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While we have both agreed that there are are a lot of overly direct assholes in the US that can be super rude....I pointed out how in Japan gossip is a huge problem.
Then she defended gossip. She said that because in Japan people don't want to say rude things directly to others they don't like because it "might hurt their feelings" they gossip instead and this is normal...not rude in Japan...wtf?
So naturally, I responded with...there is a saying: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Then elaborated by saying that even if there is a particular person other Japanese people don't like or downright hate, it would be best to just say nothing rather than gossip. That seemed to shut down that.
Then I brought up how bullying and gossip are huge problems in public schools throughout Japan (and other countries like South Korea) which often causes students to take their own lives...sometimes even while they are on campus!
Then get this...she actually says that it isn't rude for sempai to be rude and terrible to kohai due to the culture and that a lot of people she knows that used to be bullies in school are "nice now". Then she went on to say that the kohai that are bullied become sempai that bully the next kohai group, which goes on forever and that in the end everyone grows up and everyone is ok...then I reminded her that the ones that killed themselves didn't exactly grow up did they?
Has anyone talked with a Japanese person they know about this and have they spouted the same nonsense to you?
Then she defended gossip. She said that because in Japan people don't want to say rude things directly to others they don't like because it "might hurt their feelings" they gossip instead and this is normal...not rude in Japan...wtf?
So naturally, I responded with...there is a saying: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Then elaborated by saying that even if there is a particular person other Japanese people don't like or downright hate, it would be best to just say nothing rather than gossip. That seemed to shut down that.
Then I brought up how bullying and gossip are huge problems in public schools throughout Japan (and other countries like South Korea) which often causes students to take their own lives...sometimes even while they are on campus!
Then get this...she actually says that it isn't rude for sempai to be rude and terrible to kohai due to the culture and that a lot of people she knows that used to be bullies in school are "nice now". Then she went on to say that the kohai that are bullied become sempai that bully the next kohai group, which goes on forever and that in the end everyone grows up and everyone is ok...then I reminded her that the ones that killed themselves didn't exactly grow up did they?
Has anyone talked with a Japanese person they know about this and have they spouted the same nonsense to you?
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