Japan.

[itsme]

Why cant other nations act in an orderly fashion as shown bythe Japanese during the present catastrophe. No pushing, shoving, grabbing, screaming,shouting.
Marvellous race well organised I cant believe thecourtesy shown by all.

 

[Taffycat]

The food queues which were shown on the News, were amazingly orderly. As items were handed out, some individuals even bowed, their natural courtesy still evident, despite the unimaginably hard time they are all going through.

What a terrible and huge disaster this is.

 

[bootneck02]

I agree with you Taffycat, it was a devastating event and the survivors are responding as stoically and with such bravery and calm. my heart goes out to them. I wonder how we would behave as a nation if we were struck with tragedy, would we all pull together as we did during the blitz or we let the devil take the hindmost????

 

[floppybootstomp]

Strange, innit, how in times of disaster a very large proportion of the world mucks in yet even as Japan receives foreign aid other human beings are killing themselves in warfare in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'll never understand this world.

I was reading about the scale of the disaster this morning, it's truly horrendous, very sad indeed.

 

[nivrip]

I wonder how we would behave as a nation if we were struck with tragedy, would we all pull together as we did during the blitz or we let the devil take the hindmost????

I reckon that we would all pull together and get through it. I think it's the way we are here in Britain.

We are very lucky that we do not live on any of the fault lines where volcanoes and earthquakes occur. I can even accept our weather here for not having to live in danger of our lives. The TV pictures really bring it home as to how bad it's been.

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

Americans just try to find out who they can sue at the end of it all.

 

[historian]

I reckon that we would all pull together and get through it. I think it's the way we are here in Britain.

We are very lucky that we do not live on any of the fault lines where volcanoes and earthquakes occur. I can even accept our weather here for not having to live in danger of our lives. The TV pictures really bring it home as to how bad it's been.

I suspect now,should a disaster on the Japanese scale, happen here with our new racial mix I don`t think there would be much disapline,not in the cities anyway.
historian.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I suspect now,should a disaster on the Japanese scale, happen here with our new racial mix I don`t think there would be much disapline,not in the cities anyway.
historian.

I think you'd be quite surprised, actually.

I think there may be some squabbling/disorder, perhaps, from some certain rural factions of certain eastern european nations but by and large most of the folk who live in the same area as I in this huge cultural melting pot would be ok, in my opinion.

I will admit I could be wrong but I've seen too many selfless acts from all sections of society here during my lifetime to become a total cynic.

The UK - and London in particular - has always been home to immigrants. Mostly folk get on but sometimes they don't, hence the Notting Hill riots in the sixties.

Even as far back as the mid-1600's there was unrest caused by immigrants, this story I've linked to illustrates this, immigrants blamed for disaster, immigrants killed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8772583.stm

So, nothing changes really, there will always be those wary of skin colour, accent and plain old 'being different'.

Of course there are some things I disagree with, I ain't no saint, I don't agree with things such as 'The Black Police Officer's Association' but by and large I think things are ok.

Or are 'they' nicking all our jobs and women and living in mansions funded by social security? What does the Daily Mail say?

 

[PotGuy]

The Japanese are a very disciplined people, it is inherent in their society that honour and respect are two of the most important attributes above wealth and success. We should learn from that. Our consumption, greed is good Americanised nonsense gets on my nerves.

Facebook was popping up with loads of cretins talking about Pearl Harbour, even though you can bet your right arm they couldn't tell the you the first thing about it. Utter cretins.



On a slightly different note, I do think that they should start to accept their history though. My missus is Taiwanese with a fair amount of Japanese heritage, and many Japanese people simply ignore their more disgusting areas of history, Unit 731 and the like. That said, I have the utmost respect for the Japanese and I think their culture is fantastic. Had the pleasure of meeting two Japanese gentlemen and I have never met two more polite, modest chaps.

 

[floppybootstomp]

The Japanese are a very disciplined people, it is inherent in their society that honour and respect are two of the most important attributes above wealth and success. We should learn from that. Our consumption, greed is good Americanised nonsense gets on my nerves.

Facebook was popping up with loads of cretins talking about Pearl Harbour, even though you can bet your right arm they couldn't tell the you the first thing about it. Utter cretins.



On a slightly different note, I do think that they should start to accept their history though. My missus is Taiwanese with a fair amount of Japanese heritage, and many Japanese people simply ignore their more disgusting areas of history, Unit 731 and the like. That said, I have the utmost respect for the Japanese and I think their culture is fantastic. Had the pleasure of meeting two Japanese gentlemen and I have never met two more polite, modest chaps.

Different, the Japanese.

I'm torn between admiration for their lifestyle of respect and honor and a dislike of the oh so obvious cruelty inherent in their culture.

Let me make it clear I have nothing but sympathy for the Japanese atm, the earthquake/tsunami is horror beyond belief.

But the Japanese president remarked it 'was the worst disaster to hit them since WW2'

So I thought to myself 'Excuse me mate, WW2 was a man-made disaster that you lot started, so no sympathy there' but recent events were beyond your control and that is why I've been viewing BBC news footage of UK firemen returning from disaster hit areas having helped with rescue operations and describing the scene over there.

Unfortunate reference by the PM, WW2, not liable to win them much sympathy in some quarters.

The Japanese used slave labour to build railways and other things during WW2 and was on a par with the German concentration camps.

Nagasaki and Hiroshima, though regrettable, actually ended a lot of suffering.

Some would call the Japanese treatment of POW's culture clash others would call it sadistic cruelty and lack of respect for human life. I know where I stand.

And yes I know it's a long time ago but the Japanese PM brought it up, not me.

As for Japan not mentioning their past that accusation could also be levelled at the UK. Times change, lots of countries have a bloody and shameful past. If you read that link I posted to about the Great Fire Of London you'll note that England had just razed a largely civillian Dutch port to the ground, an act widely regarded as cruel and unjust by the world at large in those times.

And so here we are today. We battled with Japan and Germany. They are now ahead of us in the world economic stakes. It is, indeed, a funny old world but I'm still rather pleased I'm a part of it.

 

[PotGuy]

The difference is flops we have the cruel parts of our colonial parts shoved down our throats at school. Most nations have accepted the crueller parts of their history.

In Japan they don't, they pretend it never happened which is very wrong. You can't re write history, because knowing about the terrible things your ancestors have done is one of the things that prevents them happening again.

I think there is also a generation gap with the Japanese. My Nan - and my Mum actually - are both very sceptical of the Japanese as a country and a race, my Nan especially as she is Australia.

The younger generations do not see colonial Japan, never have, and never will. The cut throat, inhumane cruelty of their predecessors seem a long way from modern Japan, makers of Takeshi's Castle, harmless, odd gameshows involving rabbits and custard and Pokemon.

 

[floppybootstomp]

The difference is flops we have the cruel parts of our colonial parts shoved down our throats at school. Most nations have accepted the crueller parts of their history.

In Japan they don't, they pretend it never happened which is very wrong. You can't re write history, because knowing about the terrible things your ancestors have done is one of the things that prevents them happening again.

I think there is also a generation gap with the Japanese. My Nan - and my Mum actually - are both very sceptical of the Japanese as a country and a race, my Nan especially as she is Australia.

The younger generations do not see colonial Japan, never have, and never will. The cut throat, inhumane cruelty of their predecessors seem a long way from modern Japan, makers of Takeshi's Castle, harmless, odd gameshows involving rabbits and custard and Pokemon.

Aye, I guess you're right but I must say it's only now that the crueller side of UK history is being taught to our kids. Whether this is a good or bad thing I'm really not quite sure. Does it really do that black kid any good to know his forefathers were rounded up in Africa, shipped to Europe and the US and made slaves?

Does this promote understanding or hatred? I dunno.

My father hated the japanese FWIW and I could never persuade him otherwise.

My father spent WW2 in India in a largely passive role, mostly clerical.

But when VJ day came he was amongst troops that 'liberated' Burma, including many Japanese POW camps.The sights he saw caused him to hate an entire race.

This is my Dad - a scouser from Birkenhead and a self-proclaimed socialist - who welcomed the West Indian immigrants in the early sixties and when some of these guys joined the railway my dad invited them round for tea to try and make them feel at home.

As a nine year old I would often get round the dinner/tea table with some black geezer seated at the end. Quite a shock for a young kid in them days, very few black folk about.

Must admit, that's one of the better memories I have of my Dad, loved him, even though he beat the crap out of me (deservedly) a few times.

My Dad never spoke much about WW2 all his life, he only told me this stuff about 3 weeks before he died. He also told me some of the white UK guys literally beat some of the Japanese POW guards to death because of the state of the UK POW's (think skinny like Auschwitz).

Such is war, such is man.

Myself, I think only today matters and anybody who quotes stuff from 50/100/150 years ago is wrong. Which may seem contradictory in view of what I've just said, but not so.

Said it before, will say it again, though I do observe cultural differences my own guide is 'I like everybody on this planet until the time they give me reason not to, in which case they become my enemy'. Simple really.

I wanted to say more here but must confes we're treading on dodgy ground and I've had a few, lol, so me stop there

 

[bootneck02]

Unfortunately we are animals when and it comes to war, many people revert back, in our history just think it was us who invented the concentration camps during the Boar War and my Grand Father fought in that, he also fought in the 1st World War and what a waste of humanity that was no matter whose side you were on. It still goes on think of the men in the UK and US forces who have in the Iraq behaved in inappropriate way to prisoners and have been court marshaled, it is one of our bad traits that some people revert back to the caveman and civilsation falls off them.