03 February 2013 ~ 1 Comment

Conversations 2013 #4: All Gaijin are White

Misc.

The following conversation took place today between a japanese friend and I. We were discussing why when I was a kid I thought that Abraham Lincoln was a black man (which is a whole story unto itself I’m in the process of writing)

Me: …so, no one ever said he was white and in my school ALL the heroes in American history were black. There were no white ones.

Friend: Really? That’s funny!

(I stood there thinking about how this could have happened)

Me: Now that I think about it, no one ever really uses a racial designation unless it’s pertinent, or they believe for some reason for it to be pertinent information.

Friend: Huh?

imagesCAM554MUMe: For example, if I tell you I want to introduce you to my friend, his name is John, you’re not gonna wonder about his skin color are you?

Friend: it’s not important, right?

Me: Exactly. But would you assume he was black?

Friend: Ummm…yeah, I guess so.

Me: Now, if I think that the fact that he’s white is something you need to know, for some reason, and I have no idea what that reason would be, I might mention it.

Friend: Oh, I see…

Me: And if you wanted to introduce me to one of your Japanese friends…Nah, that wouldn’t work. Cuz as soon as you say “his name is Loco,” they would know I wasn’t Japanese.

Friend: LOL. True.

Me: But they would probably think I was white, right?

Friend: Huh?

Me: if you said that my friend is gaijin, they would assume I was white, and if they met me they’d be surprised as hell if I were black. no?

Friend: I don’t think so…but you are my friend so I don’t think like that…anymore.

Me: Huh? So, before you met me, if you wanted to introduce a gaijin friend to your Japanese friends, and if your friend happened to be black, would you say your gaijin friend or your kokujin (black) friend?

Friend: Hmmmm… probably I would say Black friend.

Me: But if you didn’t say black friend, would they be surprised if I were black? Or would you if it were the other way around?

Friend: Eeeee?

Me: Just curious…

Friend: I’d probably be surprised…

Me: Cuz Gaijin generally means white?

Friend: Yeah…I guess.

Me: As does Igirisu-jin (British), Canada-jin, Furansu jin (French), and Doitsu jin (German), I bet. All mean white…except maybe Amerika-Jin and Afurika-jin (African), right?

Friend: Hmmm…never thought about that.

Me: Why would you?

 

Loco

PS: If you haven’t read Hi! My Name is Loco and I am a Racist yet, what are you waiting for? A personal invitation? Check it out! It’s available in paperback and E-book version here.

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  • Anne

    Your writing that you thought Abraham Lincoln was a black man reminded me of this… have you heard of a movie called “The Marshal of Finland”? (http://www.suomenmarsalkka.fi/… website is in Finnish but has a trailer in English) It’s a Finnish-Kenyan production about Gustaf Mannerheim (“the father of the modern independent state of Finland”) that came out last fall. It caused quite a stir in Scandinavia as the ur-Finn Mannerheim is played by a (black) Kenyan actor (as is most characters, it seems from the trailer).

    Apparently the reasoning for this is a frame story where a grandfather type guy is telling the story of the heroic Mannerheim to a bunch of kids sitting around a campfire in Kenya, so all the characters in the story are as imagined by these kids… i.e., black, of course. :)