I’ve heard a lot about the dark side of the Japanese culture, but now I’ve got it resting on my doorstep. It’s been very educational, in a certain sense, about the strong necessity of compliance to social norms. In America, we tend to hold famous people to a higher standard than others, Tiger Woods is a good example. When information leaked out of his affairs, the public went wild, practically demanding as much information as possible, for no real goal other than gossip.
Not that Americans have a corner on the market… The British practically have an entire segment of their media economy based on gossip and innuendo, as well as many other first world nations. Now think about this…What if a bunch of random strangers, from points all over the world, suddenly took that much of an interest into your life? And by interest, I mean, scouring the internet trying to find out EVERYTHING they can about you, your family, or anyone close to you? Spreading lies, innuendo, threats, and general harassment, simply because, in their eyes, you stepped out of line of the social norms that they decide.
Why? For the simple reason that they didn’t agree with you, and they decided to post on 2chan about it…
Read the rest of this entry »
