dr4b | oh MAN

had the WEIRDEST thing just happen at Heiroku (the kaitensushi place I go to twice a week for dinner).

I went in, sat down, and this CRAZY older guy started harrassing me, in Japanese. I forget how it started, I pretended I just didn't understand him... he then was like "how DARE you say that to me?"in English, and I'm just like "zenzen wakaranaiyo," I don't understand you, and he said it again, "how DARE you. understand? english you?" or something. Then I was like "no." I talked back in Japanese a bit, then just started ignoring him.... and he started going on about european musicians for some reason. He started babbling phrases in russian, maybe german, I don't know, I said in Japanese "I don't understand German either." and so on.

I looked at Kanno-chef and he was just like (in Japanese) "uhh... do you want ebi-tartar rolls?"

The other staff were just kind of like "sorry..." to me, but they didn't say anything at all to the guy. And he just kept ranting.

so eventually this other American guy in the back says to me, "If that guy is bothering you, you can come sit here."

So I did.

The American guy works for Nova and has been here TEN YEARS. Jesus. We talked for like 10-15 minutes before he headed back to work, pretty crazy.

And that crazy old dude NEVER shut up. We could still hear him across the restaurant, babbling about random foreigner crap. He did leave before I did, thankfully...

When I was leaving, the other sushi guy whose name I never remember was like "tasukerarenakatta sumimasen", which I guess is "sorry we couldn't help you", and Kanno was even like "moshiwake gozaimasen", which is the most polite he's ever spoken to me, usually we joke around. I said, or I think I said, "it's ok. I've come here always for the last year and I swear that is the first time I've had that happen."

but, I have to admit I was really disturbed by it.
I don't know if I want to go back there or not. we'll see how I feel thursday, that'd be my next usual time coming in.
maybe I won't go. maybe I will and I'll see how the staff acts to me.

sigh. Sometimes I love Japan but sometimes I'm just amazed by how people take this "if we pretend that didn't happen, it isn't a problem" attitude towards things. It's both a fundamental part of how things work here... and also a fundamental reason why some things DON'T work here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah. I'm sorry.

For fuck's sake. Apparently the only way to deal with unruly people is to pretend they aren't even there. I suspect that part of it is the idea that (especially in public places) getting into an altercation with someone is asking for trouble to come back to you later on (reprisals? assault charges? what if he comes back with a knife he bought at Jusco for 890 yen and lays waste? what if his big brother is the local gang boss or something? ad nauseum forever), so it's just better to ignore it and not cause it to escalate.

Now you know why Densha Otoko got so much press. Everyone wants someone to fight back. But they don't want to do it themselves.

that's so true. i used to have students who would say to me "wow, you're so kind for helping xyzsan out. everyone should do that." did they? no, they just watched.

i was at cocoichi once when a guy flipped out at the staff. it wasn't at me, but it was scary. the staff called the police on him, though, because he got scarily loud and started name-calling. i was a little relieved my back was to him- i always worry if some crazy person might just be provoked by pale eyes or white skin. :/ it's very scary.

That happened to a friend and I once when we were eating at Yoshinoya really early in the morning, like 2 AM. There was a [somewhat intoxicated] old guy who kept taunting us in Japanese, presumably because he thought we couldn't understand what he was saying. I just ignored him, but after like 5 minutes, my friend responded in Japanese with something along the lines of:

"Yeah, we're stupid gaijin, we can't use chopsticks and we certainly can't speak Japanese. Oh, wait, it appears that I am speaking Japanese now... I wonder how that happened? Could it be because we studied it in college and are actually intelligent, responsible people who came to live and work here because we love Japan?"

That shut him up pretty quick, and the employees and other customers were trying not to laugh, haha.

Schizos off their meds are kind of a fixture in US coffee shops too. Basically, they're only asked to leave if they look about ready to be violent, which I've only seen once or twice. It can be bothersome indeed to have them swearing up an incomprehensible storm. That the staff even acknowledged the problem vaguely surprises me.

I see them on the bus more often than anywhere else.

Having never encountered this problem in the US, I'm not sure what restaurant staff are supposed to do under situations like that - kick him out?

Woah, crazy. I'm sorry you had to endure that kind of bigotry. To be fair to Japan though, I could see the same thing happening here. The hatred would just be directed at a different group of Other. (I am willing to believe you, of course, if you've noticed this kind of attitude is particularly prevalent Japan.)

You remind me of the privilege inherent in being a large scary man. I mean, it's a burden when I'm trying to *not* be threatening, but I forget that people who would mess with you wouldn't mess with me. Lame and unfair! What a pain in the ass. I'm sorry. But don't let it spoil a good restaurant - that's how you know the terrorists are winning!
I remember when I moved from Philly to Eugene, OR - people thought I was so confrontational and aggressive. I was just being me, of course, but the context had changed.

oh MAN

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject