Thursday, June 16, 2011

More Japanese people are trying to learn from Chinese people how to protect themselves!?

Have you heard of the Japanese phrase "平和ボケ/Heiwa-boke"? 平和/Heiwa means peace. ボケ/Boke describes a situation where the brain doesn't work well or as well as usual. Actually, the meaning of Boke is so ambiguous that it's very difficult for me to define it. It depends on the context. Boke is also used when your response lacks focus, like if you don't understand the point of the situation or the point the speaker is trying to make. Anyway, 平和ボケ/Heiwa-boke means that you have become less capable of seeing danger and risks since you are living in a peaceful environment.

As I talked about in my previous post, it's been said that Japanese people always have their guard down, although I wonder how many of them realized it. Many of them have little interest in protecting themselves, their families and their property since they aren't aware that things far beyond their expectations could happen. However, after the 3/11 disaster, even that kind of Japanese people started thinking more about how to protect themselves and their families. Under these circumstances, I've heard that people are paying more attention to the way Chinese protect themselves, although most of them didn't try to understand their ways before the 3/11 disaster.

It's been said that Chinese people basically don't trust their government, although those who were born after 1980 are referred to as "ba ling hou/八零后" and have a distinct character. On top of that, a large number of ordinary people have been forced to struggle and compete for their survival since they were born. Because of this, inevitably, they always think about how to protect themselves and their families by themselves. They try to study outside China and look for immigration opportunities there in order to build bases worldwide. If something critical happens in China, they will escape to the countries where their family members or relatives live. Some of my Chinese friends are interested in obtaining foreign citizenship. They insist that they don't mind losing their Chinese citizenship and it doesn't affect their identity. Changing their nationality doesn't seem to be a big deal for them. Whether or not Japanese people like these ways, there are things that they can learn from the Chinese people.

Right after the 3/11 disaster, I saw some people insisting on Twitter that Japanese people should improve their English and learn at least one more foreign language to be able to survive outside Japan. I hope that the disaster will inspire young people to go study or work abroad. Right now they have so little interest in studying and working abroad that it is becoming a serious problem.