The Diary Of a Tired Japanese.

3. Spreading awareness?

I notice a lot of books about 'POC' face claims.
My first thought?
"What in the world is POC?"

When I see something I don't understand, I go to my university's library, or one of my foreign friends.
I could Google it, yes. But sometimes Google just makes me even more confused because I don't have the knowledge to understand some of the things.
Also, when I Googled POC, I came up with 'Proof Of Concept'.
Isn't that, like, an incomplete demonstration or something?

So I asked my good Moroccan friend.
"Hey Kamal, what's POC?"
"Hmm... I think it means 'Person Of Color'. Or not. Maybe it's something else. Maybe it's Pile Of Chocolates."
"I know you're addicted to chocolate and coffee but you're not being helpful."

What exactly does Person Of Color mean...
Am I a person of color? Or is that a term not used for Asians? Isn't that a bit, I don't know, strange...?
Like when I was teaching one of the my students at the cram school I work at, we were reading an English document about racial discrimination. He got angry when he read that because he didn't know about it.
He said "Asians are being humiliated! We are being discriminated because we look different from Westerners! We need to do something about it! Japanese are as good as others! The world should hire more Japanese!"
I was like, ooookaaaayyyy.....
I wonder if the child remembers what he just said.
Isn't 'Hire more Japanese' already discriminating them?
You're going to hire them because they're 'Japanese', right?
That's saying that they're different.
But then, we wouldn't even have that conversation if there wasn't a problem in the world so it's like the Egg and the Chicken, which came first?

This is why I like Japan. We really, don't care where you're from. What you look like. True, Japan isn't on very good terms with China. We haven't been getting along with South Korea either. But that's the government's problem, right? The majority of the people don't care about the government.

You're a foreigner? Welcome to Japan!
As long as you respect our rules, you are respected.
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR APPEARANCE.
NO ONE CARES ABOUT WHO YOU LIKE.
Don't cause trouble and you're welcome to stay as long you want.
We don't have arguments because it's not a problem.
Japan is a country where more than 90% of the people don't give a hoot about religion.
You believe in something? Okay. Don't trouble others and you're fine.

If any of you feel harassed in your country, feel free to come to Japan. Find a place, find a job, keep out of trouble, and every one loves you.
Oh, and learn to speak Japanese.
That's one of the rules.

-Noise