I just ran across a great blog entry on complaining
foreigners in Japan. Many of you who live (or have lived in) Japan have met just such people. They certainly aren't bad people, but they do make you wonder why they decided to live in Japan of all places. The entry is titled "The Profile of a
Gaijin Whiner."
The writer describes this breed of
gaijin (foreigner) in Japan:
"As I have established, the Gaijin Whiner is always looking to feel slighted by Japanese people. It fuels their self-centered world with quiet assurances that they are special and are being treated unfairly. So even when some unsuspecting Japanese person tries to help them out, in any fashion, but usually by speaking to the Gaijin Whiner in English, they have to turn it into a negative and complain."
This point is similar in some ways to observations I made about
western feminism and Japanese women, where you have gaijin who want to "reform" Japan so that it is more western. Or more accurately we can say they want to decide what is "nice" about Japan, and also what is sexist, old-fashioned, boring, dull, annoying, etc.
Which begs the question, are these gaijin in love with Japan warts and all, or are they reformers and revolutionaries?...Maybe they are a bit of both...or maybe they are simply lost souls as many expaitriates truly are.