Economic self-interests?

Since the victory of the Bushies in last November I have noticed one question come up in several liberal blogs and editorials: Why do so many Americans vote against their economic self-interest? After all, there are so many poor and lower-middle class voters, in poor and lower-middle class Red States.

As Seppo pointed out in one of his comments to this blog, I think the whole victory-by-moral-values schtick was overdone by the media. I doubt many Americans would put such factors irrelevant to their own lives as gay marriage (as if the Republican position is the moral one in the first place!) at a higher priority than their own economic interests.

I think there is something deeper in our North American culture and mindset at work here.

I once read (forget where) that Europeans were baffled by our North American-ism of taking drives around rich neighborhoods and fantasizing about the big houses. As I kid I sometimes bicycled around rich neighborhoods in the summer, knowing that I would live in them one day. (Needless to say I had no inkling I would end up in Tokyo but that is another issue...)

Somewhere deep down we think we have a shot at the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I think it is an essential part of who we are. Ours is a culture of aspiration.

So voters do not want to help the less fortunate mainly because they can't believe or accept that they may potentially be one of the less fortunate themselves.

I think we have a "chutzpah" tradition, where the little guy acts big. This bluffing stands him in good stead and he gets the job and the girl. We idolize this archetype in our movies, books, folklore and mythology.

On an individual psyochological basis this is a very positive and healthy trait, much more so than thinking of oneself as a victim, needless to say.

However when we collectively think that way there is a risk that the basic social safety net can unravel. The fact is that not everyone is going to be wealthy and successful. Without that safety net many people (possibly a scarily high percentage) will fall through the cracks. It is already happening.

But I am not worried, maybe I can strike gold before it happens to me!

Florida incident kinda sick

Played street hockey in Komazawa koen. Did not hurt myself too badly this time.

Been on the computer all the rest of the day.

That Florida child-abuction rape-murder incident was pretty creepy. I had seen the father on CNN a few weeks back, appealing to the nation to help search for his daughter. He was cautiously optimistic that she would be found.

Kind of depressing to look back at that now, after the end result.

Condi greeted by famous American

I didn't follow the details of her visit with the Japanese Prime Minister, but I wonder if she expected a Hawaiian-style sumo hug from a compatriot.

Back to square one

PROBLEM SEEMS TO HAVE RETURNED. WILL NEED TO CALL NIFTY.
Uninstalled Yahoo Messenger to see if this changes anything.

Working... for now at least!

• Internet seems to be working fine.
• Verified that I can also connect to iNAGO Japan and Canada VPNs and also access the internet simultaneously.
• Continue to watch out. If things do seem OK then will have to call NTT and report screwy router.

Called Nifty

Problem happening a fair bit, especially in Yahoo! Groups.

Called @nifty光ファイバー専用サポートセンター
0120-539-240
Spoke for a long time with Aihara-san, good guy.

• Try setting primary and secondary DNS in router.
• Still getting the problem.
• He asked if problem is limited to US sites.
• Confirmed that it also happened on Yahoo! Japan
• He suggested two possibilities: The router is buggy or there is a problem in some remote server somewhere.
• To verify the router I disconnected it and connected my PC directly to the modem.
• Had to add a new Nifty connection in Network Connections of the OS.

NTT Support guys arrive

• Difficult to reproduce problem.
• On both phone jacks - office and kitchen - they find something called a condenser.
• They remove the condensers.
• Still difficult to reproduce but happens.

Called NTT Support Line

• The guy said to compare both PCs, mine and Kasumi's.
• If both machines have the problem then pull the plug on PCs then router then modem, wait at least 10 min, turn on modem then router then PCs, and have a look.
• If it is still bad then call again.
• Still bad, so I called again. Scheduled support personnel to visit tomorrow.

Fascism by Consensus

It is well-known that in Japan, there seems to be an ingrained tendency in society to put the squeeze on people. As someone who has lived here for 14 years now, this blog finally gives me the chance to vent about it. It is not going to be the last time either. I think I will have to keep writing about it and writing about it till I get it right.

If this squeeze was merely a case of the rich oppressing the poor, or the strong oppressing the weak, well, I could intellectually deal with it. It has been the central ebb and flow of Western culture for the past few centuries right now. Colonialism, independence struggles, communism, fascism, wars both cold and hot, politics, philosophy, art, sex, the workplace, relationships, you name it. The struggle between the powerful and the powerless - not to mention struggling to know in which camp you stand from situation to situation - is part of our very life force.

Japan is unique in that it is the common people who are oppressive. It is not the politicians or the greedy corporation. It is the average working person or the average housewife.

You do not hear people talk much about oppression. Instead, typical conversation centers more on clamping down on he who is causing a nuisance. Nuisance is not what we think it is. What we may see as a small transgression or inconvenience is often viewed as a major disturbance.

Some examples: A foreigner in an apartment building puts out his garbage on the wrong day, a male office worker goes home early because his kid has a cold (“Is his wife incompetent?”, they whisper behind his back), a female office worker presses for greater accountability from her managers, a flamboyant wealthy young entrepreneur tries to buy a majority stake in a moribund but famous media company…

Nuisances all. But no worries, the average middle-class paragons of mediocrity who make up the vast majority of this country will put these people in their place, and good!

I hate to use this old saw but nothing describes my current sentiment better – in Japan the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.

Motivational Posters

I hate corporate insincerity. A lot can be written on this. For now let us just focus one obscure little corner of it.

Take those motivational posters and calendars that say have these messages about making great effort in your work, setting goals, and related platitudinous blather. Meanwhile your boss is an incompetent and mean-spirited dunce who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. Why doesn’t he go all the way and make a fool of himself and tell his staff that cleanliness is godliness? Or make his accounting section squat on the floor chant like the Cub Scouts, “We’ll do our best! We’ll do our best!” Do your best at what? Inflating the balance sheet?

I much prefer the slacker posters saying things like why do it today when you can procrastinate. Or telling you to stop and smell the roses, and if it is fun then just continue smelling the roses.

Companies will bring in some management consultant who will give a stock speech about work-life balance, and cookie-cutter statements on people being the most valuable resource. Then come next Monday management is back at its predatory ways.

I am not knocking a sincere love of excellence. I certainly have it (whether I always achieve it or not is a separate issue!). However, motivational posters and platitudes are just plain annoying if the company does not follow up on its side of the bargain.

B FLET'S connection is touch and go

Sometimes cannot connect to the internet. Sometimes I can but images are not downloaded.
No predictability. Same link, clicked a few seconds later, connects fine. Sometimes have to wait several minutes.

Hockey hurts

Played street hockey at Komazawa koen.

Really banged up my shin, particularly the left one.

I was hit in the same goddamned spot, TWICE, by sticks. And further up that same left shin I took a slapshot.

We have a rule against slapshots. But in the heat of the moment...

Soft

Went klubbing with Tanaka at a place called Soft, off Roppongi-dori near Shibuya.

Really nice cute peppy little place, all white shiny walls, pretty artsy.

A few performance art pieces and some dub. Then this great DJ comes on, playing all these oldies. I couldn't believe it. Phil Spector, The Crystals, all awesome stuff.

It was a pleasure to hang out with Tanaka that evening, one of the last true intellectuals. A cosmic dude.

All the young dudes, carry the news, boogaloo dudes, carry the news...

Yes, he is one of the few people I know in Japan with whom I can discuss Mott and the Hoople and that whole glam period.

Drank endless gin-and-tonics.

Left the place as dawn was breaking, took an early train from Shibuya to Ikebukuro. Did not want to wait for the train home so I took a taxi back.