this is EXACTLY what i have been talking about
i have given Japanese people such little piddling gifts, with them expressing EXTREME gratitude... :)
i have been an american ALL MY LIFE, and i KNOW that i WOULD NEVER get the same reaction from a fellow american
am i meeting the wrong americans?
then where are the right ones?
"Hmmm...I wonder if anyone would say that an apology was necessary for some of the Americans here who have been generalized in some way or another"
no, an american would have just cussed people out so bad, enough to get the topic closed, if the situations were reversed
Re: For the love of money!
Quote:
Originally posted by Kaminoko
Most arguments worldwide in a man-woman relationship are due to money, regardless of race. When a divorce settlement is due, what is the argument over...money! (And kids if you have them). When you're struggling through life, and your husband goes gambling, what does the wife complain about...money! Mostly it's no different. But I guess Japan may have it a bit worse...
Is it that much of a surprise that money reigns over love, when there is a breakdown of what "family" is supposed to mean anyway?
The average child growing up in Japan will be somewhat distanced from their parents. Some of my friends went to school 7 days a week! 5 days normal school. 2 days "special school" - a life of study, study, study...to get a good job, to get money...
The father is out working all day long, and then goes out with his superiors in order to entertain to get a promotion/status in the eyes of others. What time does he have for "love"?
It's not a wonder that women in Japan would go for money over love, for what kind of example have they been set? If they didn't have a good example of what it means to be a family, why would they want kids of their own anyway? We read the newspapers, and we see the population shrinking, we read of teen girls selling themselves - not because they don't have money, but because they want more money.
At present, materialism is king, and love has no meaning. There are no good examples to follow...All they can hope to follow is the next pop star, or the next Beckham hairstyle. And there is no hope. No hope of a job due to recession. No hope of love, due to their own dysfunctional family system. No hope of happiness, except the small possibility that having money will buy it for them.
A glimmer of fleeting happines, without the hope of long-term joy.
Sorry, this is something that really grieved me when I was over there. I hate family breakdowns. Too many people are hurt. Life is too short, to be angry, to be cruel, to be selfish.
You certainly have a way with words Kaminoko, but I would say that adults would worry more about the money. But now it seems also that children are getting more and more interested in the money instead of the love involved. But currently, I would HAVE to say that children would think more of the love. Reading all this really crushes me that people actually prefer money over love...