Would highly recommand getting cursed by the bio spoiler! Long watch but incredibly informative. You are not immune to propaganda.
If you could turn the lights out to the entire world for ten seconds, when you turn them back on half of Asia will have killed the other half. And if you ask where everyone else is they won’t even know who you’re talking about.
“Not in front of outsiders” does a lot of peacekeeping. The second the west forgets NK they’re doomed, that’s why their whole foreign policy can be boiled down to “Look at me!”
Is that why I see the word “gaijin”(i probably spelt it wrong in English) being used? (Assuming Xenophobia is here)
A couple of thoughts:
Yes, I’ve heard before, even from people living in Japan, that they are quite xenophobic.
Now, why is this not condemned from the west ? (I know Chinese people and they do remember WW2)
As everything several reasons:
Japan has a great propaganda machine to make their culture look cool AF: anime/manga, the mythology around temples, samurais, ninjas…
The good parts of their culture, specially in contrast to the west: the extreme politeness, how clean and organized they are, civility/safety, super good and maintained public services such transport…
The “pretend WW2 didn’t happen”. They were absolute monsters on WW2, way beyond the nazis, but the combination of doing a 180 towards the west and the atomic bombs made it so the west was comfortable with looking the other way while Japan conveniently forgets his war crimes (for anyone unaware search for Nanjing, be warned is a hard read, but is important not to forget)
The “pacifist xenophobia”. When you go to japan their way of practicing xenophobia is quite passive, like, let’s be clear, you are loud and disgusting for them, but they will never tell you that, and you are probably never going to be in danger. At least as a tourist this is 100% like this, they might even just feel introverted rather than xenophobic. From what I’ve heard from people living there, it gets more clear when you live, but didn’t get any “I’m in danger” feeling from them, so I guess that low key discrimination is like that.
Now, not saying any of that makes it good, but I can understand why there is a different level of pushback than to the USA for example, where if you are brown and meet an angry cop or redneck (or both), you might end up dead.
I know for the fucking internet there is no such thing as grey, is either black or white, but I think the world is more nuanced than that.
BTW, for their work culture alone I would never live there, and while I like an anime or two, I’m not an otaku by any means. I did enjoy my vacation on Japan several years ago, but not more than the one on China or other Asian countries.
The discrimination is never direct when it’s regulated. They just try to repress you the legal way. Of course Japan has better regulation than the third world countries (or countries that pretend they are first world but are equally shitty - US, ex Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, etc.).
Due to their propaganda machine they have alot of soft power (and mainly cause of the “Cool Japan” thing like the post title references)
I thinks it’s source comes more from the behavior of western tourists than anything else.
Really? If it wasn’t for the west all the Asian populations would coexist in harmony?
Have you read any history books?
History has nothing to do with it.
Your curse still lingers 💀 please check the video!
Not racist. You can learn whatever language you want. In fact you don’t even need to learn Japanese. You can just use a translator app. This only is discrimination against those too lazy to do either.
In Japan many stores don’t let in foreigners / tourists. This is an instance of it.
Yep, one cafe in Kyoto said that they were by reservation only and I’d have to come back the next day. The entire cafe was empty except for one Japanese couple. Was immediately obvious what was going on.
oh yeah, like only letting in three middle school students at a time. we have similar limitations here in statesia to limit knife fights
Lol right, well go in there and see if that works.
Its also discrimination against those who can read all 3 languages but have poor eyesight so they can only actually read the larger text English.
俺：俺は読めますので、入りま〜すぅぅ
店長：No! No! No! サイヌ！サイヌ！ノーべーカンシー！
俺：えっ？ちゃんと読んだんですけど。。。
店長：🙅🙅🙅
俺：Fuck your store dick head.
Japan is one of the most xenophobic countries on the planet. This is just one example.
Probably on my list of reasons why I don’t want to visit Japan
You’re going to face it anywhere you go. Don’t let it hold you back. There’s always a slight feeling of unease around those that are different from yourself. But not everyone turns it into a justification to hate. I saw this video 5 years ago about a guy going to Japan trying to track down the location of a meme image from the early internet. They ended up heading off to a smaller town that wasn’t very touristy. Something that could go very badly. As some of the small towns like anywhere else can be very insular. But instead when they got there. Ended up spending the night chatting up an eager bar owner about Kurosawa and star wars.
Ive been to Japan a few years ago and they always felt very friendly and welcoming. They’re somewhat shy and awkward, but can’t say I had any negative experience.
If you want to feel bad, go to Italy, especially Rome. Many Italians are super racist, hate tourists and are not afraid to hide it.
I’ll never prejudge an individual from Japan or any other nation.
I will however judge the polity as a whole.
Mfs still pretending like they never did any warcrimes.
Literally every country on the planet is xenophobic, people only make a big deal out of it when it’s a western or western-aligned country.
The entire idea of inclusivity, tolerance, and multiculturalism is primarily a western idea sprung from western humanist values and honestly only even taken seriously in secular democracies which tend to be aligned with the west.
And then people act like the west and west-aligned countries are so depraved for not perfectly living up to those values, when hardly any other nation even tries or has any desire to.
It’s honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.
This is such an ignorant take. Multiculturalism is actually the norm in most of the world throughout history, and the rare instances of isolationism are more often a result of geography than culture. The current xenophobic and nationalist state of the world is an aberration resulting from rampant and ongoing colonialism in the past few centuries. Many nations that exist today encompass regions that were far more multicultural and politically complex prior to their colonization by Europeans.
As for the West, our current secular humanist values are the result of the enlightenment period in which European colonizers appropriated and synthesized the ideas of colonized peoples around the world. The reason we don’t live up to them is because we stubbornly refuse to reckon with our colonialist past and present, such that we just go on living with the contradiction to the detriment of the world and ourselves.
It’s honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.
Not caring doesn’t make you cool, it just makes you another cynical asshole among many. IMO the world could do with less cynical assholes.
It’s hard not to be cynical in this world.
And you think everyone before western colonization was enlightened and multicultural? Sure their political regions were more complex, but in-groups and out-groups have existed in every region since at least the dawn of civilization, and those in-groups were typically defined by a range of factors including but not limited to culture, language, ancestry (and by extension, ethnicity), and religion.
You must have been sleeping through World History class if you think everything was kumbaya all around the world until the Europeans showed up…
edit to add:
I’m sure we all want the world to be such that everyone can just get along and coexist with each other, but that’s simply not the world we live in. And seeking simple solutions to complex problems is never helpful. Pretending everything would be perfect if it weren’t for those pesky Europeans is reductive. You can scream “blame white people” till you’re blue in the face, but ultimately you’re just playing into the same racialized dichotomy that you feign to be criticizing.
After all, it was always just a sliver of white people even within European societies which were the dominate classes there, who oppressed everyone they could, including the rest of the white people they shared a nationality with. The vast majority have always been disenfranchised, just like everyone else. And everyone else had their aristocracies too. Let’s not pretend that’s an exclusively European thing.
I said that multiculturalism was the norm, not that everyone was holding hands and singing kumbaya. I also am not saying that colonialism is new or unique to Europeans, it just so happens that European nations are the most recent colonial powers and we happen to be living in the historical period immediately following their rise to hegemony. Obviously conflict and colonialism existed prior to European colonization, but it has never before had the global reach and dominance that European nations achieved. The fact remains that prior to colonization by Europeans, many regions around the world were more diverse and politically complex (i.e. multiple cultural, religious, and organizational paradigms existed parallel to and in conversation with one another). Though there was conflict, it was more local and restrained with different groups finding ways to coexist even if the relationship was tenuous. It’s impossible to deny the profound impact of Europe’s global conquest on the political environment in which we all currently live.
I don’t know. I told people in North Iraq that I grew up in Turkey, and despite my country spending better part of the 20th and 21st century massacring and displacing their population, these people were saying shit like “yeah government is bad, but people are good.”
This, tbh. The less you expect your own government to cater to your preferences, the less you tend to judge foreigners by their nation’s foreign policy.
They seem like lovely people. :>
Despite having population crisis and financial loses, they are still committed to xenophobia. They are master of that.
Sure would be a shame if they also had an abysmally low birth rate which will result in their societal collapse.
Probably not worth visiting them anyways…
Yeah thanks for filtering yourself out of places I would like to give my business to.
plot twist: I’m a Japanese
Im confused here. Its bad to not want to spend money at places like this?
I think they misunderstood your comment as directed to the person you were responding to instead of the restaurant
Found the weeb.
Would a weeb want to avoid racists? I think maybe the tone didnt carry in text there
Japan, where racism doesn’t usually get the same criticism it does elsewhere for whatever reason…
Japan cast cat girl, it was super effective. All knowledge of atrocities was erased from western nations.
They get an easier pass because their products are top-notch. Toyota basically invented Six Sigma/a globally used process for manufacturer defect elimination. A Japanese automaker invented QR codes. They have Nintendo, anime, etc. They changed and continue to impact the world in highly recognizable ways, not by merely cheap products (China), cheap labor (India), etc.
lol Nintendo
Tldr if your good enough at engineering you can be as racist as you want to be unless you’re white.
I guess I should’ve said that I wasn’t dismissing it, but was trying to find possible explanations. My understanding is that their xenophobia is more from a sense of caution rather than a more traditionally racist view like, “Inferior being!” That’s just a total hunch, though.
They get an easier pass because the US needed a vassal state in the Pacific.
That is because they have soft power.
I think it’s more so that what looks like them being polite to most is meant as something extremely rude. Also not to mention the love affair most have with Japan online.
IMO, they have a similar thing going on as the US does where one of their largest exports is culture.
The veneer is peeling on the American Empire, but Hollywood and American media giants (and credit card companies) still hold massive sway over much of the world’s cultures, and Japan holds similar power with the export of anime and manga, as they are often one of the few things people know Japan through (that, and stuff about feudal era Japan and samurai as the Japanese counterpart to the American cowboy).
PR is one of their biggest products, whether it’s through their media or the reputation of the quality of their consumer goods, etc.
Japan is too far away and too aligned with the west to receive criticism for racism
I’m not sure being aligned with the west means much while people are extremely critical in and outside western countries about racism.
Most westerners don’t care about racism beyond its utility to attack something they already don’t like. Same with homophobia. How much “tactical homophobia” did we just see against Lindsey Graham by people who probably think they’re allies because they don’t like a lot of people who are hostile to LGBT+?
Have you been anywhere? Racism is just a full on aspect of most places I’ve been west or not. Like anyone Asian whatsoever is just mchina or anyone white whatsoever from anywhere is mzungu and both get treated differently than wafrika. Same to locals, if you’re dealing with a hiring manager and you are in his tribe you’ll likely get the job, if you’re a different ethnicity then probably not.
They’re hateful, but they’re cute.
This. Also the massive online love affair with Japan and anime sure does a lot to distract people from the less savoy aspects of Japan.
Just like the cats.
My wife is southeast Asian. Going to Japan, I felt a lot of like… weird energy at times where they just kind of looked at me. I never felt unsafe, just judged. I told my wife this, who said she felt the complete opposite. People were normal to her. She blended in.
She was born and raised in the States, and we traveled to a bunch of States (fuck Missouri) where she really felt unsafe like if she didn’t leave town, they would make us. And Ive shared before how we got a “Go back to your own country” from other people, and even one showing off his gun.
Do I feel like Japanese racism is uncalled for? Absolutely. Again, I never felt unsafe. So it’s really interesting to see this perspective in the comments like this is the worst disgusting attitude in the world because someone snubbed them vs feeling like you’re not wanted/you should leave for your own safety.
As someone in a similar situation, there are differences in the racism are stark.
They treat you differently but far more often than not, it is just curiosity or looking for entertainment from a zoo animal. They are not hostile or aggressive.
The “zoo animal” thing seems about right. Sometimes they look at you like they think you’re about to start flinging shit around. Sometimes they’re curious about how the zoo animal is going to do something simple like handle chopsticks. Often they don’t make eye contact or keep their space because they don’t want to have to interact with the zoo animal.
OTOH, part of their being polite is that if the gaijin actually asks them for help, they’re obligated to try to help.
Overall, I liked it. As an introvert, I don’t like countries where people approach the foreigner and try to practice their English on them. There are also too many countries where you’re frequently approached by someone who wants to scam you, or wants you to give them money.
They are not hostile or aggressive.
… until you try to open a bank account with them ad a foreigner. Tourists are fine and tolerated but become an expat and you’ll have a much steeper time.
Why do white immigrants often call themselves expats? I’ve never heard anyone who wasn’t a well-off immigrant white guy self-describe that way.
I lived in Japan for 2 years. I had several expat friends with stories of going to the hospital, being told they were full, their Japanese wife showing up, and suddenly they have space. Other stories of legal disputes between a Japanese person and a foreign immigrant will always go to the Japanese person. Japanese culture is very non-confrontational, but don’t think their brand of racism is safer. If we’re comparing racism and deciding one is less bad than the other, we’ve already partially accepted that it has a place in society.
Never heard of a restaurant posting a sign on the door saying they’re full.
Japan will put signs out saying they’re full and to queue from x position. Some will list an approximate time. If they take reservations and are full for the day, it will usually say that. Especially in urban areas, we can have some quite small restaurants.
Interesting. Thanks for explaining.
I don’t see signs like this where I live either. But when I went to Japan I did see this a couple times. Not a racist sign like this one, but signs saying “we’re full” in Japanese, at restaurants. Different cultures do things differently, I guess.
Yeah that’s more of a hotel thing. I’m guessing this is that influencer trick of intentionally lying about a detail so people will make comments to correct you, giving you free engagement.
I agree. And I’m replying to this comment to skew the numbers.
Doesn’t say anything about race, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. Isn’t that more like linguism or something?
The assumption here is that if you can speak Japanese fluently then you are native Japanese.
if a non native speaker walks in I’d put money on at least getting some stinkeye if not just outright told to leave.
I feel like these people are ignoring the context that most people in Japan are racist as fuck. It is more xenophobia (fear of outsiders/foreigners) than about physical traits or racial stereotypes like you see in the US, for example. For the most part, anyway.
It is not necessarily a fomented hatred for foreigners as much as it is a strong aversion against non-conformity. Modern Japanese culture and racial makeup is nearly homogenous, and so dealing with someone that doesn’t fit into that monolithic culture, doesn’t speak the language fluently, or is physically very different, etc. is a discomfort that many find annoying, scary, or anxiety inducing. Some to the point that they choose only to serve or interact with native Japanese people.
But it not being about hatred, per se, doesn’t really change the fact that, if you look different in Japan, you don’t speak fluent Japanese, you have an accent, etc. you’ll get treated worse. They regularly deny “foreigners”/“gaijin” (often including born-and-raised mixed-race Japanese citizens, “hāfu”) basic business services and housing. At minimum, you’ll get stares and thoughtless/ignorant questions and comments that can be very insulting. You may have trouble accessing shelter and services offered freely to native and typically appearing Japanese people. And worse, you may have legal troubles by police assuming you are a trouble maker by virtue of being different. There is a huge racial profiling problem with Japanese police.
There are not comprehensive anti-discriminatiom laws, or even a general government recognition of systemic racism, so you will likely have no legal recourse for the prejudice you would likely face there, too.
Isn’t it ironic or perhaps hypocritical that you’re speaking about Japan in such generalities?
I am not generalizing people based on genetic traits, race, etc. I’m talking about the culture of a broad society. It is a documented systemic issue and sociological observation. Like saying that Victorian era people in the UK were sexually repressed. There is nothing intrinsic to Victorians that made them that way, and it certainly didn’t apply to everyone. But that was absolutely a significant part of the culture at the time.
X people are A. Y people can’t B. Z people are worse than C people. Where X, Y, and Z are races or racial traits, these are racist statements because they attribute intrinsic qualities to a racial group, or comparatively qualify there human value. Stating a fact of sociology can often be used to erroneously support such a racist statement. It is justifiable to feel uneasy about it for that reason. But the sociological fact isn’t racist in itself.
Being xenophobic in a culture where the differences between people is very small and nuanced is very common and part of human nature. It takes cognitive effort to overcome that impulse. The more diverse that Japan becomes over time, the less xenophobia they will become. It is not a problem with Japanese people as a race. It is a consequence of their general isolation from regular, direct contact with other cultures and people.
Couldn’t Japanese people who discriminate against foreigners make the same argument about culture? The sign could be used to exclude based on assumptions of culture.
Yes, absolutely. In fact I believe that is exactly why they are doing it. When non-Japanese people come in, they don’t understand the unwritten cultural rules and expectations, they don’t have a great grasp of the language… it can be a challenge to serve people like that when everyone else just conforms implicitly. And when those people are a microscopic part of the population, that makes every interaction with them a rare and negative experience that makes the annoyance of it seem all the worse because you are never used to it. And the value of each interaction for that restaurant owner’s annoyance is a single meal served, so it isn’t worth it to them from that perspective.
I’m not saying I don’t understand that perspective. I do, 100%. But that’s not the only perspective here. The foreigner has a perspective and an experience too. That mindset of the restaurant owner, of protecting your personal comfort for one interaction, is a common one. That means that it’s not just this restaurant for this foreigner that they’re not welcome. It means that the would-be patron is denied in numerous interactions, services, and maybe even a livlihood. As are every other foreigner. Your personal comfort over one interaction shouldn’t outweigh that.
Think about Jim Crow laws. Why were they wrong? “Oh so you can’t eat at this diner. Big deal. He has a right to not serve you if he doesn’t want to.” For you it is just this diner, and you are choosing for yourself who to serve. For the black community, it was every diner, every bus, ever water fountain, redlined neighborhoods, sundown towns… it creates a cultural class system and systematically holds one group down while proping up the class in power. The inequality is a problem, no matter your personal choice about your own business.
Again, I can understand why it may be a personal challenge for them and how they would rather just avoid that entirely. But it is still xenophobic/racist and still effects the object of their prejudice far greater than themselves. I don’t think it is right. And I think, if and when their demographics start to become less homogenous, there will be a major civil rights movement in Japan similar to the US’s and it will be a struggle. I’d rather see those in their culture start to recognize their xenophobia, and make efforts to correct it.
And the literacy tests of the Jim Crowe era were just making sure people could read well enough to vote. It was educationalist, not racist. The purpose of this sign is to exclude non-native Japanese people.
ableism?
I don’t think not speaking Japanese counts as a disability.
I’m disabled. I can’t watch anime without subtitles.
It does in Japan.
Ethnocentrism is still a problem bent on bigotry.
“Spayk Anglush”
Anglush?! This here’s 'Murica! We talk 'Murican 'round these parts!
The people defending this as ‘not racism’… way to miss the point. If this was some BBQ joint in Texas with a sign that says closed in Spanish but open in English you wouldn’t be posting these comments
Its called Xenophobia.
Xenophobia and racism are distinct forms of prejudice: xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreigners, while racism is the belief in racial superiority and systemic oppression based on race. Though they overlap, they target people for different reasons.
It would still not be racism
Xenophobia at worst, only hatred of tourists at best
Yeah let’s start calling it racism when Barcelona locals spray tourists with water guns and see how quickly these same people scream “THAT’S DIFFERENT!”
Xenophobia is inherently racist.
Arent they different things? Racism is about race, xenophobia is about country of origin
Xenophobia is hatred of foreigners or aliens. I.e., those who are different, by one meaning of the word. It therefore encompasses racism.
Doesnt xenophobia only include people who were born in other countries?
Probably a venn diagram but with a large overlap.
I mean, it’s also racism. Those people are just stupid.
It literally isn’t racism though. You can disagree with it and think it should be banned, but there is no interpretation that it can realistically be called racism
I lived in Japan for a while. I’ve seen a couple places with a sign like this. In my experience every place like this is perfectly willing to have foreigners that speak Japanese. They simply don’t want to deal with the hassle of a language barrier
I should also note these places were always in touristy areas. If they don’t have a sign like that, they’ll end up with majority English speaking customers, because Japanese customers prefer places without rowdy tourists that can’t speak the local language. I did too. Going out for an after work beer, you want an entirely different atmosphere from tourists getting hammered
Why not just post the truth then? They could say “We’re sorry, we’re unable to accomodate non-Japanese speakers due to…”?
Oh excellent, I have this translator app right here so they can accommodate me.
The odds of a Texas BBQ joint not having any Spanish speaking employees is exceedingly small.
lol what? Have you ever been to Texas?
Having lived in Texas for 40 years, I can confidently tell you you’re full of shit
No i just can’t read
I misread their comment and thought they were saying the opposite lol
Have you‽ I was born in Texas. Lived here the last 24 years, and 32 of the last 34. Even asian restaurants here have kitchens full of Spanish speaking people.
Yes, i lived on the border of TX and NM for fifteen years and i can tell you with certainty that i misread your comment. lol
🍻
It’s been years now, but are you saying that BBQ joints don’t have Spanish speaking employees? Is that a Texas only thing?
Mac is mistaken. There are Spanish speaking employees all over the food service industry in Texas.
Most of the US in fact, especially any decent sized city.
Truth. My favorite Japanese restaurant in the States had a primarily South American immigrant staffed kitchen.
And yet they are cheering for ICE to arrest them all. No matter the status or paperwork. If they’re arrested then they are guilty. That’s how it works down here.
There are for sure racist fascists and bootlickers here, but don’t paint us all with that brush.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/protests-against-ice-scheduled-across-texas-this-weekend/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/us/student-protests-walkouts-ice-texas.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/14/texas-ice-shooting-houston-city-council-protest/
If an American moves to Europe and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they’re in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
Clearly “Americans expecting foreigners to speak English” is different from “Other countries expecting Americans to speak the local language” from a moral point of view. So why is Japan then lumped in with America as the “Local people must accept and accommodate foreigners who can’t communicate in the local language” bucket, when anywhere else it’s “If you’re traveling there and you didn’t even try learning the language, then you’re ignorant and entitled.”?
If an American moves to Europe and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they’re in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
My American cousin lived and worked in France as an engineer for several years. This is absolutely not true. He did make an effort to learn some French, but it wasn’t because of any pressure. He just wanted to.
that’s absolutely not the case in places like the netherlands and the nordic countries, people dont really give a fuck cus everyone speaks english anyway (unfortunately)
i think the dutch and the scandinavians have hit their head or something cus their languages are so easy to learn but in iceland and finland it’s possible to never get fluent even with a lot of effort, cus the languages are damn hard, so people are understandably more forgiving
You yourself are saying it’s unfortunate that people mostly speak English in the nordic countries, and yet you argue that it would be xenophobic and wrong to try to incentivize society to use the local languages more?
people don’t “mostly speak english” here, they mostly speak their native language but are also proficient in english.
i’m all for encouraging people to speak local languages but i don’t think basically banning non-fluent speakers from restaurants is the way to go
one of the first steps of learning a language (properly) is using it in simple situations like ordering in a restaurant. how is preventing learners from using the language in any way productive?
Then what did you mean why you said “unfortunately”? I guess that part through me off.
And look, I’ve done a bit of traveling so I’m definitely grateful for places that welcome foreigners who don’t speak the language. I’m not saying those should go away.
But I’ve also spent enough time in some places to gain a little proficiency, and at that point it would be nice to have a few places to go where I’m expected to use the language. Otherwise people see me struggling and then they default to English. It makes it harder to get the level of immersion necessary to go from intermediate to advanced.
Plus, when I’m really immersed in a culture I like to avoid the touristy spots. I try to go to the places where the local language is used more. If I rely on every local’s English proficiency to get by, I’ll never learn.
And it feels nice to be able to differentiate myself from the average tourist, like “no I’ve actually been living here for months and have gained some basic proficiency in the language.” There’s a difference between going somewhere for a week to hit all the tripadvisor spots, versus going somewhere to immerse in the local culture and try to build a life there. Most places view tourists as a nuisance, and I don’t see why that’s a problem because the level of respect for the local culture tends to be lower among tourists anyway.
It doesn’t say “if you are of that race we are open”. It says you must understand the language. So learn it - you’ll need it anyway to live there - or go elsewhere, where staff can serve you on your language, provide a menu on your language etc.
A hate system where you can upgrade your status by learning is not racism. Also not necessarily a hate system in the first place.
Still racist
It wasn’t saying it wasn’t tho
I mean, genuinely, how? It’s not saying you need to be Japanese to enter, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. IMO, learning the local language of a country you plan to visit is a basic courtesy that too many people don’t bother with.
… How many countries have you ever visited to say that
Like, being able to speak the very basics I agree. Numbers, hello and goodbye, thank you, etc.
But “If you can read this, you may come in” is pretty advanced. Like, probably requiring weeks of daily study level advanced to be able to understand.
Solidly A2 (European system) with that grammar(English translation) so 3-6 months (1-2 terms of university course).
You’re right, in Barcelona they write “Tourists go home” in plain English in order to accommodate foreigners who aren’t fluent in Catalan!
Exactly
“I’m tired of all these immigrants coming over here and not even being able to speak the language. This is [country] and we speak [language] here!”
That’s what you sound like.
“This is [Barcelona] and we speak [Catalan] here!”
Is this suddenly a different situation?
It’s their country. Aren’t they entitled to make rules?
Do you believe that anyone existing in America must speak English and only English? If a couple next to you at a cafe are speaking French to each other do you tell them to go back home?
I’m not an expert on Japanese culture, but I don’t think they have the “melting pot” cultural identity that America has had historically.
So it’s not xenophobia if you’ve been consistently xenophobic from the start.
Was it xenophobia for Algeria to reject French-speakers?
America is a country founded upon immigration, so it’s not a comparable example. In broad terms, Japan is historically a fairly homogenous nation ethnically, culturally, and linguistically (and yes, I know those are very broad terms, I’m talking relative to North American countries like the US and Canada).
If the 1600s-1700s had gone differently, and North America remained predominantly populated by Native peoples speaking Native languages, then yeah I’d say it’s totally within their rights to expect visitors to either learn the local language and attempt to integrate, or be left out of certain parts of society such as restaurants that want to cater exclusively to people who speak Algonquin or whatever.
Show up in Algiers and try saying “Sorry, I don’t speak Arabic. Do you have a French menu?”
Do you believe that anyone existing in America must speak English
Yeah, eventually. If I’m going to live in a country indefinitely, I’m going to try to learn their language. If I’m in France for more than a year, I’m going to try to learn French. I’d expect the same of friends and family. It’s not racist to expect people living in a place long term to be able to converse with the locals.
If they’re working here for just a summer or two and spending most of the year in another country, no.
and only English?
No?
Yeah, eventually. If I’m going to live in a country indefinitely, I’m going to try to learn their language.
We’re not talking about eventually or indefinitely we’re literally just talking about visiting a restaurant for a meal
So shouldn’t all Americans speak (or at least learn) native American languages? You know, on the account that English isn’t native to America. Neither is Spanish for that matter. Nor French.
.world btw
Yeah, team sports!
/s
It’s not their fault which Lemmy server they were born into
If you tie the availability of housing to whatever language someone speaks instead of something tangible related to the respective person, it’s racism.
I used Google Lens to translate the bottom text. Do you think that if i would go in there using my phone to translate i would get a room for the night?
Not being able to communicate, participate, doesn’t help either side. Buying a house, without being able to communicate is on its way to forming and insular community and not simply being denied service that is otherwise open to the public.
But this sign is for a restaurant, not for buying property. This is simply racism because they don’t want anyone outside of their cultural circle intruding…
Culture is not a race.
racism
Language is not a race.
This is a restaurant, not housing
I realized my mistake, but i think i wouldn’t get food either.
Jim Crow literacy tests have entered the chat
Ah, yes, everyone whould spend months to learn the language of every country they visit even though they might be there for only a few days.
How are you this dumb? I highly doubt you’ve ever been outside the country you were born in, and if you have you certainly didn’t follow your own thought here.
Christ Almighty dude, calm down. Yeah, maybe my comment was ignorant crap, but why jump straight to ad hominem? Do you think you’re actually going to change anyone’s opinion by calling them stupid straight off the bat?
People have google translate and shit. This won’t stop them
That’s what I was thinking. If I saw a sign like this, with some mysterious text with no translation, I would definitely want to know what it says.
