Japan Earthquake & Tsunami: [Part Two] Reactions and Statement of Opinions

Original post HERE: 15 Mar 2011
Discrepancy due to failure to export/import blog

Who wants to wake up in the morning, open the window and see the moment of despair as what we see in this picture on your left.. They say that "If you don't have anything proper to say, at least do not make nasty or sarcastic remarks". Despite the catastrophic tragedy that ravaged Japan, it appears that there are people who are making somewhat inappropriate comments that do not lighten the situation at all.

I myself, came across a lot of comments all over that weren't really nice to speak off, some with extreme contents of racism insulting the Japanese with. There is even a giant picture of consolidated comments from various facebook users, most of them talking about the tsunami as an incarnation of karma to bring retribution to Japan for the Pearl Harbor incident.

Before I carry on, I need to warn that the comments on that particular page are rather inappropriate. Some netizens even got enraged by those comments and called them insensitive, nasty, mean or racists. I have battled myself for quite a long time whether I should write this post or not, because, at the end of the day, I just want to share my views, and I have absolutely no intentions to offend anyone to begin with. I also have no intentions of revealing who put in those comments nor their facebook profile pictures directly on my blog. But if you really insist to see it, clicking here will bring you there. Anyway, I did not make or upload that picture, the link was just shared and circulated.

According to a little research I've done, I found out that over 50% of the viewers on my blog are actually from United States. I believe it is mainly contributed by my other post, "Chris Medina Phenomenon" which created a sudden surge in blog hits overnight, and even constant increment daily. I fully understand that If I say any wrong things here, I could easily gain twice the number of haters as much of viewers I gained from the previous post. You should be able to fully understand that I'm putting myself at risk here, but I just think it's fair for equality and peace in the world. And lastly, I'm not Japanese, so look, I don't gain anything for speaking up for Japan. Anyway, below are some examples of those comments somewhat uncalled for; word for word.

"Eat a dick japan! That's what you get for pearl harbor, karma son! Haha!"

"Yeah I hate it for Japan but remember those idiots started World War 2. They bombed Pearl Harbor. Wonder how much money we will send them."

"Fuck Japan. Remember Pearl Harbor." (they were tonnes like this one)

"I think the earthquake in Japan happened because of Pearl Harbor. Paybacks are a motha f...cker. Some people wish God to be with those Japanies sneaky bastards... ... not me...what goes around comes around according to Justin Timberlake. The nuke we gave them may be easier than what they got today."

"Japan you remember Pearl Harbor? Ain't Karma a bitch."

"who gives shit about Japan? Not this guy. Did they send aids when americans were dying during Katrina? hell no, remember Pearl Harbor? Late Justice."

"Mother nature remembers Pearl Harbor when we were attacked and by whom. December 7, 1941"

"Dear Japan, enjoy your tsunami. - Sincerely, Pearl Harbor"

Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor. Wow! As you can see, Pearl Harbor became a kind of convenient topic of excuse for unwanted hatred. Ok I'm not perfect either, but I really hate to say that a lot of those comments seemed to contain a bit of racism. From what I see, most of the comments came from people who weren't even born yet to experience the real pain and agony of the actual Pearl Harbor incident. So how did they know about it? How did they get such a hatred over it? Perhaps some read the history books, perhaps some watched the "Pearl Harbor" movie, starred by Ben Affleck. Well, to what I know, movies should only be considered as a form of entertainment. Even though its based [loosely] on a true story, it's common to infuse huge doses of dramatization to make the movie successful. To what I feel, most people were just influenced by various ways, most of them, didn't know what it felt like to be really going through Pearl Harbor, and that includes me.

One guy lamented,

"who gives shit about Japan? Not this guy. Did they send aids when americans were dying during Katrina? hell no...". Actually, Japan really did send help to the United States during the Katrina event, in case anyone really didn't know. Then again, when things like Hurricane Katrina hit USA, it's called a natural disaster. But when a natural disaster hit Japan, it's karma, retribution or what not. Statements of  what seems like double standards would appear selfish, arrogant and sometimes racist, and I believe no one likes that from both perspectives. Another lady states that she hated Japan because "Japan were the idiots who started World War 2." Technically, Japan did bomb Pearl Harbor but they did not start World War 2. It was Hilter and the Nazis [Germany and Slovakia] who invaded Poland back in 1939 that sparked it all. If you have to be influenced by history, at least get the facts right. The documented story lies here.

Ever since history was recorded, there were a lot of wars dictated; Civil War, American Revolution, Iraq War, Napolenic War, French Revolution, The Peloponessian War and much, much more. That's a lot of senseless violence. Oddly, we hate wars and point fingers these days but yet those extreme bloodshed in history were actually ok. Those were before our current democratic times and forms of government didn't really seem to work well in most countries. People who military power during those days usually have the say. However, these people didn't seem to have much forms of entertainment and probably, their only career perspective was to wage war, gain more power, and conquer the world. It was all the rage then, and quests for domination were so common, as though it were their past time hobby. I'm sure we know of many more ruthless warlords in history who were brutal to the bone. In the modern times now, we still have terrorists in this world and they are posing a standing problem. I would think it's more logical to be wary of them rather than to whine over some history that  we vaguely know of.

As we all know, World War 2 was a world war because it involved multiple countries from different continents and regions in the world, including my country. They did terrible things on our lands but over the years, most of the citizens and countries have already forgiven them. And to remind that the Pearl Harbor incident is dated back December 7, 1941, that's almost 70 years ago. Don't we have better things to do in our lives then hold a grudge way before our time?

As a counter attack, Japan too, took 2 atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; talk about being paid back with their own coin. But don't you think that was some massive bad ass punishment for such a small country as compared to the U.S? You have any idea about the death toll or thought about the amount of casualties over there? If you thought only Pearl Harbor was bad, the bombs in Japan killed over thousands! In specific, horrific deaths by acute radiation exposures and survivors were stricken with various forms of cancer later in life and I'm not even finished yet. The ruler or military power of Japan during then no longer lives, a new populace started afresh and the later generations also had to rebuild what their ancestors screwed up back then. This was already their karma, and they have already done more than enough to serve the world and atone for their predecessor's sins. So why should we still bear a grudge, bring up the doggone past and be sore over it after so many long decades. Once again, most of us didn't even go through it, that makes us look like we can only know how to talk big. If this questionable behavior isn't caused by racism, I really can't see what else made us so petty.

If some kind of doomsday really came and threatens to eradicate all the humans entirely, do we still classify it as a natural disaster? Or could it have been our very own negative karma by shamelessly making fun of each other? Karma can be a bitch, I agree, and so can mother nature. If she were to really throw a tantrum, she could blow up anywhere she fancies. If we can't help or aren't willing to help, we could at least shut up. Those nasty comments will lead us to hell either, that's how karma works too, ain't it so? So laughing at another's misfortune isn't really a nice idea, we don't need Justin Timberlake to remind us that karma may turn around and bite our ass.

Let bygones be bygones, we live for today and tomorrow, not for yesterday. I may not be a follower of the christian faith, but I know that God also taught us to "Forgive and Forget".

Having said so much, it is very fortunate to know that these senseless racism and improper comments are only in minority. Most of us still embrace the warm morals of human compassion and common empathy. If you wish to lend a helping hand or make a donation, you can also click here to refer to Part One of this article, which will lead you there.

Japan's going through an excruciatingly painful time right now and they need all the help they could get to pull through this one. Especially, with a failing nuclear power plant that could meltdown anytime. Regrettably, I personally couldn't do much, I just wish we can settle all these social unrest and solve these petty differences. After all, Earth is home to us all.

Here's the end of Part two of this post.  There's one more part and I have more views to share regarding the reactions of the general public.

Next up:
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: [Part Three] Action Speaks Louder than Words