my blog - Latest Comments

Re: Ufu to Mufu: Oh Noes Racist Japanese! (not really)

Mark Mays — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:15:05 -0000

No, I'm a product of law school. But stating that Japan didn't have major crime until "USA attitudes arrived in full force" exposes you as lacking knowledge on the subject. Or just a simple troll.

Re: Ufu to Mufu: Oh Noes Racist Japanese! (not really)

Mark Mays — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:13:46 -0000

Seems that my original reply to this was lost in the conversion to disqus. I allowed it because you had some relevant information but generally you were using the post as soapbox rather than commenting directly on what's given.

Dude, don't presume to know how I think based on this one post. I do not operate on rumors. It is no secret that I have spent time in Japan and have a Japanese wife and two children. Believe me, I know what SOME Japanese people think about Black people, people you would think should know better.

Clearly, you have no idea about my thoughts on the causes and and effects of racism in a society. So don't presume to tell me how I think.

But I do know of a lot of guys who think the same as you. They believe that EVERYTHING that happens to them in Japan has to do with an individual being racist. And they get mad when others are more rational about it than they are.

It's not the 1950s. I mean, you can use the same bathroom as Japanese people, you can drink from their water fountains, you can ride their buses and trains and marry their daughters and no one can stop you. Citizenship is another issue in Japan, as is housing discrimination, two of many areas where their forethought is lacking. But, if you are paying attention, we are STILL having these issues in America.

Oh, but you're upset because some freeter didn't hand you a flier to get into some hostess club? Okay.

It's pointless to argue about whether one country is "more racist" than another. Let's stick to what I actually said, which is "these kinds of things (like this video) happen far less in Japan than in the West." This is a fact. Every year we see it multiple times, not some isolated incident like this cartoon, but regularly, you can count on it, someone, real people, will have a photo of themselves taken in Blackface in a "pimp" party or "slave auction" and think it's just fine. That indicates a widespread indifference to racism from people who have seen enough to know better. Full stop.

In this country, Black people have been here for about 400 years, most of it as slaves. For the next 100 years, we lived under an apartheid system. We've seen about five decades now of what you might call "freedom" depending on to whom you speak.

Re: Ufu to Mufu: Oh Noes Racist Japanese! (not really)

Snooks — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 22:28:22 -0000

They are better than the USA. They dont punish each other for having an opinon that disagrees with others.
malfeasance, huh? kinda gives you away as a product of a litigiuos society.
Racisim in Japan kept it clean and free of gaffiti and major crime until USA attitudes arrived in full force.

Re: Django Unchained and the Surrounding Controversy

Utilisateur — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:41:30 -0000

It's an anti-White movie made by J***. Just so you know.

Not about you, not about us... Just to make you peons, as you have been to them for 50 years.

Re: Django Unchained and the Surrounding Controversy

Garfinkel — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:34:51 -0000

I just thought it was a revenge fantasy movie like Inglorious Bastards. I liked that one better. Jews killed Hitler. :)

Re: Fun with the Aryan Nation!

Pkmarbaniang — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:37:43 -0000

WHILE READING MOST OF THE COMMENTS HERE,ONE CANNOT HELP BUT RECOGNIZE THE VERY HIGH LEVELS OF SELF HATRED AND SELF LOATHING OF THE CONTRIBUTORS WHICH THEY IN TURN PROJECT AGAINST OTHER PEOPLE APPARENTLY DIFFERENT FROM THEMSELVES AS A MEANS OF ESCAPE FROM THEIR VERY PERSONAL INTERNAL HELLS.ANY SELF RESPECTING HUMAN BEING OF ANY COLOUR WOULD SOMEHOW FEEL EMPATHY FOR THE SUFFERERS AND WOULD ALSO HOPE THAT THEY UTILISE THEIR ENERGIES IN REALIZING THEMSELVES.

Re: Lemme tell ya little something bout Black History

Deggleston815 — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 02:49:37 -0000

Man thanks Todd, been looking for that song forever!

Re: Ufu to Mufu: Oh Noes Racist Japanese! (not really)

JohnnyB — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:54:02 -0000

I live in Japan and it's worse. It's pretty much still the 1950's for blacks in Japan. You can walk into a store and just buy ufu to mufu merchandise. Ads with other similar depictions of black people are out in public view. Anime often depicts black people poorly as well and on the streets you will often see that if a black person walks past someone handing out fliers or trying to get the attention of customers to come in a store the black person will be the only one not handed a flier or solicited to enter a business. Even in polite conversation with people they won't mind telling you they just plain don't like black people, they think they're scary, they think they commit a lot of crime and that black people are dishonest. They don't make much attempt to hide these sentiments. Your view that it's less than in the U.S. or isolated is pure ignorance on your part. It's tolerated and accepted common practice not just from individuals but from corporations and law makers in Japan. Are they doing these things in a concerted effort to offend black people? No. They just give no thought or consideration to black people. That is pretty much the heart of racism. Few racists are actually the type of extremists that plot to harm an entire race. They just have their ideas about what a race is and have no regard for the feelings or well being of that race. Racism is far far more prevalent in Japan. There are establishments that specifically bar people of other races and unlike the U.S. that is perfectly fine by Japanese law. Beyond that there are hotels that will not rent one room to gay couples. They would need to rent two rooms.

Honestly before I started living in Japan I thought a lot like you. I had heard rumors that Japanese society was a bit racist but believed they must be better than us (U.S.) about the issue but they aren't. It's not surprising though. They had been a very isolated country for a long time and with such a small fraction of citizens being people of other than Japanese decent there is a very small voice for anyone that is not Japanese within the borders of the country.

Re: Floodbath: Continued

jesse Dziedzic — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:56:19 -0000

Admirable blog post...

Re: New Stuff from Goapele – Play

Mark — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:25:46 -0000

Get up in RSS and get on the feed. I don't know what the issue is bud

Re: New Stuff from Goapele – Play

DJ Ankle Brace — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:15:02 -0000

This is cool. I wanna subscribe to yo blogistry, but when i try...denied.

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

fuster — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 01:36:28 -0000

Neither do i consider the Academy to be even close to the final word, but I'm responding to Orville's crack about Spike "tried to play the white man’s game and appeal to the Academy Awards and he never won an Oscar."

We folks here in Brooklyn are pretty proud of him.....

(and try re-reading my comment, Mark, and note that I was pro-DTRT. thought that one might have been best movie that year.)

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

Mark — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:13:40 -0000

Well, that's just insanity. I don't consider the Academy to be the final word on whether or not a film is "good" but DTRT is one of the best of the modern era.

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

fuster — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:52:19 -0000

Spike Lee's movies didn't deserve Oscars,(though I'm not so sure that Driving Miss Daisy was all that much better than Do the Right Thing) but they were good and a heck of a lot more interesting and far less formulaic Perry's stuff.

Re: What is Chris Johnson Worth to the Titans?

fuster — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:16:49 -0000

Johnson is worth a heck of a lot, and the offense needs him as a primary option this year.
The Titans have too many needs and can't bust the bank for him.

Sinking a lot of long-term money into a running back though isn't usually a great idea. Running backs win an occasional game, defense and line play wins titles.

He's got value and he's got leverage and he may well be on his way to another team

Re: Butch Davis Fired from UNC: Raises Many Questions

Mark — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 14:59:15 -0000

Thanks for pointing that out, I was upset and not thinking about logical fallacies at that point.

Re: Butch Davis Fired from UNC: Raises Many Questions

Graham — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:23:42 -0000

I like the article, Mark, but the firing doesn't "beg" any questions. It "raises" questions. They aren't the same thing.

Re: Today’s “What if . . .?” Post

J Michael — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:58:13 -0000

That's similar to my thought about what if all of the Black descendents of Confederate soldiers began to join the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

Gucci Scarpe — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:52:23 -0000

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Re: Why I Don’t Post More Pics of the Kids

J Michael — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:32:14 -0000

Wife is that same; doesn't want me to put kids on the face.

Re: Wow, Nobody Saw That Coming . . .

Xiomara Shriner — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:59:26 -0000

I do trust all the ideas you have offered to your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for newbies. May you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

Mark — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 01:50:02 -0000

Most people who have an opinion either way on this issue recognize Perry's box office take. No one has to think about how much he makes.

I don't know how old you are, but if you were aware in the late 80's and early 90's you'd have a pretty clear picture about Spike Lee and "playing the white man's game." (which is what, hockey?)

I have a real problem with your use of the word "uppity" in this context. You are aware that's a word racist White people used to describe Black men and women who "didn't know their place," right?

Who is saying that Lee and Perry can't coexist?

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

Orville — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:16:28 -0000

I am going to side with Tyler Perry because I believe he is correct. I think the reason Tyler used the W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T Washington example is because Du Bois was a snob. Du Bois believed in the talented tenth that only the uppity, white washed blacks can uplift the black race. Booker T Washington believed that blacks should help themselves and and he created his own college to help blacks. I think Tyler knows his black history.

Tyler is writing what he knows he is a southern black man and Spike Lee is just uppity. Black people we are NOT a monolithic group. We are individuals. Some blacks like Tyler's movie and some like Spike Lee. Why can't both black directors co exist? Why does it matter that Tyler makes comedies? I think the criticisms of Tyler Perry by the white media are charged with racism.
Think about it Mark, Tyler is the most powerful black director in Hollywood history. According to Forbes Magazine, Tyler made $125 million dollars. Tyler also owns his own studio. Tyler has considerable power and his movies he gets huge cuts from them.
Tyler is a self made man and I respect him for his hustle.
Spike Lee is jealous of Tyler Perry he will never make the kind of money Tyler is making.
I think black people worry too much what white people think about us. Spike Lee is paying a price I believe. He tried to play the white man's game and appeal to the Academy Awards and he never won an Oscar. I think Spike is lost. Tyler creates fear in whites and blacks because he proud of his blackness. Tyler's brand of comedy is something a lot of blacks know about because we know these kind of characters exist in our lives. Of course, some of Tyler's characters such as Madea are exaggerations but that's just comedy.

Re: Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee: Round 2 – And Perry Comes Out Swinging Wildly!

Elrancho — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:33:43 -0000

I think in telling Spike Lee to go to hell, Tyler Perry has displayed a certain amount of arrogance and lack of class. Lee's criticism of Perry was not unfair, nor was it malicious. I suspect that Perry's financial success has given him the feeling that he cannot and should not have to face criticism. It often happens when people start believing their own hype.

Re: Lemme tell ya little something bout Black History

DARIN ALLEN — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:39:28 -0000

After 10 years of searching I finally found this song. Praise God.