or twice per year; the rest lays in the hands of peoples' general tidiness. I told my co-worker, "wow, this is really a mess." She responded, "yeah, we'll clean it later." When I asked about when, she said "during "osoji" (big cleaning) towards the end of the year." "What about "kosoji" (little cleaning)?" I asked jokingly, and she responded "you do that when you notice."
This little example of personal responsibility can be projected onto larger issues in Japanese life as well. If one notices disorder, or feels out of place, it is their responsibility to fix it. As soon as one feels out of place in Japan, they must take responsibility for their role in the disharmony, but many foreigners have trouble understanding this. I have found many Japanese people very accepting once I show that I understand the basic concept of being humble towards others, regardless that I will never actually be Japanese in the black hair, ethnic sense of the word. The easiest way to describe this sense of personal responsibility is "give and take." When meeting Japanese people, whether it is your boss, a friend, or a drunk bully on the street, one must always give respect first. A large ego that only sucks respect in for one's personal pride is quickly pushed out of the circle in Japan. One raises others up first, and to do this convincingly, one must honestly trust and respect those people around them. In that sense, living in Japan and around people who understand the basic nature of respect, is both a great learning experience and a great relief for me.
The heart is an amazing thing. When it is calm and at peace, one smiles and naturally attracts similarly happy people, and when it is angry and dark, it similarly attracts the same. Neither Paul, nor Kenji were at peace the night that they got into the fight with each other, as written in "Hard Time." Their negative energies brought themselves together; each one projecting itself onto the other, and neither took responsibility for their hate and anger, which resulted in a broken nose and a split forehead for Kenji, and 19 days in Japanese prison for Paul.
All foreigners living in Japan end up fighting daily battles. Though I would wish 19 days of Japanese jail on no-one, Paul isn't particularly special. Foreigners have to put in extra effort everyday to learn Japan's language and customs, and those who really want to live and grow in Japan need to see the larger lessons behind obstacles to life here. 19 days might seem to be a bit harsh for a foreigner, but I am reminded of a certain caning incident in Singapore, which, though harsh, was applauded by many people in the states.
On that note I wrote this letter to the editor at 'Metropolis':
-----------------------------------------------------
Dear Metropolis Editor(s),
Your feature about Paul C.J. Green's 19 days in Japanese prison, "Hard Time," (Sept. 7, 2007) is a negative and reactionary article. Paul deserved his punishment, 19 days in Jail, for repeatedly punching a person to the point of a broken nose and split forehead, but instead of choosing to learn from his experience, Paul, and apparently Metropolis, would rather blame it on an unfair Japanese justice system. At what point does Paul's personal responsibility come into play?
Paul should have defused his miscommunication with Kenji instead of attacking him. Paul realized that Kenji mistook his drunken behavior, a limp, as an insult, but instead of apologizing, Paul told his friend "I'm not gonna take any of this" and admits "I hated him (Kenji) and people like him and I wanted to show him." It was Paul's personal failure to be adult that bought him 19 days in prison; not an unfair justice system, and he should be willing to learn from his mistakes.
I am surprised that you would make a feature story from Paul's experience in Japanese prison, which included near-racist comments such as "monkey forehead," but then not include a reflection about why this event happened in the first place. Instead of helping foreigners feel sorry for themselves, why not teach them how to better function and live in Japan? Japan is a stressful place for Japanese and foreigners alike, so we must learn to release stress in positive ways. At the very best, your feature story "Hard Time" should have been an example of what not to do when confrontations happen, instead of an incessant bellyache about the Japanese justice system.
Yours truly, Andrew Smith, Yamanashi-ken.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The whole problem with the article "Hard Time" is that it shows Paul still fails to take responsibility for his actions. You know? Sometimes you really do need to deck somebody in the nose. I respect that, just don't bellyache about the punishment. I am sure that back at his favorite hang-outs Paul is happily drinking beer with his friends laughing about giving Kenji just what he deserved. "Yeah, I spent 19 days in Jail for decking a guy, but it was worth it!" That would be a short and interesting article that I would enjoy reading.
In the end, I hope that Paul C.J. Green will be able to see beyond his experience in Japanese prison, and once again work to enjoy charm of Japan.
"Furinkazanko 2007," the Motosuko Lake Party coming soon at Lake Motosuko. We hope for good weather and to see you there!
posted by smithamcd at 1:44 PM
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