be strong beautiful

I don’t care if you think “this is just how Degeneres/Kimmel does comedy”, I don’t care if they did it for laughs. The overall tone of their segment is to show their reaction; to show how ridiculous and childish they find the KonMari method. We get it, white liberals don’t have time for wishy-washy Japanese mindfulness woo-woo and their enlightened views make them too rational to take seriously any other cultures that are based in spirituality and animism

Kimmel made a long, over-winded joke that deliberately put both Marie and her translator into an embarrassing situation, deliberately highlighting and mocking Marie’s lack of English, and then mocked the Shinto cultural background that Marie’s methods come from. Ellen’s writer acted as if Marie was going to overturn his office, then shoves Kim Kardashian’s ass into Marie’s face, then admit that he’s going “put everything back anyway” after Maries leaves. Both of them act as if her “greeting ritual” was some form of Weird Hokey Japanese Gimmick. 

White “progressive liberal voices” are turning non-white cultures either into a commodity or into a joke without any self-reflection or foresight into the damage they’re potentially doing. They take no care in the hurt that they as white comedians are sowing; in turning Marie’s traditional Japanese cultural values and contexts into a joke, they’re making the act of othering and disrespecting non-white cultures more normative and easier to do. Their activism and political commentary is nothing but performative white bullshit.

i’m also glad to find out that besides this really adorable one with Hasan, she got a respectful segment with Stephen Colbert. he even mentioned her achievements and how she is influential

i also appreciated how he mentioned a translator is there because his Japanese isn’t good and not because Kondo can’t speak English, even saying he bets her English is much better than his Japanese. like that is such a refreshing take to hear. he even showers Kondo with so many compliments

Lady A: He is in there only to peep on women.

Lady B: Were you there to peep on other women?

Lady A: No.

Lady B: Neither was she.

Lady A: She is a he!

Lady B: Are you a he?

Lady A: No.

Lady B: Neither is she.

Lady A: But he has a penis!

Lady B: Have you seen her penis?

Lady A: Yes!