Tag: japan

Understanding Homelessness in NYC: Myths and Realities

Living in New York City, as is the case in any major city throughout the world, one of the many daily occurrences you encounter is that of homelessness. As I walk into the subway and sit down, I expect some person claiming to be homeless and needing some help. I actually see the same person sometimes multiple times a week asking for money. I used to be pretty generous and give money to the homeless(especially if they had a visible handicap), but then one day I asked myself a question about why there were so many people who were homeless and what policy could be put into place to really address the problem.

First and foremost, homelessness, particularly in NYC, gets over-exaggerated. About less the one percent of New Yorkers are homeless. And to further break the number down, most homeless people suffer from either substance abuse or mental illness, which inhibits them from carrying out basic life necessities such as holding a steady job or maintaining basic hygiene. If you want to alleviate homelessness, more mental health hospitals and fewer shelters would prove much more effective. Now can we go around and put every homeless person who we suspect to be crazy and rush them to a mental institution no( at least not exactly) It would best be done through a system where a homeless person breaks a law such as public urination or vagrancy and having a psychiatrist do an evaluation to see if that person is susceptible to go into society and of course getting the person to consent to be institutionalized (unless the person is deemed a danger to himself or others and such consent wouldn’t be needed).

And second, the idea that I am going to give every homeless person who asks me for money throughout my day my hard-earned cash to encourage them further to beg doesn’t help anybody. It came to me one day that many homeless people actually are already receiving government assistance through disability and SSI checks that they beg because they know they can get over on people. A typical New York City subway train contains ten cars. So if you were homeless and ambitious enough to beg for money on every subway car and get at least two people to give you a dollar, you can earn twenty dollars per train. You hit five trains in a day, you can make up to a hundred dollars a day just begging for money(untaxed, mind you). So homelessness for some can be pretty lucrative.

If you don’t buy my point, look at how the Japanese deal with their homeless issues. Which can best be explained by watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK–oCVP18A. I myself had gotten a chance to visit Tokyo a few years back and was struck by how different homelessness was over there than it is here. First, no homeless person can ever be seen begging. Second, I didn’t encounter any homeless person who reeked of foul odor, as is the case in NYC(whole subway carts will be emptied just because passengers can’t take the smell of some of the homeless people in it). The third most homeless people live in these makeshift communities in the Tokyo subway systems.

I do believe that we should help people who are down on their luck for their sake and ours, but I just think we’re going the wrong way about it. And that by having an honest and more open dialogue, we’ll really help these downtrodden individuals.

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Why Asians are not underrepresented in Media

There has been a lot of anger spewed around on the grounds of Scarlett Johnson playing Major Motoko Kusanagi(A fictional Japanese Character) in the new Ghost in the Shell film, due for release sometime next year. My interest here is not to defend the producer’s casting choice, but to examine it from a different perspective.

First, let’s address the issue regarding Asians being underrepresented in the media. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Asians represent 4.8% of the U.S. population. The term ‘Asian’ doesn’t do well to convey the diversity of this population, which adheres to many different religions, speaks many different languages, is culturally quite diverse, and is quite phenotypically different from each other. The largest ethnicities counted among ‘Asians’ are Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, Koreans, and Japanese. Each group standing alone would barely make up 1% of the U.S population. Why I bring this to bear is that when arguing a group is underrepresented in something, we need to understand what percentage that group constitutes of the populace. Because Asians make up a relatively small minority of the United States, it seems logical that they would also make up a small percentage of what we see in the media.

The second point I would like to bear in mind is that people argue why filmmakers would cast a Caucasian lead in a film based on a Japanese property. It is essential to recognize that just because a movie is based on works from another culture, it doesn’t automatically mean the film will be set in that specific setting. Keep in mind that this is an American adaptation of a Japanese fictional story. Hence, casting actors that fit the American standards(which, according to the US Census, is still 60% white) isn’t that absurd. There are many instances, for example, when Japanese producers adapt American properties for their own market, casting Japanese actors in roles traditionally played by white actors. I think of the Japanese 1970s live-action Spider-Man TV show.

Finally, quite comically, is how the Japanese view this situation themselves. According to an article by Kotaku, internet comments from Japanese fans suggest that the Japanese themselves don’t view this as a significant issue. In fact, comments reflect how ironic it is that White people in the United States are bothered by this issue more than are Japanese people. I have attached the link to this article here… here…http://kotaku.com/the-japanese-internet-reacts-to-scarlet-johansson-in-gh-1771544034

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