I’m tired of being angry, honestly.. but it never ends. I can’t just brush things off or pretend I didn’t hear something just so I can live in a happy little bubble. I wish I could– maybe then I wouldn’t alienate [push away] other people so much and be frusterated all the time.
But I swear, it’s IMPOSSIBLE when everything is so personal! Today in my International Political Economy class [a class about international trade], we were doing a country study on Japan… Even when discussing why Japan was so “economically successful”, the fact that the Japanese have colonized [take over] other countries was never brought up (that is, until I had a little outburst). Don’t they know that people, like my grandmother, were forced to take a Japanese name and to remove the Korean language from conversation? Don’t they know that her friends were taken as comfort women? Don’t they know that the winters were cold because the Japanese took everything they possibly could, even things like trees? That’s just the beginning. I can’t even begin to describe the horror, and it wasn’t just a 40-year thing, Japan and China have been trying to occupy Korea for thousands of years.
This has been a conversation going on in my head for years. and I’m tired of all these American kids who idolize anime and Japanese culture without knowing the cruel oppressive history. I’m so tired of Japan refusing to acknowledge this history (sounds familiar?). And I’m incredibly tired of how this is so reflective of America with our own history of colonization and current way we treat indigenous people. (Check out Nadia’s post here.)
And how dare the professor say that Americans were more civilized because we sleep on beds! That has nothing to do with it; my own family PREFERS to sleep on the floor, use public bathhouses *gasp*, and share food when in Korea. Maybe I shouldn’t expect anything from this man. Anyways, I guess it’s off to my next class…hope I can stick around, I’m kind of at a no-more-absences limit. 
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Another great post.
My belief is that if they examine colonialism in Japan, they’d have to ADMIT IT EXISTS and of course, made the USA filthy rich too. People really resist that discussion or line of thinking.
Here in the south, the ancient, stunningly beautiful houses were (OF COURSE) built by you-know-who, and when they all brag that THE HOUSE HAS BEEN IN MY FAMILEH FOR BLAH BLAH YEARS, I just feel like puking. I’ve got a reputation for blurting out rude things like “And you’re proud of that?” or (if in a judicious mood) simply asking “Did slaves build it?” (note: the answer is always in the affirmative) Talk about bringing the discussion to a screeching halt!
I’m afraid I don’t get invited on the Fancy Old Southern Homes tours anymore. 😛
PS: One thing I’ve learned in asking those questions, however, is that many slaves were even ARCHITECTS (without the ‘official’ title), and actually designed the houses! They also built furniture, sewed curtains, etc. Thus, when people admire a house like the Biltmore, they should be told who is actually responsible for its existence, not the fucking VANDERBILTS (cough).
Anderson Cooper = Vanderbilt. I won’t watch him, that’s how lefty (and petty) -I- am!
Great! You young ones go for it! Don’t be discouraged. You are doing such good work. Gives me hope for the future. Keep it up!
I had all kinds of sarcastic comments to make, but then I just got tired. Yeah, it sucks.
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he said more civilized? wow, what an idiot. i think another good thing to start fighting for is a major overhaul/revamp of the education system. and i don’t mean just the u.s. while living in Amsterdam, i came to realize how incredibly ignorant most Dutch are about their own imperialist history. they still hate the germans, but can’t understand why surinamese don’t trust them. eh-hem. surinam got its freedom in 1975. the dutch got theirs from hitler in 1945. and how many years did each occupation last? how did the dutch and the rest of europe get so filthy stinkin’ rich over the past 500+ years?
Sometimes, i get so angry I just laugh.