Won't Miss #539 - being one down

I can't pretend that I know what it is like to be a minority in the U.S. I can say that I know very well what it is like to be a part of a tiny minority in a culture with an overwhelmingly dominant culture. White people are something like .2% of the population in Japan. To that end, we do suffer at least some of the standard problems that minorities have to deal with in other countries. One of the things which was often the case was that we were always considered to be "one down" or at a status disadvantage when we are dealing with a situation in which we are negotiating for something.

One of the primary examples of this which I recall that had big consequences involved not me, but my brother-in-law. When he was negotiating to buy a house, he was tricked into putting down a very large deposit and believing that, if he changed his mind, he would get all of it back except a small administration fee. He felt that, since his Japanese wife was in the room, he might be insulated against misunderstanding and shady deals, but he was wrong.

He was sure that this would not have happened to a Japanese person, and if it had, the agency would not have pushed back so hard against a protest and may have capitulated when he demanded his money back. He could be wrong about that. I could be wrong, but it is all too often the case that Japanese business people saw someone who they could push around when they were dealing with a foreigner. I think this type of situation and the feeling of powerlessness that being one down makes you feel is one of the reason why so many bring on the gaijin smash. They knew, and I often experienced, that we had no rights or ability to fight back. The laws do not protect minorities and, when they do, they are rarely enforced.

I don't miss the feeling of being one down in status and helpless in situations in which I was treated unfairly or cheated.

Won't Miss #248 - Softbank

My issues with Softbank are two-fold (at the moment). First, if you sign a contract with them and you are not Japanese, you must provide two forms of official identification such as your alien registration card, passport, or government issue health insurance card. If you are Japanese, you only need to provide one piece of official identification or two very flimsy pieces (like student I.D. and credit card). This is discrimination, pure and simple. I don't know why they require foreigners to give two types of official I.D., but the only reason I can think of is that they think we're criminals carrying one well-constructed fake. The second problem I have with Softbank is that they won't answer some questions when you stand right in their shops face-to-face (speaking Japanese). My husband had a question about connecting to their Wi-fi via iPad and they told him they wouldn't answer his question in their cavernous shop which was at that moment utterly devoid of customers.* They said he had to call a number on a brochure. This is pathetic customer service.

I won't miss Softbank's policies or "service".

*Note: He asked in Japanese, so it wasn't a language issue.