Yes, George screwed up BIG TIME here and as a foreigner these are the kind of gaijin that really disappoint me. I go out of my way to fit in here, studying up hard on their culture and practices so that I try to fit in as much as possible and not be yet another “stupid gaijin”.

I wish Australia had the ability to hold idiots for up to 23 days without any conditions. It would sure deter a whole lot more crime from being committed. We have so many heroin junkies, general thugs and drug/alcohol fueled trash it’s not funny. These people constantly damage other peoples’ property as well as performing random acts of violence and bashings.

Lesson:
“A wise man stays away from trouble” – My Father was a cop for 23 years, I grew up having this preached to me first hand, as he saw the trouble in our society on a daily basis, I was well aware of avoiding trouble even by a very young age, because I’d heard all the stories from him as cheap “lessons” for me so I didn’t have to be a George and learn the hard way.

– Stay the hell away from people who can’t handle their liquor.
– Don’t get smashed/drunk and think “that’s ok I was drunk”. No it’s not ok.
– Don’t insult another human being, especially someone in a service job, just GET OUT, PAY THE FARE to shut him up, WALK AWAY. The $10 fare is nothing, just be the bigger man and pay $10 and walk away. Don’t get into a sh1t fight with someone who is fluent in their own country, while your language isn’t the best (plus you’re drunk).

Good on Japan for taking crime seriously and holding people who were closely involved with it for no reason for up to 23 days while they sort it out. We need to adopt this in Australia, but Australia is way too soft in giving the crims and suspects first class treatment when in fact we know they are guilty and screwed up, the police have no powers. Oh sh1t, don’t potentially put a single scratch on a “suspect” or a “criminal”, we don’t want to breach their precious rights or upset them so they don’t sleep at night!!!

Way to go Japan!

(PS – Japan is not perfect, but overall, you usually only find trouble if you screw up like this story, most Japanese are awesome and yes I have been spat on by Chinpira mafia, but they are 0.01% of Japanese people – I ignored it and moved on).

I used to want to be Japanese way back when I was in high school. I went to Nagasaki and hated anyone I thought was an UGLY AMERICAN (being American myself). That included fat women wearing shorts, I recall. All foreigners in Japan should be as Japanese as possible, I thought. Thank God I’m past those days! I can now be an American AND enjoy Japan AND my American friends who aren’t as crazy about Japanese culture as I am. I’m glad I’m really past so much insecurity.

I love Japan and have lived there for a good number of years. I would never do anything George did (it isn’t in my personality–really has nothing to do with culture) though I did get fabulously drunk at my 32 birthday party (put on by my Japanese friends).

I think a big point of George’s story is that whatever punishment he deserved was never determined because he didn’t get due process of law (or at least the kind of process of law that my sensibilities demand) In fact, when he came to his senses, he did involve himself in trying to make ammends. All you people yelling at George, do you think he got due process of law. The story strikes a chord with me not because I’d do the same thing and wish to get off easy, but because of the arbitrary way that “justice” was meted out by a system that one would really like to see as one’s protector.

I say this having been a victim of 3 crimes and never having done anything to land me in jail.
(Baby brother killed by a drunk driver, car stolen, and battery by a Japanese student–yes, a few twisted Japanese are capable of violence, just like people everywhere in the world.)

Oh, and I did get grossly overcharged by an izakaya (bar) in Shinjuku that had connections to the yakuza (I later learned). Lest you think that I was being a dumb gaijin to go there, I had walked through that section of Shinjuku a number of years earlier when I was truly a dumb gaijin and had avoided it (feminine sense) but then later went there with a Japanese boyfriend who assured me that it was okay–and then we got overcharged (I guess I was just dumb–drop the gaijin–to trust my boyfriend!)

I’m sorry that George had to go through this, regardless of guilt. I appreciate his story, because it can be a lesson for everyone about how things can really go badly. Yes, it is true that most Japanese are mild-mannered and Japan is much safer than the U.S. So saying, Japan is not a country without discrimination and it does not have the same checks and balances in its judicial system that we do in the U.S. (though I can’t say our system is steller, either).

A little empathy goes a long way and makes one a much better student of life. It’s good to be able to listen to someone’s story, not agree with everything the person did and still have empathy for that person (unless you are really really angry because of your own issues). If you can find absolutely no empathy for George, than it might do you good to try earning a few empathy points.

http://aonghascrowe.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/cuckoo-cuckoo/