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Japanese NBA player Hachimura, brother targeted with racial slurs

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So many keyboard warriors who love to spew their hate.

How sad

25 ( +27 / -2 )

Hardly surprising. My son is keen to represent Japan in his chosen sport, and I'd say there is a high chance he will, but we have already had the chat around the fact that there are some idiots in Japan who will make an issue out of the fact that he is of mixed ancestry.

23 ( +25 / -2 )

Unfortunately being Japanese still means you must look Japanese.

Your passport and what you’ve done your whole life is also subject to scrutiny, if you are mixed blood.

Osaka Naomi and Hachimura are World Class athletes, but still second class citizens in the eyes of some.

18 ( +24 / -6 )

Start charging these chicken trolls with hate speech.

12 ( +15 / -3 )

So many keyboard warriors who love to spew their hate.

That's what anonimity and a platform does to people: it makes the worst scum become very vocal. You can be sure that guy would never say any of that to Allen and his 198cms in person.

15 ( +17 / -2 )

Some people say racial discrimination does not exist in Japan," the younger Hachimura, 21, said in his post. "But I would like the public to take an interest in the matter."

Ok, I get he is Japanese, but if he is going to put this out here and use it to "educate" the people about racial discrimination in Japan, it would have been nice for him to point out exactly whom he thinks "say racial discrimination does not exist in Japan!"

ANYONE who is either a racial minority, or a foreigner here has ample evidence to share that supports the discrimination that does exist, and for it to have any change at being changed, there is no need to hide behind an overly generalize statement like this!

1 ( +10 / -9 )

Akula,

best of luck to your son. Anyone with mixed race children has had to have that talk.

Several years ago, when I had a hotter temper (and much less body fat), I was taking my mixed race Japanese daughters to school on the train when a day labor oyaji, whom I suspect was drunk at 8 AM, asked where they were from. I said Japan. He said “They’re not real Japanese. We almost had a go right there on the train. Interestingly enough, it was my older daughter who calmed me down. She said, “Dad, if you fight every person who says that to me, you’re going to be dead or in jail.” Smart kid and no, she didn’t get it from me.

19 ( +22 / -3 )

Pathetic.

Anyone who attacks another person because they look different is nothing more than an idiot whose parents never taught them how to behave.

Stupid children who need to grow up.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

It is odd to me how this seems to happen more in sports than in other places. The only time a slur was (openly) used against my son was at a soccer game. A kid on the other team ran up to him and called him "gaijin-me" after the game (my son's team won the game and the kid who said it was my son's mark on defense). The other team's coach quickly dealt with it. And the only time a comment was made about my daughter was at her ice skating lesson - a mother noted that my daughter was not a flexible as the other girls because she is mixed (WTF?). I could actually hear some of the other parents roll their eyes. All other aspects of their life - school, friends, clubs, out in public...nothing has happened. But sports, the seems to bring out the worst in some folks.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Sickening. These racist cowards are probably 160cm/45kg, so tough behind their keyboard. They would NEVER have the guts to confront Hachimura in person.

Get the police involved and go after the scum!

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Ah twitter. The platform where millions of users made from countless different countries and races around the world hurl insults at each other while pretending to be someone else there. It isn't even strange for sport stars to experience this. You get a lot of pretenders acting as fans to go in and throw insult or threat at you. The best these famous people can do is just ignore it and why even bother having it open for public. Just keep it private. Most of these social media platforms of these famous people are just where people go to fight each other for all kind of different reasons. This is why i don't follow them. All they do is follow the world trends and then tweets about it and act like they also a part of it.

We live now in a era where everything you say or do might somehow offend someone from somewhere. You cannot even enjoy entertainment anymore without someone getting into your face and try to teach you some moral lesson about the world. I miss the old times.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

You tell me one which one is worse? 

All forms of racism are abhorrent, and only very racist people with incomprehensible agendas would try to "rank" them. And you would have to be a special kind of crazy to think that Rui Hachimura, who is actually half-japanese, doesn't care about what happens to asian people in the US and doesn't condemn anti-asian hate.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

I’m very sorry for the Hachimura and I think this passive discrimination is extremely bad.

I can see that the Whatabout people already started to point to others in order to avoid the dark side of their country.

This isn’t doing good to Japan as society.

Anyway categorize the whole “west” again is incorrect and hypocrite.

I wonder if the whatabautist will feel right if we categorize Japan with all the “easterns” including China.

Hypocricy is a bad illness,and no wonder why Japan in world statistics is counted as one of the most xenophobe and racist society in the planet.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

I have never gotten the race=skin color thing. It is such a minor difference, but we make it such a big thing. If there were a "race" of humans with 5 arms and 5 legs and 2 heads, that might be interesting.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

@Eisenach

You tell me one which one is worse? In America, Asian are getting their faces kicked in everyday mostly by blacks. Yet Hachimura has said nothing. Maybe he should take an "interest in the matter."

This isn't the place to talk about because this article is on something different. But I will use this as a teaching moment for you. Why compare the two? Why try to invalidate one by bringing up another? They are both horrible incidents and need to addressed. Not used against each other.

Next, The FBI has been investigating and they have tons of factual information for you to look at. One particular interesting piece of info is the fact that 86% of the hate crimes against Asians reported have identified a white male as the perpetrator. Just because the media shows something, it doesn't make it a majority or the full truth. Less than 9% were reported at African American/black. Then a smaller percentage was reported as unknown and then Latino rounding out the remaining.

Also, why does his brother commenting on something that happened to him, in his home country of Japan, warrant a U.S. reference? That is akin to speaking about the Japanese government spending on night time parties during the pandemic and you use the U.S. as a reason to defend it. It is irrelevant.

14 ( +16 / -2 )

@Yubaru

Ok, I get he is Japanese, but if he is going to put this out here and use it to "educate" the people about racial discrimination in Japan, it would have been nice for him to point out exactly whom he thinks "say racial discrimination does not exist in Japan!"

I understand what you are saying. But one big thing about the article and even his comments is that it assumes that users are familiar with several high ranking Japanese politicians that have expressly stated that there is no discrimination in Japan. This has happened quite a few times since the beginning of the pandemic to current. We, as foreigners, are well aware of the issues that are here. The article and Hachimura simply assumes that we know all of this because some of the comments by politicians have been featured in articles in the AP, New York Times, and other places.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Osaka Naomi and Hachimura are World Class athletes, but still second class citizens in the eyes of some.

Indeed. One only has to read the comments online, to see the hatred there.

On a personal level, I've experienced more bigotry online in Japan than from random people in the street. Not that it doesn't happen, natch. But people seem to be, er, "braver", behind the keyboard.

Black, white, gay, straight, whatever religion you are or aren't - there is strength in unity. The bigots will not win.

They will not win.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Eisenach Today  08:47 am JST

Hey Hachimura,

What do you think about this:

Japanese woman assaulted in US reflects on anti-Asian hate crime spike:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210421/p2a/00m/0in/023000c

Hey Hachimura take an "interest in the matter." Since you live in the US.

How does his commenting on the racism he has experienced from Japanese about his black ancestry discredit or diminish the current racist-based attacks faced by Asians in the US? Both are repugnant and demonstrate that racism is a constant threat to society all over the world. For all we know, he may have been subjected to racism for his Asian ancestry in the US as well.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

I face racism everyday at work. Not only from my colleagues, but also from suppliers I deal with. Suppliers my company pay so much money to. I just deal with it smartly and never let them put me down.

I hope Hachimura San and his brother will learn to deal with this issue better as they grow older.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Just because the media shows something, it doesn't make it a majority or the full truth. 

NOW you want to discredit the media. I see! Anyways the best media is local media because they tend to take a more neutral approach on crimes regardless of skin color. Mass media only focuses on crime committed by white people.

-10 ( +0 / -10 )

Yubaru

As a mixed Japanese myself, I know exactly what he is talking about.

In Japan its a very common thing to say, that there is no discrimination.

He is addressing that ideology.

Many people are shocked that folks don’t rent to foreigners, or that banks don’t give credit cards to non Japanese. The issues should be addressed, and the notion that racism doesnt exist here is a big one.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

KenToday  11:00 am JST

But if Japan want's"pure japanese"whatever that means to live in peace abroad,they better think hard.Word spreads like a bushfire in the current world.As Iam writing this,I've already forwarded it to my family and buddies overseas.

Are you actively encouraging your "family and buddies overseas" to attack Japanese in some way? That's going to get you into a lot of trouble; do you think you're anonymous here?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Of course they’ll gladly keep the Japanese endorsement cash rolling in.

I’m guessing the support they get in Japan is overwhelming.

So why the focus on these mystery hate messages?

Resucitate sympathy for the American-hating BLM?

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

@Nomination

NOW you want to discredit the media. I see! Anyways the best media is local media because they tend to take a more neutral approach on crimes regardless of skin color. Mass media only focuses on crime committed by white people.

No one discredited the media. They showed videos but they have never once said that it was mostly black people. Mass media does not only focus on crime by whites. But understand that when 77% of crime in America is committed by white people, it is hard for that not to show up in the media.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Happy Day

Of course they’ll gladly keep the Japanese endorsement cash rolling in.

I’m guessing the support they get in Japan is overwhelming.

So why the focus on these mystery hate messages?

Resucitate sympathy for the American-hating BLM?

Sec... are you asserting that the people involved in BLM in the US are "American-hating"?

Or - given that BLM are protesting the unjust killing of black citizenry by the police - are you asserting that said questionable policing is inherently American...

I guess from the overall tone of your message that it's the former, tho' the latter might be (sadly) closer to the truth.

Champ? You can love something, and still see the flaws.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Osaka Naomi and Hachimura are World Class athletes, but still second class citizens in the eyes of some.

With Osaka it is somewhat understandable since she doesn't speak a lick of Japanese and would have chosen USA if they sponsored her.

The Hachimuras are as Japanese as they come, though.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Resucitate sympathy for the American-hating BLM?

They called Civil Rights protesters communists and America-haters, too.

There will always be those who will try and smear the brave people who stand up against inherent racism.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Just ignore the idiots.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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