Jan 28, 2017

"Black people are scary!"

Yesterday my teacher was walking around talking to different students in my class, and he started talking about his trip to France, where apparently he met a lot of strange people.
I wasn't really listening all that closely, but he mentioned something about black people there and said that "Black people are scary!"

I was quite shocked, to be honest, because it was so offensive! I was wondering if he would've said the same thing if one of the students present had been black. What if they do get a black student in the future, will my teacher be scared of this student??

It just goes to show that some Japanese people are still quite uneducated about the world, even if they travel abroad.
My teacher just happened to meet some strange people that were black, which reinforced this idea that black people are inherently this way.

Most of us know that this isn't true, there are no genes or what not that make a certain group of people of the same skin color more prone to violence and bad behavior or w.e.
But some people just can't help but dragging all people of a certain group through the same comb.

My teacher also said that "While you're young you should travel abroad at least once", which kinda tells you about how often Japanese people travel abroad, doesn't it?
I mean once in your life?? That's nothing! I've been abroad to so many countries so many times, since I was a kid! Maybe not every single person in Japan or where ever is interested in traveling, but I think most people are, and it pains me to think that some people might not even do it once.

And even if they do go abroad, most Japanese people still seem to travel with "tours", because they don't speak any English. Tours may be convenient, but you would probably learn more if you traveled by yourself.

Anyway, my teacher is of the older generation and the world becomes more and more integrated all the time, so I would think most people here wouldn't agree with his statement that black people are scary.

But it still got to me, it wasn't really about me (since I'm not black) but I still felt affected by it, it made me wonder what they think about me as a caucasian(?) as well as about other foreigners here.

1 comment:

  1. It happens often, that people stereotyping others just because of their special identity..that's the world, it doesn't always sweet to the taste, it's bitter and sour sometimes..

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