Have we come to this point already?

[The Jester]

because, frankly, after I've shaved in the morning I've usually already seen the smartest person I'll meet all day

Your stubble is the most intelligent person you see every day? Wow, either your stubble is exceptional or you need to find some better friends..

;D

But seriously, that's a bit conceited, isn't it? I mean, I wouldn't consider myself smarter than the people I know. Just better at different things.

[Brad]

Perhaps it is.

And yes, my stubble is exceptional.

I don't think less of anyone based on their relative strengths there, and I fully admit that there are those with expertise and experience that I do not have (and am always fascinated to learn about). But understand I was in gifted schools from childhood, started university at 15 (maybe I had turned 16 I don't remember) and was speaking in scholarly conferences by 23. I was classed as a genius at 14 years old. Finding a genuine challenge is rare to me, but I know that I am no more capable than anyone else, just that most people don't bother to apply themselves to the limits of their abilities (myself included, most of the time). I would say that my friends are my friends because I can see them as equals - we each challenge and entertain each other in our own ways with our unique talents and personalities, but sadly I don't see my friends as often as I'd like.

That being said, I don't need to be challenged all the time, no one does. However, in my current line of work I have no challenge whatsoever, and need to seek it out. I apologize if that comes off as conceited. I've been around here long enough to know that there are a great number of regular posters who are capable of providing and a great many more who I believe would be if they considered the origin of their own stances on things.

Unrelated though, your use of "isn't it?" to your statement I found interesting. Turning the statement that I am conceited into a question seeking agreement is much less harsh, but still gets the point across. The Japanese do the same all the time even with indisputable statements by ending their sentences with 'desu ne?' I had always thought that rather odd, but here is a perfect example of the same reasoning behind one in English. I wonder if the Japanese are truly that shy or if it is something that has become just accepted not to put oneself forward. Was your statement indisputable? Probably.

[goat]

Perhaps it is.

And yes, my stubble is exceptional.

I don't think less of anyone based on their relative strengths there, and I fully admit that there are those with expertise and experience that I do not have (and am always fascinated to learn about). But understand I was in gifted schools from childhood, started university at 15 (maybe I had turned 16 I don't remember) and was speaking in scholarly conferences by 23. I was classed as a genius at 14 years old. Finding a genuine challenge is rare to me, but I know that I am no more capable than anyone else, just that most people don't bother to apply themselves to the limits of their abilities (myself included, most of the time). I would say that my friends are my friends because I can see them as equals - we each challenge and entertain each other in our own ways with our unique talents and personalities, but sadly I don't see my friends as often as I'd like.

That being said, I don't need to be challenged all the time, no one does. However, in my current line of work I have no challenge whatsoever, and need to seek it out. I apologize if that comes off as conceited. I've been around here long enough to know that there are a great number of regular posters who are capable of providing and a great many more who I believe would be if they considered the origin of their own stances on things.

While interesting by itself, your post is also very entertaining if read under the assumption that you're still talking about your beard/stubble.

</non sequitur>

[Frozengale]

Strange game. The only way to win is not to play.

This.

Ditto

I find it hard to want to participate in a political debate, because I have beliefs that usually get taken out of context and then bashed on left and right. And then I also can never be 100% sure on things because I haven't done my research and even if I do someone will shoot it down and say it's wrong, even though I suspect they don't know if it's wrong themselves. Then not to mention the fact that it's all just one big hate-fest and even if I tell people I can see where they are coming from, understand their beliefs, and say that they might be right, I still end up being bashed into the ground. All in all I would say politics bites and most people turn into jerks when it's brought up.

[Zed Alpha]

I have nothing of intellect to add to this topic.

Glenn Beck is a fucking idiot. That is all.

Seconded. This man makes me ashamed to be white, male, and American, in that order.

[Trisha Lynn]

Unrelated though, your use of "isn't it?" to your statement I found interesting. Turning the statement that I am conceited into a question seeking agreement is much less harsh, but still gets the point across. The Japanese do the same all the time even with indisputable statements by ending their sentences with 'desu ne?' I had always thought that rather odd, but here is a perfect example of the same reasoning behind one in English. I wonder if the Japanese are truly that shy or if it is something that has become just accepted not to put oneself forward.

Based on what I've been told by people who have been to Japan or still live there, it's more the latter. Sort of like an extreme version of Tall Poppy Syndrome.


Trisha Lynn
...and despite that, I still want to visit the country...

[Corax]

Thoughts? Opinions?

Ive never seen anything on TV or anywhere that ethically motivated me in any way at all, its as simple as saying "i disagree" and moving on. there's no need to dwell on a problem like this because Glenn Beck sure as hell isn't going to post a response, so whats the use?

not everyone is going to agree unless everyone simultaneously has the same philosophical epiphany, that would be a true miracle.

and finally, no, we haven't "come to this point", we have been here for a long time, if not forever.

[Corax]

I have nothing of intellect to add to this topic.

Glenn Beck is a fucking idiot. That is all.

Seconded. This man makes me ashamed to be white, male, and American, in that order.

he makes you ashamed? you should be ashamed at the fact that Glenn Beck was able to take away any amount of pride from you in the first place.

[Brad]

...and despite that, I still want to visit the country...

I used to live there. They have a saying, "Deru kugi wa utareru" - "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." But I wasn't all that exposed to that mindset outside of the language really. I mean heck, guys there, even teenagers and older think that Kancho is hilarious (wrestling for the purpose of sticking your finger up the other person's bum, lit: enema), and that's pretty out there. And gaijin are treated like gods, and we stick out like nobody's business. Some of them would dance in the street, but would still say "This food is tasty, isn't it?" rather than the declarative, even if you weren't eating the same thing.

I would encourage visiting the country, as I said, treated like gods. Just bone up on your paper rock scissors and you'll not have to pay for anything.

[zfubarz]

Haven't been to japan but i spent some time in Korea and from what i understand it's mostly an honour thing, you can never disagree with an elder or superior or and it's even pretty rude to do it to a peer.

From what i can gather the same goes for most far east countries.

[zfubarz]

Oh and the whole loving whitey thing is very true, school girls will walk up and give you flowers and ask for your picture randomly on the street, it's insane, and you get a fat head fast, and from friends who've been living over there from years i hear that japan is nothing compared to thailand and korea and nam.

[Trisha Lynn]

And gaijin are treated like gods, and we stick out like nobody's business.

That's fascinating, because I have a "gaijin" friend who lives and works there but certainly is not treated like a god. In fact, I get rather enraged at how she's treated by her employers who hired her because she could speak English, but also don't seem to understand that she may know just a little bit more about how to deal with English-speaking people than they do.


Trisha Lynn
...your mileage may have varied, however...

[Telaril]

And gaijin are treated like gods, and we stick out like nobody's business.

That's fascinating, because I have a "gaijin" friend who lives and works there but certainly is not treated like a god. In fact, I get rather enraged at how she's treated by her employers who hired her because she could speak English, but also don't seem to understand that she may know just a little bit more about how to deal with English-speaking people than they do.


Trisha Lynn
...your mileage may have varied, however...

Sadly the "Being treated like gods" thing tends to happen to men, not so much to women. There was a comic strip about the deification of western men... it was called Charisma Man. Here's an article about it.

One of my friends ended up teaching Japanese in Kyūshū for the JET program. She was told not to wear pants anymore, not to do martial arts exercises because "people could see her through the windows and it was unladylike" (creeeeepy), and was told not to wear her black trench coat anymore because she was scaring people. When she arrived at her house there was a note there from the former resident telling her not to dry her underwear near any windows because it would be stolen by a neighbor.

Another friend was told she shouldn't/couldn't get a car, but later found out that her male predecessor had one. Her Japanese was better than anyone else I knew at the time, but the people in her town constantly criticized her for speaking in a Tokyo accent rather than with their extremely local, strange accent.

I fared much better than this in Tokyo, but I didn't experience the superior treatment that all the gaijin boys talked about. My other friends in Nagoya and Osaka also did fine (the one who was living there with her husband had the best time.)

If you're a girl, you'll do all right if you stay near the cities and suburbs. There's plenty of fun and adventure to have, but not so much the shiny exceptionalism.

[Brad]

People outside of Nagano couldn't understand my Japanese... that always irked me. Luckily, in Tokyo, you don't have to know any Japanese. I remember asking a lady working at the train station if she spoke English (because that would make questions I had easier on me), and she was practically offended.

Yeah, Japan is a patriarchal culture and women aren't going to be treated the same way as guys, but Deba was a hell of a lot more comfortable in Japan than Italy.