A recent CNN article poses the question Why is there no looting in Japan? in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami.
The article juxtaposes the behavior of the Japanese with that of the Haitians who also faced a devastating earthquake, and the Americans who faced the hurricane Katrina. The author asks people to weigh in on why it happened in Haiti and Katrina and not Japan.
Some of the responses that are indicative of what little progress we've made in race relations are noted below:
Kim:
Because Japanese culture, unlike all other modern cultures, is based primarily on honor and dignity. Unlike our Katrina disaster, the Japanese don't see this as an opportunity to steal everything in sight. The so-called civilized world can learn much from the stoic Japanese.
Because Japanese culture, unlike all other modern cultures, is based primarily on honor and dignity. Unlike our Katrina disaster, the Japanese don't see this as an opportunity to steal everything in sight. The so-called civilized world can learn much from the stoic Japanese.
Natasha:
The Japanese are resourceful, innovative and disciplined people with a great sense of national pride. While they also have criminals and felons, it is not quite in comparison to the sleaze balls we have in our streets. It was disgusting to watch these scum bags loot stores in New Orleans during Katrina when they should have helped their fellow citizens in need. While watching the devastation in Japan is heart wrenching, it is so refreshing to see the civility of people within the calamity they are facing.
The Japanese are resourceful, innovative and disciplined people with a great sense of national pride. While they also have criminals and felons, it is not quite in comparison to the sleaze balls we have in our streets. It was disgusting to watch these scum bags loot stores in New Orleans during Katrina when they should have helped their fellow citizens in need. While watching the devastation in Japan is heart wrenching, it is so refreshing to see the civility of people within the calamity they are facing.
We have a theory of our own.
EIRIC:
Maybe there's no looting in Japan because they have enjoyed a very prosperous economy for years and very few of their citizens know and understand what it means to live without food on a daily basis - even in the absence of a natural disaster or any other large scale emergency.
We're always interested interested in answering social science questions and hearing the perspective of others, but not when they're inflammatory just for the heck of it.
All photos courtesy of Google and CNN.
No comments:
Post a Comment