The secret heartbreak of enuresis
Posted by ampontan on Tuesday, November 13, 2007
COULD SOMEONE DO THE KID A FAVOR and change his diapers?
This open season on gaijin, as well as on terrorists and carriers of contagious diseases (which somehow also means the gaijin), has gone beyond fomenting the image that non-Japanese are merely untrustworthy. It has created policy creep. Gaijin-hunters in their zeal are stretching or breaking established laws.
And put a bib on him while you’re at it:
Sure, policymakers are treating non-Japanese residents as criminals, terrorists, and filth columnists of disease and disorder — through fingerprinting on arrival, gaijin-house ID checkpoints, anonymous “snitch sites” (ZG, March 30, 2004), DNA databases (ZG, Jan. 13, 2004), IC chips in gaijin cards (ZG, Nov. 22, 2005) and now dragnets through hotels and paychecks.
Don’t forget the pacifier. Anything to keep him from making suggestions such as this one:
Japan needs more lawyers, or at least more lawyerly types.
I’m going to need a diaper if he keeps coming up with ideas like that.
One would have hoped that the author of the article would have tried to examine all the aspects of his argument before putting it in writing , but alas…
But in practice, the policy stretch has already begun. For example, Regular Permanent Resident immigrants — who have no visa restrictions placed on their employment and cannot possibly “overstay” — must also be reported.
One resident of the town in which I live is a self-employed English teacher from Morocco. I used to run into him at a particular bar every once in a while. He went for the specific purpose of getting drunk and picking fights with people–both verbal and physical. He was married at the time to a Japanese woman and has a permanent resident’s visa.
They eventually got divorced, but his visa allows him to stay in Japan. He returned briefly to Morocco and came back with a new Moroccan wife. He has since gotten religion again, stopped drinking, and started praying five times a day.
Considering this man’s inability to control his anger and his renewed interest in Islam, you can bet this gaijin is glad the police will keep tabs on people with a permanent resident’s visa.
The author of this article seems to be auditioning for the role of Spotless Gaijin Avenger. Get someone to illustrate it, and it would make a dandy Marvel comic.
Well, it’s time for the real point of the exercise. Let’s give him what he wants. All together now…
“Debito! (sigh) Our hero!”
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so harsh. Without the Caped Crusader looking after our interests, we all would be utterly at the mercy of this racist and fascist police state.
Aceface said
“Debito,Our Hero!”.
Actually I agree with Ardou on the issue here. Having say that,I must confess the tone of his writing somehow made me feel like as if we are paying the heavy price of bad decision making when Commodore Perry showed up at our doors in 1853…..
Is Ardou-ish tactics really work to acquire sympathy among Japanese? OK.I’m sure lots of JET teachers and FCCJ guys love watching Ardou flies like a butterfly and sting like a bee.But it’s over my head he’s flying around and it’s my ass he stings and I’m not that entertained.These are words coming from a guy living with two foreigners in a family.So I’m not saying I speak for the majority of the society.
Haafu said
I had the opportunity to meet Debito about a year ago when he visited my campus to give a talk. I think the guy means well, but I can’t see how his approach is really all that useful. I also don’t see how a bunch of “no foreigner” signs at fuuzoku are indicative of avert societal racism.
mac said
Just out of interest, and a sense of acuity, is this legislation rally aimed at big mouthed white punks or all the other immigrants, legal and illegal, from China, the Koreas and the other Asian neighbors?
We might still out like 10′ tall pink sore thumbs but is the legislation there to protect Japan from us or others that might integrate much more easily with the Japanese society.
If I had a couple of Billion impoverished neighbors, the majority of which would be quite envious of the wealth and comfort of Japanese society, through which diseases from as simple as SARS and TB, to bubonic plague existed, I think I might want some degree of defence too. Especially given the general openness, naivety and vulnerability of Japanese society.
I understand “Island mentality”. I empathize with those that have a greater and longer commitment to the well-being and protection of the nation within which I am a guest. I loath invasive bureaucracy, I am living in the most invasive now, BUT Japan is also surrounded by social imbalances not of its own creation. In the West Chinese illegals stand out clearly but not so in Japan. It also has Korean incursions to deal with …
a question rather than a statement, how do these rules and regulations apply to them?
I suppose, at a long push one could imagine an Indonesia Al Qaeda cell blending in fairly well but, before we cry to momma over this, who exactly is the enemy and what is the cultural and political background to this, e.g. is it Uncle Sam demanding the Diet gets with the program? I understand (but do not know) that Japan has historically had very weak counter espionage forces but find it difficult to believe that ‘the enemy’ are 6′ Aussie language students or 200 lbs Congolese.
Overthinker said
The issues with fingerprinting etc legislation are not so much that it exists, but that it is applied even more draconianally than the US-VISIT scheme it copies – to wit, residents on returning permits get printed and photographed each time, despite already being on the government records. All a Chinese illegal has to do is get a fake Japanese passport, join a crowded plane from somewhere like the US, line up with the Japanese, hand it over without saying a word, and bingo. Home free.
Overthinker said
Reading the article, he does have a point in that you should know and exercise your rights and not just roll over.
Bruce Smith said
C’mon people, Debito is obviously a self-promoting narcissistic goof trying to make his unimportant life and career seem important. My advice to him would be “Son, get a haircut and get a real job !”
sai said
>>Overthinker
U.S. scans digitally fingerprints every-time foreigners re-entry U.S.,and now starts fingerprinting all ten fingers.
Besides the LPR I can’t see a big difference between Japan and U.S.
Overthinker said
I found this interesting article that discusses the lack of rights even *legal* immigrants in the US have:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/weekinreview/14preston.html?fta=y
Also I read recently that the US now requires green card holders to go through The Process.
Aceface said
Whole problem is that there will probably be no crime rate reduction with this card carrying.
Police has to find something a lot more imaginative and less bureaucratic way to fight the crime.
ampontan said
What people may be overlooking is who these measures are designed to stop. They’re like locks on houses.
The locks on your windows and doors don’t stop professional thieves or the very desperate. They just stop the rest of the population.
These measures won’t stop the “professional terrorist” or the insanely desperate, but they will probably stop everyone else.
I would hope they have much more sophisticated weapons at their disposal.
Aceface said
I don’t think the”lock”metaphor works here,Bill.
It’s more like giving “keys” to the authority,No?
Anyway,It is not fair to applying card carrying only to foreigners.There are so many social habits/institutional barriers/cultural practice to discourage the people from outside of the country to melt into the society already.I see little or no justification to add a new one as a legistrative measure.
Paul said
“Considering this man’s inability to control his anger and his renewed interest in Islam, you can bet this gaijin is glad the police will keep tabs on people with a permanent resident’s visa.”
I know! After all, no Japanese people have short tempers or affinities for frightening religions!
I hope living in Japan for so long isn’t what turned you into a self-loathing racist.
ampontan said
#12: Please! If you enjoy being so venomous, at least use your imagination and be more entertaining!