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yuiyoshida

(41,831 posts)
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 05:45 PM Feb 2020

It seems Xenophobia is on the rise....

I was in a chat room dancing to my music set, which has probably one song in Japanese...Juju asked me a question using Japaneses characters and a woman in the room started to complain, saying all the Japanese was giving her a HEADACHE, and that we really should speak English because that's the official language of the USA. (Or maybe Trump's USA, all people speak English.. maybe sometimes use French... they hate spanish and to them Japanese is blithering gibberish.)

I left the Chat room. I know the owner and she never had an "English only" policy because she herself speaks French. When people start complaining and tell you .."If you wanta speak Japanese go back to Japan..we don't need this shit here":. I know for a fact this person must be at Trumper ...or just Xenophobic. People have grown Intolerant of Immigrants or people they think are immigrants. They believe we are weighing down this country and trashing the place with our culture. All of this coming out now, when before people kept stuff to themselves or shared it with family and friends... but in any case.. its very sad.

Fortunately my neighborhood is very mixed ...with mostly Asians so there are no complaints
like the above woman had. I can speak Japanese clearly without someone stomping their feet and telling me to "Speak English, this is America" (Forgetting the fact that America is
part of Central and South America where they speak Spanish, Portuguese (There are places in South America with small population of Japaneses immigrants who speak Japanese still) and into parts of Canada where French is spoken.)

The USA has changed thanks to Trump... now Hating people of Color, their language, culture and expressing it out loud is okay...and he encourages it. Its very sad.

29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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It seems Xenophobia is on the rise.... (Original Post) yuiyoshida Feb 2020 OP
oh tell that gal to fuck right off Skittles Feb 2020 #1
Indeed Skittles. n/t rzemanfl Feb 2020 #4
Yes, Yui, and would you please tell her that in Japanese? Mister Ed Feb 2020 #10
Exactly. paleotn Feb 2020 #11
Exactly + 2.nt iluvtennis Feb 2020 #15
+1000 Mersky Feb 2020 #16
Ask her why she does not know that the US has no official language at the federal level. Never has. lunasun Feb 2020 #2
Jeez.. the world is full of idiots... NT Happy Hoosier Feb 2020 #3
I agree 2naSalit Feb 2020 #5
It is - yesterday on display at basketball game at Auburn Univ RT Atlanta Feb 2020 #6
This is what worries me if Trump gets four more years. smirkymonkey Feb 2020 #7
I hear you Joinfortmill Feb 2020 #21
Another Trump moron. CanonRay Feb 2020 #8
Even worse - Trump's violent rhetroic is being used as a bullying tool in schools. Initech Feb 2020 #9
You can't cure someone's small soul; we're all at different levels of development. Some people's Karadeniz Feb 2020 #12
I had a customer at work mutter "speak English" Harker Feb 2020 #13
Drumpf's corrosive speech and actions have enabled this. He is a vile "man." Evolve Dammit Feb 2020 #14
Tell her she can catch deadly viruses transmitted online (don't mention what type) IronLionZion Feb 2020 #17
Screw them. Speak whatever you like.... paleotn Feb 2020 #18
Recommended. H2O Man Feb 2020 #19
Take heart - it's only ok for an emboldened few Joinfortmill Feb 2020 #20
please allow an old guy, kozar Feb 2020 #22
It's unbelievable Aussie105 Feb 2020 #23
Next time your response should be, "why? If I do that, you'll KNOW talking about you" Vivienne235729 Feb 2020 #24
Sadly, it seems to be everywhere these days GeoWilliam750 Feb 2020 #25
by contrast, mini-unblock-chan watches a little anime and decides he needs to learn japanese unblock Feb 2020 #26
People seem to think they can learn Japanese yuiyoshida Feb 2020 #28
Thanks! unblock Feb 2020 #29
It didn't change. Certain folk just feel they've been the go ahead to be shit on the outside too. Afromania Feb 2020 #27

Skittles

(153,160 posts)
1. oh tell that gal to fuck right off
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 06:00 PM
Feb 2020

seriously!

they are still the minority - it just seems like there are more of them because like you said, Trump has given them the courage to emerge from under their rocks

FUCK THEM!!!

lunasun

(21,646 posts)
2. Ask her why she does not know that the US has no official language at the federal level. Never has.
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 06:06 PM
Feb 2020

Tell her she needs to learn these facts about the United States if she is going to live here!

2naSalit

(86,591 posts)
5. I agree
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 06:15 PM
Feb 2020

with you and Skittles.

I spent most of my childhood in which I regularly heard multiple languages from Finnish to Spanish, French and some Portuguese and all manner of broken and pigeon English. I was taught French in the second grade on right along with English. In the cities in Maine you were as likely to hear people speaking French as often as English.

I do recall that, being a post WWII child, I noticed that we didn't hear anything positive about Asians and Germans.

And Native Americans, Mexicans and African Americans were shunned. I was considered one of those and possibly Jewish which was used against me all the time. I was glad to move to the western part of the country where I had at least half a chance at escaping some of that crap. I was around when the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, it's not much better now than it was then for the groups of citizens it was meant to help.

RT Atlanta

(2,517 posts)
6. It is - yesterday on display at basketball game at Auburn Univ
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 06:40 PM
Feb 2020

Idiot AU student shouting at UT player from Uruguay.

https://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/2020/02/auburn-student-ejected-banned-from-auburn-arena-after-xenophobic-remark-directed-at-vols-player.html

Glad AU moved quickly to boot the kid from the game, but jeezus that is DEEP 'trump' country (which is surprising for a college campus, but it is)

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
7. This is what worries me if Trump gets four more years.
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 06:43 PM
Feb 2020

That people like the one you mentioned will think that all restrictions are off and that racism and violence toward people of other races will only get worse. They will see it as a mandate.

This is why we must all vote for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is. I am not thrilled about certain candidates but I will push for the Democrat with everything I have to get them elected over Trump. We cannot afford another four years of this sickness. We also need to flip the Senate.

My greatest hope is that he dies before election day, but we can't count on that. I am just hoping for a miracle here because I am terrified of what four more years of Trump will do to this nation.

Initech

(100,068 posts)
9. Even worse - Trump's violent rhetroic is being used as a bullying tool in schools.
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 07:23 PM
Feb 2020

He's raising a whole new generation of brown shirts, and that's not good.

Karadeniz

(22,513 posts)
12. You can't cure someone's small soul; we're all at different levels of development. Some people's
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 07:30 PM
Feb 2020

Minds are governed by brain, which is devoted to physical self preservation. Anything different from them is seen as a threat to them. So, they're intolerant, imagine conspiracies that could damage their standing. They can't compromise because that means losing some status. Only soul seeks brotherhood and even self sacrifice. The Brain doesn't care if it's rude to you because only that self matters.

I'm sorry, but we are not created equal...not on this planet, not in this lifetime. Yes, sometime at the soul's birth, we were equal. We just have to put up with them...

Harker

(14,015 posts)
13. I had a customer at work mutter "speak English"
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 07:32 PM
Feb 2020

when two men were speaking Spanish to each other.

I switched to German to conclude our conversation. Hope she got the message.

IronLionZion

(45,437 posts)
17. Tell her she can catch deadly viruses transmitted online (don't mention what type)
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 07:55 PM
Feb 2020

and that she should disconnect from the internet immediately just to be safe.

paleotn

(17,912 posts)
18. Screw them. Speak whatever you like....
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 07:57 PM
Feb 2020

There's no "official language" in the US. In some ways I don't mind them being open with their intolerance. Makes it easier to pick out the assholes.

H2O Man

(73,537 posts)
19. Recommended.
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 08:04 PM
Feb 2020

While all types of prejudice and hatred pre-dated Trump, he is definitely causing people to think they have license to say and do bad things. Coming from a diverse extended family, I've witnessed some troubling things over the decades. But it is getting far worse in the last three years.

I make an effort to only interact with good people, which is easier for me as I'm long retired. However, there are times I am confronted by idiots in public. Not that long ago, some jackass in a truck stopped to yell he would like to cut my hair and beard. (Was I having a 1968 LSD flashback?)

I considered telling him that I wished he'd try, but I decided in stead to give him an Old Irish, four word greeting. You and others can feel free to use it, and not only on St. Patrick's Day. It goes like this: "Hey...(short pause complete with direct eye contact) ...go fuck yourself."

Joinfortmill

(14,417 posts)
20. Take heart - it's only ok for an emboldened few
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 08:12 PM
Feb 2020

When we get rid of Trump, they'll crawl back into their holes in the ground.

kozar

(2,111 posts)
22. please allow an old guy,
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 08:17 PM
Feb 2020

to firstly,,say, Im sorry for what you went through.. and then allow me to say,,xenophobia is not on the rise in this country, it is simply becoming more open and more normalized in this country. Which is also a huge problem,,maybe bigger. I was in Army in the 80s, and lived in Blue states and then , a lot of Bible Belt states, since I figured out I hate cold weather. It's always been in Our country, the problem is now,in my humble opinion, the snakes are feeling brave to come out and talk about it. Either way yuiyoshida,, I'll stand beside ya and kill a few snakes along the way.

Koz

Aussie105

(5,395 posts)
23. It's unbelievable
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 08:18 PM
Feb 2020

how some people think the world belongs to them, and others should conform.
Be white, speak English, otherwise just go home.

White American supremacists think America belongs to them, always has, always will.
The fact that white European settlers are recent arrivals, historically speaking, and that the majority of the population of the Americas are brown, seems to matter not.

Same in Australia, white people rocked up here around 200 years ago, but we have our own home grown white supremacists who believe they own the place. Tell an Aboriginal to speak English or go home, and they can't see the stupid in that.

What is it about some people that the stupid just oozes from every pore of their tainted bodies?

Personally, I love to hear others speak their native tongue. I go to an Afghan fruit and veg shop, because fresh and cheap, but also to listen to the Afghan banter going on at times.

Variety, spice of life, and all that.

EDIT: Wife has 3% sub Saharan African genes, courtesy of a visiting WW2 GI to the UK. She is proud of that. She has a whole branch of American half brothers and sisters thanks to said GI.

But yes, Trump has legitimized the 'conform or go home' thoughts in some heads.

Vivienne235729

(3,384 posts)
24. Next time your response should be, "why? If I do that, you'll KNOW talking about you"
Sun Feb 23, 2020, 08:36 PM
Feb 2020

Just kidding. you should report this type of behavior to the group moderator.

unblock

(52,209 posts)
26. by contrast, mini-unblock-chan watches a little anime and decides he needs to learn japanese
Mon Feb 24, 2020, 05:27 PM
Feb 2020

so he goes on the innertubes and next thing i know he's picking out japanese words during the next anime episode.

i'm lost after sushi, sashimi, and arigato! but he's thrilled to teach me the difference between -chan and -san and so on.


i get that it's easier for some people to hate, but to shut out an entire world every time you encounter something different, what does that give up?



yuiyoshida

(41,831 posts)
28. People seem to think they can learn Japanese
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 09:14 PM
Feb 2020

by watching Anime. It be the same, if an Immigrant to America learned English by listening
to Rap Music and watching Rap Videos.

Japanese language has so many layers to it, its a language based on levels of politeness.. that just saying something in the wrong way can be insulting to Japanese people. For example calling some one a "Baka Yaro", even jokingly might get you more than a headache.

There are many taboos in Japan that are ignored here in the US. Even how one handles their chopsticks is under scrutiny when one is in Japan.

The best way to learn Japanese is to take a class. Learn how a sentence is structured, learn
how Honorifics are used, and how the language has levels of understanding.

unblock

(52,209 posts)
29. Thanks!
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 10:27 PM
Feb 2020

I didn't mean to suggest that mini-unblock is trying to learn Japanese simply by watching anime; rather, anime is motivating him to try to find better ways of learning.

I learned two foreign languages fairly well; French (from living in France for a school year as a child) and Spanish (from 3 years of high school classes). I learned vastly more French from living there for 9 months than I did Spanish from 3 years of classes. There's no substitute for full immersion, imho.

I do appreciate that learning Japanese well demands learning a good deal about Japanese social practices, customs, and traditions, in a way that isn't as necessary for, say, Spanish.

At this stage I am just glad that mini-unblock's eyes are open to the world beyond the English language. I hope his interest in foreign language is not one of his passing fancies, I think too many Americans suffer greatly from one-language syndrome....

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