http://www.japanzine.jp/article/jz/607/arudou-angelic-activist-or-devilish-demonstrator
8 captures
19 Oct 2015 - 9 Jul 2023
Sep OCT Mar
Previous capture 19 Next capture
2014 2015 2016
日本雜誌
類別選單
Arudo Debito
https://www.debito.org/nihongo.html
JZ於 2005 年 12 月 1 日 發表於Japanzine | 0 則評論
北海道的 Arudou Debito 可能是日本最引人注目的民權運動家。 2002 年，Arudou 成功起訴小樽一家溫泉的歧視行為，獲得了一定的名聲（或者惡名，這取決於你的看法），之後他繼續揭露日本境內對外國人的歧視，無論他在哪裡發現這種情況。
阿魯杜出生於美國，原名大衛·奧爾德溫克爾。他於 1986 年移居日本，遇到並與日本女子結婚並建立了家庭，隨後於 1996 年成為永久居民，並於 2000 年入籍日本公民。
由於小樽溫泉案的成功結束，他成為外國人權利運動的焦點人物，在外籍教授的終身職位和外籍勞工工會等問題上進行鬥爭。他受到海外媒體的廣泛關注，並經常受邀談論日本的人權問題。
他維護一個網站 www.debito.org，提供有關廣泛主題的建議：被警察攔截、應對日常歧視、成為公民，甚至還有阿魯杜的個人遊記。對於不了解日本法律習俗的外國居民來說，他的著作是寶貴的資源，他的大量著作提供了有關法律權利的詳細信息，並填補了一個重要的空白。
然而，阿魯杜拋棄了被動性，就像一個毫不掩飾的大叔在溫泉裡拋棄了他謙遜的毛巾。由於他的侵略性方法，他的做法引起了爭議。阿魯杜認為這樣做是合理的，並堅稱他已經用盡了所有其他可用的外交選擇。在一次演講中，他主張：“對不禮貌的店主大聲生氣，如果女服務員轉向你的日本朋友，就要求她和你說話。”
有大量軼事表明阿魯杜好鬥且不願在爭論中失敗。事實上，他對那些不同意他觀點的人可能是不寬容的。在他的著作《只有日本人》中，阿魯杜貶低了他的外交活動家、東京的托尼·拉斯洛（Tony Laszlo）——他現在恰好是暢銷書《我的親愛的是外國人》系列叢書的主題－將他描繪成兩面派的控制狂。阿魯杜也猛烈抨擊秋田大學副校長、長期居民格雷戈里·克拉克(Gregory Clark)，他被塑造成一個痴迷於日本的辯護者。
克拉克和拉斯洛都致力於變革，支持以更務實的方式解決日本的歧視問題。人們擔心阿魯杜的策略可能最終會導致針對外國人的強烈抵制，而不是擴大他們的權利。
阿魯杜的處境有一定的諷刺意味：在成為日本公民時，他擁抱了一個最重視和諧與共識的社會，但卻採取了相當對抗的姿態。他堅持像其他日本人一樣受到對待，但使用典型的美國解決爭端的方法，即司法系統。
長期居住的居民可以滔滔不絕地講述日本公司對外國工人的玻璃天花板的故事，或者由於心煩意亂的房東而難以找到夢想的公寓的故事。法律可以解決最明顯的歧視行為案例，但人們不得不懷疑阿魯杜是否只是在解決日本外國人社區面臨的一個更大的問題——日本人的態度和信仰不能僅僅通過法律來糾正。
阿魯杜是一位富有遠見或被誤導的肥皂劇預言家，是個解決重要問題的堂吉訶德式人物，即使他的方法值得懷疑。在日本公共浴場與歧視作鬥爭可能不會讓他成為下一個納爾遜·曼德拉，而且訴訟和謾罵似乎不適合日本的面子文化。但是，儘管明目張膽的歧視確實存在，無論愛他還是恨他，這個國家都受益於像《Arudou
Japanese Only》這樣的活動家，作者：Arudou Debito
Akashi Shoten，ISBN：4750320056
Arudou Debito（前 David Aldwinckle）的處女作《僅限日語》可能是 21 世紀非小說類書籍的不祥預演。這種形式主要由電子郵件和報紙文章組成，經過彙編和串成敘述，這種形式可能會讓你感到畏縮——但阿魯杜透過他的個人經歷來解決歧視問題。
故事開始於Arudou和另外兩名外國人起訴北海道小樽市和一群溫泉集團，因為澡堂拒絕接納他們。這些看似不太可能的活動人士的訴訟最終到達了日本最高法院，該案的某些方面至今仍然存在。
即使這本書超越了溫泉案件，它仍然是一個個人故事，當他描述其他角色時，我們會受到阿魯杜自己的偏見觀點的影響。支持他的人，例如共同原告奧拉夫·卡爾特烏斯，被描繪成聖人，而那些不同意的人則不可避免地受到誹謗。
另一方面，當阿魯杜為整體情況道歉時，他失去了一些正義感，他聲稱種族主義「在日本......在意圖和表達上缺乏很多卑鄙的精神」。種族主義在這裡並沒有那麼糟糕，但它仍然是種族主義。
他做出改變的理由更加明確。日本是聯合國種族歧視公約的簽署國，因此應努力消除一切形式的歧視。然而日本政府卻忽略了這一點。問題在於，除了結束歧視這一模糊目標之外，阿魯杜也未能準確地闡明他所追求的是什麼。當溫泉在日本人的陪同下向外國人敞開大門時，阿魯道宣布勝利。然而，這本書讓讀者猜測他是否對這個結果感到滿意，或者將其視為一場新的戰鬥。
雖然《僅限日本人》對外國人權利的一場艱苦鬥爭進行了成功的案例研究，但在日韓國人、菲律賓「藝人」或日本職業女性所面臨的問題使阿魯杜所解決的問題相形見絀。然而，對於任何在日本遭受歧視的人來說，這本書都值得一讀，因為它帶來了希望，在像阿魯杜這樣願意捍衛正義的人的幫助下，事情正在變得更好。
相關貼文
反外國人歧視
指紋辨識
「種族主義」與種族主義
「在羅馬時」辯論
發表評論
您的電子郵件地址不會被公開。必填欄位已標記為*
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
http://www.japanzine.jp/article/jz/607/arudou-angelic-activist-or-devilish-demonstrator
8 captures
19 Oct 2015 - 9 Jul 2023
Sep OCT Mar
Previous capture 19 Next capture
2014 2015 2016
Japanzine
Categories Menu
Arudou: Angelic Activist or Devilish Demonstrator?
Posted by JZ on Dec 1, 2005 in Japanzine | 0 comments
Hokkaido’s Arudou Debito is probably the most visible civil rights activist in Japan. Attaining a certain amount of fame—or notoriety, depending on your take—when he successfully sued an onsen in Otaru for discrimination in 2002, Arudou continues to expose discrimination against foreigners in Japan wherever he finds it.
Arudou was born David Aldwinckle in the United States. He moved to Japan in 1986, met and married a Japanese woman and started a family, going on to become a permanent resident in 1996 and a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000. He teaches at a university in Hokkaido.
Because of the successful conclusion of the Otaru onsen case, he has become a focal figure in the movement for rights for foreigners, fighting over issues like tenure for foreign professors and unionization of foreign laborers. He attracts a lot of attention from the overseas press, and is frequently invited to speak about human rights in Japan.
He maintains a website, www.debito.org, that offers advice on a wide range of subjects: getting stopped by the police, dealing with daily discrimination, becoming a citizen, and even Arudou’s personal travelogues. An invaluable resource for foreign residents clueless about Japanese legal customs, his extensive writings make detailed information available about legal rights, and fill an important gap.
However, Arudou discards passivity like an unabashed ojisan discards his modesty towel at an onsen. His approach has stirred up controversy because of his aggressive methods. Arudou feels justified in doing this, insisting that he has exhausted all other diplomatic options at his disposal. In one speech, he advocated: “Be vocally angry at the impolite shopkeeper, demand the waitress speak to you if she turns to your Japanese friend.”
There are ample anecdotes suggesting that Arudou is combative and loathe to lose an argument. Indeed, he can be unforgiving to those who disagree with him. In his book, Japanese Only, Arudou demeans his more diplomatic activist counterpart, the Tokyo-based Tony Laszlo—who now happens to be the subject of the bestselling My Darling is a Foreigner book series—depicting him as a duplicitous control-freak. Arudou also lashes out against Akita University Vice-President and long-term resident Gregory Clark, who is made to look like a Japan-obsessed apologist.
Both Clark and Laszlo work for change, endorsing more pragmatic approaches to the problem of discrimination in Japan. The fear is that Arudou’s tactics may lead to an eventual backlash against foreigners, rather than expanding their rights.
There is a certain amount of irony in Arudou’s situation: in becoming a Japanese citizen, he embraced a society that values harmony and consensus above all, yet adopts a fairly confrontational posture. He insists on being treated like any other Japanese, but uses that quintessentially American method of dispute-resolution, the judicial system.
Long-term residents can rattle off endless stories about glass ceilings at Japanese companies for foreign workers or the trouble landing a dream apartment because of a skittish landlord. Laws can address the most obvious cases of discriminatory behavior, but one has to wonder if Arudou has merely nibbled at a much greater problem confronting the foreign community in Japan – the attitudes and beliefs among Japanese that cannot be rectified merely by passing laws.
Visionary or misguided soapbox prophet, Arudou is a quixotic figure tackling an important issue, even if his methods are suspect. Fighting discrimination at Japanese public baths may not make him the next Nelson Mandela, and lawsuits and diatribes may seem ill suited to the face-saving culture of Japan. But while blatant discrimination does persist, love him or hate him, this country benefits from having activists like Arudou
Japanese Only, by Arudou Debito
Akashi Shoten, ISBN: 4750320056
Japanese Only, the debut book of Arudou Debito (ex David Aldwinckle) may be an ominous preview of the 21st century non-fiction book. Consisting largely of emails and newspaper articles compiled and strung into a narrative, the format may make you cringe – but Arudou tackles the subject of discrimination through his personal experience.
The story starts when Arudou and two other foreigners sue the city of Otaru, Hokkaido and a group of hot springs because the bathhouses refused to admit them. The unlikely activists’ lawsuit eventually reached the Supreme Court of Japan, and aspects of the case persist even today.
The book remains a personal story even when it moves beyond the hot springs case, and we are subjected to Arudou’s own biased view when he describes other characters. People who support him, like co-plaintiff Olaf Karthaus, are depicted as saints, while those who disagree are inevitably vilified.
On the other hand, Arudou loses some of his righteousness when he apologizes for the situation in general, asserting that racism "in Japan… lacks much of the mean-spiritedness in intention and expression." Racism isn’t so bad here, but it is still racism nonetheless.
His rationale for change is more clear-cut. Japan is a signatory to the United Nations convention on racial discrimination, and thus should work to eliminate discrimination in all forms in which it arises. Yet the Japanese government has neglected to do this. The problem is that Arudou fails to spell out exactly what he is after, other than the ambiguous goal of ending discrimination. When an onsen opens its doors to foreigners accompanied by a Japanese, Arudou claims a victory. However, the book leaves the reader guessing if he is satisfied with this outcome, or sees it as a new battle to fight.
While Japanese Only presents a successful case study of one hard-fought battle for the rights of foreigners, the problems faced by zainichi Koreans, Philippine ‘entertainers’ or working Japanese women dwarf those tackled by Arudou. It is, however, worth a read for anyone who has encountered discrimination in Japan, as it offers hope that things are changing for the better—with the help of people like Arudou, who are willing to stand up for what is right.
Related Posts
antiforeigner discrimination
finger printing
“racism” vs. racism
The “When In Rome” Debate
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
沒有留言:
張貼留言
注意：只有此網誌的成員可以留言。