proud apologists

I've been getting some traffic for "apples and oranges" from a site called japologism dedicated to exposing openly engaging in apologetics on behalf of, and apparently free of charge for, Japanese power. Well you don't go to a neo-nazi rally and cry "racists!" and you don't expect, for the same reason, that crying "apologist" will be of much use in persuading people who openly embrace the charge. Oh well. This will be fun.

Something I posted at debito.org about this ad was reposted at the apologist site, as well:

ANA is just saying what everyone is thinking, only they’re making it a little more explicit. Arguably worse is the racism that hides, the microaggressions discussed a while back, including one that I haven’t seen discussed much, the word nihonjin itself. Nihonjin is a racist category and a racial slur against all who are not it. Tell a nihonjin that your blue-eyed child is a nihonjin by virtue of having grown up in Japan and the first point is proven by their dismissive reaction. The second is true because all racism is a slur against not-us races. Given that race is genetically baseless and that everywhere it exists it works on behalf of the in-group, there’s no other way it would exist in the first place except as racially motivated.

Followed by this dismissal: "Explicitly said calling yourself Japanese in your own language is implicitly racist."

That's an interesting use of the word "explicit." I said "nihonjin," which is not at all the same as "Japanese in your own language." When I say "Japanese," I mean the people of Japan. I do not mean the Japanese race. Because I prefer referents that do not arise from self-indulgent hallucination. Who are the people of Japan? I personally think it's unfortunate that humans cling so closely to regional identities at all, but in this case anyone who lives in Japan and wants people to think of them as a person of or from Japan. If you're born and raised in Japan, for example, and think that matters, you're Japanese. In that case, though, if you happen to have curly hair, and it's shocking I have to lay this out for people who apparently live in Japan and who have read the above quote where I made the point rather, uh, explicitly, you're not considered a nihonjin. Because nihonjin is a racial category. This is easily verifiable. I have two light-haired kids, born and raised in Japan. Absolutely no nihonjin thinks they're nihonjin. Because, again, it's a racial category.

"I don’t know if it’s a parody but at least it’s a fresh take on being an unselfaware asshat."

I dunno, what's behind door #3?

"He’s one of those people who thinks that the whole of Japanese society is a conspiracy against white male Eikaiwa teachers. He also thinks he’s a radical anti-racist, bless him, and a jolly serious philosopher. When Arudou finally gives up, can I nominate him to be the new Arudou? He’s got real potential. All we need to do is set up an onsen, and leave a trail of nachos up to the door."

Aaaaaaanddd...psychologizing, strawmen, condescension. I'm not above the last of those, fine, but psychologizing should be the icing on the cake after you've exposed incoherence, as opposed to the only thing you've got. And strawmanning is probably always bullshit.

That's it. That's the collective response, so far. Personal attacks, dickheadery, fallacies, piss poor hermeneutical skills, in-group yeah-we-get-it winkery...not a single coherent rebuttal.