Japanese Racism (Part 3)

Note: Please see Part 1 or this will not make any sense at all!
http://insidejapan.blogspot.com/2007/03/japanese-racism-part-1.html

Okay, quoting from the blog...

"I get up from my train seat motioning to get off and the man standing in front of me, grasping a dangling handle, won’t budge."

The train was packed? He couldn't move? He didn't notice you motioning? You didn't use Japanese body language for motioning (see my earlier post on body language)? No racism yet...

"I duck under his arm and swing around to his right, but the door is to his left so now I must walk behind him."

Our mysterious Japanese racist knew which door you were heading to, eh? There are multiple doors on the train. Had you chosen a bad place to sit on the train? How he convenienced you by standing in front of you on a train in the morning! Okay, well, still, no racism.

"It’s a bit crowded, but now that there’s an open seat in front of him, he can move forward."

Okay, you've confirmed my guess is true. It's a crowded train. That's Japan. To put myself in the mysterious Japanese racist's position, I think back to my times on the train (everyday) - There's an open seat, but almost every time I'm standing on the train and holding the ring to keep balance, I do not choose to sit down. There are a few reasons for this. 1) I'm fine with standing. 2) Maybe sometimes I'm holding or reading or looking at something and don't care to move. 3) Maybe an older woman is on the train that might prefer a seat (ahhh, Japanese thinking). 4) Maybe where I'm getting off the train is the next stop and sitting down would be pointless. 5) Maybe again my stop on the train is the next one and sitting will make it harder to get out. Ooh, #4 and #5 are good. Were you getting off at the next stop but decided to sit down and let a ton of bodies on the "crowded train" get in the way of your exit?

"Instead, he takes a step back, blocking my exit."

Damn, maybe he was being a rude bastard. Or maybe you just imagined it. Sitting a crowded space and standing are two different things. Is everyone in Japan out to get you? Please look at my previous post about how people are paranoid about people that don't speak the same language as them. Still, there are no signs here of any racism. However, this sentence does start the idea that he could be dealing with a rude guy - chances of it being a rude guy = 3%.


"Train bell starts ringing, warning passengers the doors are about to close."

Ahh, you're worried about the train not letting you out. Maybe you shouldn't have been sitting on a crowded train at that point. Thanks for the details though.

"I nudge him forward and take a step towards the door, when something catches my foot."

Now this, this seems like where foreigners tend to exaggerate others' faults and shrink down one's own behavior. A "nudge," eh? You sat in a bad spot on a crowded train, and you push him. Well, sometimes you have to push. On a really crowded train, everyone pushes. It happens. So that's not so bad. But you notice, in retaliation for your "nudge," something happens...

"I angle my feet to let loose whatever has snagged, but it moves with me and I soon realize there’s a foot out in front of me, ostensibly trying to trip me."

Something "whatever" snagged his foot. It's a foot. Well, on a crowded train there are lots of feet and lots of people moving, especially when the doors are opened. But I'll give this person the benefit of the doubt - maybe the guy was being a rude bastard to a person that "nudged" him - chances of it being a rude guy = 15% (80% if he can recognize said foot as belong to said nudged racist).

"I assume this must be an accident, and I try to shake around it. Instead, the foot sticks out further - and it’s now clear who’s foot this is. It belongs to the passenger who was standing in front of me when I was seated - he’s now stretching his foot backwards to try and trip me on my way out the door!"

Okay. "It's now clear" doesn't exactly spell out "I see the guy trying to trip me" but more like "it could be." I'm still not sure. And is his intention with that foot to trip you? In crowded trains, lots of things happen. Hell, there are a lot of possibilities (including the reason you made this post - that you read or saw something about Japanese racism in the news or on TV and that shaded your view of things), but let's just say that you're right - the guy you "nudged" was being a jerk and trying to trip you. That would be pretty uncommon for Japanese behavior, but maybe he was a rude asshole. Where's the racism? I'm not sure...