Acquiring power - a call for private discussion

I used to think of Videonews.com, the Japanese independent online video debates channel as a unique, out of the box source of different voices on Japan by Japanese journalists and commentators. I am disappointed to see that it has so far ignored the case of foreigners profiling at Japan's entry gates . They may prove me wrong in the near future though and I still hope so. But we have to come to terms that there is a tremendous gap of perception and understanding/awareness of the issue between a few foreigners writing on the subjects here and there, readers mostly mute or in absentia, and the Japanese at large who may have caught the news in the papers and TV with the same nonchalance as the morning weather forecast. The gap is so huge that it indicates a few things and directions to consider :

- filling the gap is a chivalric mission that is doomed to fail. Not that things won't change though. The first objective at least is to have foreign residents be allowed to queue with Japanese nationals at entrance gates. But profiling that "other" is beyond Japan although it develops here in a very Japanese manner that raises up to the level of caricature how the gaijin has been objectified over centuries. The world is caught in a pandemic surveillance syndrom and Japan follows the herd. Again, doomed doesn't mean useless though. This rambling I am thinking about while writing here has nothing to do with optimism or the reverse. We need luciity. Simply don't expect a national sudden introspection into the dynamics of intercultural and inter racial relationships in Japan to happen any time soon, unless politicians start singing a totally different tune praising the open society. A tune which won't be sung of course.

- yet despite all this, it is still worth the pain thinking and micro acting against fingerprinting, granted the purpose of this activity is primary self-centered, that is, for the purpose of self-help. I will try to expand a little bit on this.

No movement including this one will serve a cause unless the direction is shifted from the illusive capacity to apply tangible change in the dynamics of the social environment involved, to the more practical and powerful task of helping oneself, and others who share equivalent concerns and uneasiness to cope with what was introduced on November 20th. A shift of attitude is required first at the level of the self. I spent some times browsing online the keywords set "Expatriate coping strategies" to discover a sound selection of academic abstracts papers centered around the cases of corporate white collar managers in a foreign country. But out of the academics realm, the void is abysmal, unless one comes to realize that literature as a mean to express the inner malaise of being expatriated has plenty of resources to offer. But literature's intent is not to provide answers but hints at best.

There is a need for clear hints and suggestions in terms of behavior that are easy to understand. There is a need to change the scripts, my scripts, your scripts and exchange ideas for the clear purpose of feeling better being there, despite everything else.

I wrote in a previous post about the issue of what to tell one's child about that affair, especially when coming back "home" with the family. The question raised has stirred almost no reaction despite the fact that at the individual or family level, it should obviously be a core issue. That a core issue merely generates hushes of compassion is to me the proof that activism alone is not the answer, unless it comes in parallel with a discussion, and why not training, on how to cope with these things. People should gain power over a situation where they, I, we are mostly feeling powerless. Unless your purpose is to say no at the gates and meet the consequences on your own, something else is needed to patch the feeling of shame, the collateral anger with practical guidances on how to cope with these things, and walk the Japan catwalk in a revised, more powerful and assured manner.

Modifying the scripts will prove in the end much more constructive and buzz generating than launching yet another NPO. Just like they don't teach you self-esteem at school and how to cope with situations of powerlessness, no one at the gates will teach you what to tell the child, including the child within yourself, discuss with self-confidence and in elaborated manners your feeling and position on these issues, including with people who do not agree with your interpretation about what this profiling means to you and me.

As I do not wish to go on with the same subject in this collaborative blog, people interested to discuss directly with me on those issues for constructive purposes - defining possible discourses, tactics and role model attitudes for mixed families - are welcome to start the conversation direct by email to ldersot [at] gmail [dot] com.