#gailin

Gosh, thank you SO much!!! <3333I’m nearly done with all the refs so folks will be able to see the full group of 12 soon :D 

Japan perceives non-Japanese people as fundamentally different. In many cases, this is a source of frustration. In others, it can be a source of power. We call this power the gaijin smash. Gaijin (the Japanese word for foreigner) and smash (as in “Hulk smash”). The term originated from this blog post, roughly seven years ago. While it is possible to use this influence to combat genuine prejudice, a gaijin smash is typically a non-Japanese resident getting their way with something by playing on Japanese fear of foreigners.

In the post, the term was coined to describe an act of cheating the train system. Now, cheating the trains is not always a gaijin smash. Japanese people cheat JR all the time. Ride any late night train and you will see people exit en masse at smaller stations with no attendants after a certain time. Now, if you were to jump the turnstile or otherwise haul ass through a station in such a way that you are obviously breaking the law, that’s a bit different. That’s gaijin smash enough to get you deported.

Don’t get me wrong: I have absolutely nothing against genuine ignorance. Everyone arrives with different levels of cultural awareness. There have been hundreds of occasions where I’ve found myself doing it completely wrong. But there’s a difference between accidentally wearing shoes into a traditional restaurant and actively saying, “Fuck you, I’ll wear shoes wherever I like. Gaijin smash.”

If you are to the point where you actively use the phrase “gaijin smash” to celebrate or justify your actions, you’re likely jaded and bitter at how Japanese society treats you like a second-class citizen. Well, guess what? You’re not a citizen, and you never will be. (Another source of frustration for permanent foreign residents.) Playing the ugly American in a country where you are technically a guest is not helping anyone.

Maybe you are different. Maybe you are using your foreign-ness to push back against people targeting you because of your non-Japanese-ness. But how often does this actually happen? Ok, someone was staring at you on the train. That’s never gonna stop. Someone called you lazy / stupid / dirty foreigner? That guy’s a dick, and you probably shouldn’t confirm their opinion of you and all other non-Japanese people by being a dick back. It won’t help your situation, and it certainly won’t improve the status of the thousands of non-Japanese Japanese citizens who have lived their whole lives with the frustrations you’re acting out on.

My point is not to go on a self-righteous rant against everyone who’s ever been a dick in Japan. I’ve been a dick in Japan. Once you’ve experienced the power of throwing your foreign weight around, it’s impossible to stuff that giant green genie back into the bottle. Each of us has a green (or red) monster raging inside of us that could come out and smash on unsuspecting Japanese people at any time. Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility. Please try to only use your powers for good.

Tread lightly, fellow travelers.