We could learn something from the Japanese

[bluefrog]

LINK

In spite of monumental collapse and ruin, the Japanese politely wait in long lines for hours, without once complaining. Law and order are respected at every step. The Shinto-Buddhist tradition, which stresses social harmony and cohesiveness and looking out for your neighbor, is deeply ingrained in the culture.

This stands in sharp contrast to some of the spontaneous reactions that have flared in the West. In the U.S., for example, a simple blackout back in 1977 unleashed an embarrassing wave of looting and mayhem, with marauding bands of thieves making off with anything they could carry.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, there was a rapid collapse of civil authority as society disintegrated into an orgy of chaos.

 

[Denny Crane]

Last time there was a blackout in LA, thousands of people called the authorities to report UFOs.

Turns out those UFOs were the stars, which they never see there.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, there was a rapid collapse of civil authority as society disintegrated into an orgy of chaos.

Black people looted while white people foraged.

Since Japanese people are all the same skin color I bet they only foraged.

 

[bluefrog]

Black people looted while white people foraged.

Since Japanese people are all the same skin color I bet they only foraged.

Your logic is rock solid

 

[bluefrog]

Last time there was a blackout in LA, thousands of people called the authorities to report UFOs.

Turns out those UFOs were the stars, which they never see there.

That's funny. I hadn't heard that before

 

[maxiep]

It makes sense if you have the room to set up a disaster preparedness kit. It's relatively cheap and it's good piece of mind.

 

[MARIS61]

LINK

I guess by "we" they are referring to blacks, because that's who they used as examples. The comparison is a reach. Japan and America have few similarities, especially in how they are governed. The Japanese do as they are told, even when they know they are being lied to by their government. They lack the stones to defy authority. Hence the Pearl Harbor attack.

The author (a physics professor) ignores the main reasons Japanese are hesitant to act to save themselves without instructions from their government.

Deep-seated fear of an iron-fisted justice system that has little respect for individual rights, and centuries of being tightly controlled in everyday life's activities.

 

[jlprk]

LINK

Racists responding to Yahoo articles always make that point--that black people raid stores in times of natural disaster (Katrina, Haiti). Well, what's the store there for? Nothing can be sold and people are dying.

The Japanese are some of the most self-disciplined people in the world, which is both good and bad. As exhibitors of freedom, they aren't good examples, but as for a technological emergency, well it couldn't have happened in a better place.

 

[bluefrog]

Geez, where to start???

I guess by "we" they are referring to blacks, because that's who they used as examples.

The article never mentions race in reference to Americans. If you read "marauding bands of thieves making off with anything they could carry" and thought "blacks" then you need to take a look in the mirror and evaluate your own view of the world

The Japanese do as they are told, even when they know they are being lied to by their government. They lack the stones to defy authority. Hence the Pearl Harbor attack.

The author (a physics professor) ignores the main reasons Japanese are hesitant to act to save themselves without instructions from their government.

Deep-seated fear of an iron-fisted justice system that has little respect for individual rights, and centuries of being tightly controlled in everyday life's activities.

Have you ever been to Japan??? The government has very little to do with controlling everyday lives. There are well-publicized cases of domestic violence and child abuse that result in serious injury or death even after it has been reported to the police. The authorities are very reluctant to get involved people's lives. They aren't living in a dictatorship.

 

[bluefrog]

The Japanese are some of the most self-disciplined people in the world, which is both good and bad.

Japanese do have exceptional self discipline. I think it comes more from societal pressures than government pressures.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It sort of makes me ashamed as an American to see these people over there under unfathomable hardships enduring them with grace, dignity and patience. What an example for us all. Hell, if we don;t like our Comcast bill we blow gaskets.

 

[mook]

Repaired in one damned week:

And we're now into year 10 at ground zero in New York.

When people argue back and forth about libertarianism vs socialism vs whatever, I just sigh. The Japanese don't give a fuck about that debate--they just get shit done.

 

[jlprk]

A colony of worker ants is both good and bad. They cooperate like socialists to accomplish big goals, but they aren't very happy individually as selfish libertarians are. The act of watching Japan, divides conservatives into their more natural sub-factions. Like liberals, conservatives are a union of people with dissimilar causes.