ignorant comments of long term foreign residents in Japan?

Question

I just wonder why some non-Japanese residents who choose to live in Japan for years choose to remain ignorant about the place they live? Well, some non-Japanese are curious and admittedly well-informed, often more so than the locals, but others make ignorant statements about Japan, similar to the way people who have never been to Japan make innocently ignorant comments about Japan, as if a bird parroting back what it hears...

Why is that?? What is the reason of their failure to see beyond stereotypes??

Answer 1

Two Words: Selective Learning.

it's a term in psychology to explain such things like the one you said above.

People learn what they want to and don't learn what they don't want to.

For example, I learned psychology AP in three months by myself because I love it, however, with spanish, it took me three years.

I guess (to put it in simpler terms) it's like a mental block.

So in your case, if we apply selective learning,
the non japanese residents didnt "see" or were ignorant about the things/facts that were against stereotypes.

These people saw only the things that helped support the stereotype.

It's like if you say your life was bad so far, you only recall the bad events, the not much of the good ones, and vise versa.

Answer 2

Let me tell you about my first presentation at a conference.
I worked on it very very hard, without sleep and without going out, just work work work 24/7. My professor is very strict one, and wanted everything to be perfect, every statement backed up by dozen facts and evidences.
Finally, I did the presentation, and it went well.Only, one professor stood and told me, that one of my statements is incorrect, it shows Japanese in bad light, but probably the reason is that I'm foreigner and I don't understand Japan. After that, when I discussed the presentation with my professor, and mentioned this comment, and couldn't understand why , since my professor has approved the statement, and all the supportive evidences, she told me that there always be some oversensitive to foreigners' judgement and evaluation Japanese. I wrote a paper on this and I had it published, later.
Positive and negative , good and bad, ignorant or wise, beautiful or ugly, funny or stupid, it is all in the eyes of the beholder.If you think A, B, C are ignorant, so they are...for you.
I hope my explanation is not too complicated.

Answer 3

I don't think I fall in that category hopefully. True my Japanese sucks because I teach my own langauge 5 days a week but I've been to more than two dozen festivals and have studied Japanese history for 6 years on my own. I'm actually off to a festival on the 47 Ronin as I write.

Check my blog and youtube channel to see that not all long-term residents are so ignorant.

http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/
http://www.youtube.com/RoninDave
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnIQl5CZRr8

To add a bit more, some long-term residents that I know or know of fall into certain categories. There are those who are extreme japanophiles who make excuses for blatant Japanese xenophobia while hating other gaijins. There are those married to Japanese and seem to get along with the culture. There are those embittered with their experience but stay on in a love -hate relationship. Some are here for the money and sex. Some are here because they generally like it. I think the asker is painting the ex-pat community with a rather broad brush.

Answer 4

apparently they were not raised in an open-minded environment. sorry to say but lotsa people rather live in their own safety zone, rather than reach out and touch somebody. perhaps these people and their ancestors were the ones starting all the wars even up till today. the key to live in peace is by accepting all human beings as your equals, not feeling superior or inferior to any other human.

Answer 5

Probably has something to do with the way they were raised, the people who make up their friendships. The place where they originated from may have a high level of enclosure where everybody is from the same ethnic/cultural background. Or maybe they're just plain ignorant.

Answer 6

i think it is prevalent everywhere there is a non-resident or non-immigrant population living with the nationals. these people have no commitment to the country and no obligation to learn and assimilate to the local culture and customs. they leave when they need to. so to them it doesn't matter what they say and feel about other people's cultures and customs. sometimes bordering on the insensitive.

i don't think we can do much about them except that if they are reading this post, they realise how uncivilised and ill-mannered they are.

Answer 7

Because foriegners in japan know the truth. Would like the red pill or the blue pill.

Answer 8

Every country has immigrants like that. It's hard to get away from stereotypes no matter what anyone says. I blame the media. >_> <_< its always the media's the fault....

that and close mindedness.

There really isn't much you can do, other than try to educate them about your culture and hope that they accept/ adapt to it.

Answer 9

very few people skim under the surface make sure they get things right or see past stereotypes they do so because its the quickest eisiest least time consuming thing to do and their not aware that they're doing it so they don't change.

Answer 10

Some people know everything but how to get to Narita, apparently.