Comment Of The Day: You Don’t Understand Asian History Unless You’re Asian

Why do people say shit like this?

“Nobody can ever understand the history of *Insert Nationality Here* unless you are *Insert Nationality Here*.”

It’s the most banal and inane stance you can take, and it’s also completely false.

—–

The fact of the matter is that anybody can know more. There are a ton of non-Japanese and non-Koreans who know a shit ton more about Japanese and Korean history than people who are of that ethnicity. Why is that? Because being of a certain ethnicity doesn’t make one privy to secrets or anything. In fact, it probably makes those individuals more prone to bias because they have a vested interest in how their history is portrayed.

—–

You know who’s a perfect example of my point? Whoever it is that posted that comment in the picture.

As a person who has an education background partially rooted in Asian history, it’s amusing to watch these Asian Americans or Asian Canadians or Asian Whatevers rant on and on and on about how ignorant other people are about their history when they themselves don’t know shit.

1) The killing contest was actually in China, not Korea.

2) Japan has in fact apologized numerous times over the decades. 76% of Koreans acknowledge that Japan has apologized.

3) The rest of the Koreans have an issue with the veracity and sincerity of the apologies given to them by Japan, which is completely fair given how the Japanese government constantly changes their stance on the issue. Most of it depends on who gets elected in Japan, and things get especially heated if it’s a right-wing politician.

4) Besides the generalized animosity for multiple invasions and a litany of other issues, the primary problem with Japan now, or the hot button topic, is actually that of comfort women. Japan needs to own up to their role in sex slavery during the war once and for all in an apology to whatever extent Korea deems appropriate. They haven’t done that yet, or they waffle on their stance, hence the trading of barbs.

5) Yes, generally speaking, Japanese have a sense of superiority to Koreans … sort of like they do to the Chinese … like the Koreans do to the Japanese and Chinese … like the Chinese do to the Japanese and Koreans. Why? Because Asia.

—–

Of course, the issues of comfort women and other atrocities are not exactly one-sided affairs either, as the part you’ll never hear in one of these uneducated nationalistic jingoistic rants is the one where the Korean government sells out their own people, via The Chosun Ilbo.

During the normalization talks, the government hurried negotiations along in a bid to secure foreign capital needed for economic development, and it used the claims fund to push ahead with large-scale economic projects like the Seoul-Busan expressway and Pohang Iron and Steel. In other words, it sacrificed the compensation of individual victims on the altar of economic development.

Under the circumstances, that was unavoidable and for the benefit of the entire population. But now the government should endeavor to resolve the matter from a different perspective.

Japan meanwhile holds that its responsibility for compensation ceased with the settlement of negotiated claims, and our government has left a document acknowledging this. But the Japanese government, instead of insisting that, legally speaking, its responsibility toward Asian countries has evaporated, should reflect on its moral responsibility. That is what a lasting political solution must be based on.

So basically, the Korean government sold out the victims of Japanese imperialism because they wanted to rebuild the economy. Did it work? Obviously. But as the writer states, both countries hold responsibility for the current situation, morally speaking. Now will you ever hear this side of things from the government or media (same thing in Korea, really) in mainstream stories? Of course not.

Why? Because as I’ve said multiple times before, distracting the masses with groups (homosexuals/Muslims)/people (Japanese/Koreans/Chinese)/wars (Iraq/Afghanistan) is extremely beneficial to governments. Because if the people are focused on all those things, then the people will ignore how fucked up their own country is being run because the public is too busy complaining about another country.

Stay ignorant, my friends.

—–

My point is that Asians in the West with these dumbass attitudes of entitlement, like the commenter in question, do nothing to further the causes they are fighting for. This is especially true once reality reveals itself because then they look like arrogant dicks while simultaneously being wrong in every conceivable way. It would be comical if it wasn’t so sad that they end up doing the exact opposite of they intended. Worse yet, these Asians in the West aren’t even actually citizens of the countries in question, so they’re essentially being manipulated by a government ideology from thousands of miles away. Amusing.

As I’ve always said, and will continue to say, keep hating on each other Asians, because it’s exactly what your governments want. I hear blinders are fashionable nowadays. As for Asian Americans and others, continue to hold on tight to dumb views like the commenter in question and then wonder why Asians have no power in America and elsewhere. Because while there are certainly powers that screw us beyond our control, we do ourselves no favors by splintering our power into a million different factions after buying into the bullshit stemming from the countries of our ethic origins.

=====

Comment brought to you by this article on allkpop.