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NEWS: Japanese minister to French presidential candidate: "R

Oh god... Why does this keep happening? Why is it that the ignorant seem to speak the loudest?

Even when I thought that all American comics were about superheroes and that there was no variety (Dave Van Domelen's site showed me otherwise), I still didn't criticize them or their readers, because IT'S ALL OPINION, and I respected that people read the superhero comics (that I admittedly know quite a bit about thanks to Wikipedia). I didn't know much about the American comics back then, so because I was ignorant of them, I always KEPT MY MOUTH SHUT. Hey, I'm a critic of Pokemon, but I know better than to throw all kid anime into the same pile. I love Naruto, for example.

Back when Lieberman was trying to villify video games like Mortal Kombat and their fans, I was a big Mortal Kombat fan who could pull of any move and Fatality on que. It was my first real taste of what it felt like to be stereotyped as a violent degenerate. I don't think I could vote for someone who could so stereotype people that way.

And, well, I like my violent video games. That time when Hillary Clinton spoke out against Grand Theft Auto? My head spun and screwed right off my shoulders. I don't appreciate things like that, and I may never be able to look at Hillary without thinking about that now. To win MY vote, a candidate should be respectful of MY interests enough to not try to take those interests away. It is still a free country at the time of this writing.

And this woman, the French cadidate, well... I don't like it when people criticize Japan for things that aren't problems. This happens to a lot of countries, but I notice that a lot of people have misconceptions about Japan... People constantly think of Japan as being different, and thinking that the people who live there are all either wild and crazy beasts or incredibly stuck-up businessmen. It's like thinking that all Texans are fat and all New Yorkers are criminals, or the ever-popular "everybody who lives in the south is a backwoods hick".

At one point, my dad actually thought that all women in Japan were geisha, and one guy I spoke to once thought that if someone criticized the emperor, that they would be hauled off and killed. Heck, just a few days ago, someone I was talking to actually thought that Japan's rape of nanking was not because of their at that time imperialism, but rather because society there is suppressed (as if Japan is still the same as it was sixty years ago). This person said this as if she were educating me, too.

All you say here is absolutely correct. I'll say that I really I dislike these kinds of people as much as the next indignant Doubting Thomas (which is what I happen to call myself. Smile

).

Still, being a Christian, you must know how it feels for people to accuse you of being just that way, just because so many of them are that way. It sucks to be judged on the actions of others.

Ya know, I actually once knew a girl whose mother thought Pokemon was satanic and rid her household of all things Pokemon. I was always confused by that back then. I think I might still be confused of it now. Pokemon IS fiction, right? Shocked

Getting these sort of people to listen to reason is extremely difficult, but it's the same way for all fanatical followers of anything.

I think there may be few casesof manga being denounced as satanic so far because not as many kids are reading the stuff. Pokemon was a HUGE thing, so thus... You can take it from there. If manga gets more popular, we should see more cases, but for now, I like that our hobby is kind of quiet.

Last edited by kazenoyume on Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:57 am; edited 3 times in total

Last edited by LydiaDianne on Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:11 am; edited 3 times in total

Thank you for being more specific. And you made some things a little more clear and made some good points as well.

Okay, the actions being taken by certain individuals and the consequences of what was happening sounds retarded and over the edge Rolling Eyes

this is what happens when people don't know what they're dealing with and react with measures in a way that can cause negative feedback. But I can understanding the thing about banning the cards. Granted, even my own mother limited my buying pokemon cards when I was 12, and while I was in high school I was selling Yugioh cards to kids because of the hype surrounding them. I actually made somewhere around 500 dollars total from the time I was selling them. Some parents even got involved in buying their kids' cards from me.

Wasn't there a comic book shop owner in Texas who got done a few years ago for "selling pornographic material" (hentai manga) by the local DA, even though it was shrinkwrapped, clearly labeled "Adults Only", and in a seperate room from the rest of the his shop?
Also I remember a ANN report about a mother who complained to a local library because her daughter took out a manga that was inappropriate for her age group. I think the library had to pull all it's manga in response, however they did return it after realising that that action was a bit over the top.

I would have expected such a statement to come from Messier Sarkozy being a hard line conservative, not from a Socialist. I guess Ms. Royal has never been in the French book shop I was in, or she would have also seen a few examples of French comics that are rather risque as well. Nothing like doing a bit of research. But it seems this is not the only thing she's cluelesss about. That's why it was such a big surprise how much of the vote she got. I can see it now "Clueless in the French Parliament" . Rolling Eyes

Well, being French, I have to thanks this minister. Royal's views on manga are appalling and full of stereotypes.

Interesting discussion going on here...

I think it stems back to a larger problem in the Western World though, and that is our tendency to shift blame to sickening extremes. When was it that the person who DID the action no longer became responsible for it.

People have brought up good examples, especially with the Naruto. My parents, had they found it offensive, would have punished ME, because I should have known better.

As for the subject that this post is about, when did it become Japan's fault, instead of the companies that import and translate it?

She has some nerve, coming from a country that has far more street crime than Japan!

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Forum - View topicNEWS: Japanese minister to French presidential candidate: "R

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Japanese minister to French presidential candidate: "R