Hey guys!
I have a very special guest on my channel today
This is Baye McNeil
Hello
He's an author
He has a column in the Japan Times
He does lots of cool things, so I'm gonna get him to tell you guys a little more about himself
But today we're going to be talking about racism in Japan
So we're going to go a little bit into his experience as a black man in Japan
And just kind of, you know, let you guys know what it's like here
Just so you're not worried about the things you may have heard on the internet
Or some assumptions you might have about Japanese people and stuff like that
Maybe tell them about how long you've been in Japan
Well I've been living here 12 years, I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York
I came here to teach for Nova and
I've since then started writing and stuff
At first I kept a blog called Loco Yokohama
I started that in 2008
And it got really popular and then based on that I wrote a couple of books
So the first book was called "Hi! My Name is Loco and I am a Racist"
And the second book is called "Loco in Yokohama"
And based on the strength of that, other opportunities presented themselves
Like the opportunity to write for the Japan Times
So that's how I became a columnist for the Japan Times
His blog got really popular because unlike many other people he's not to share his completely truthful experiences
Yeah it's pretty frank
Were you worried at first about how people might react to that?
No. No I wasn't worried about that, because I've always been pretty direct
Right
In person and in writing
Right, I think that's so cool
Me, myself, I'm always worried about what I say on camera
I want to keep my channel very positive and I don't like to talk about my negative experiences
But then I see people like Baya and I'm like damn that's so cool that he doesn't care how people react
He's able to just lay it all out and tell everyone about it
I read his book, his first book, and I was just blown away by all the experiences that he talks about
I could relate to some of them
Some of them were, of course, were a lot different than the experiences I've had as a white girl in Japan
I just think it's a book that any of you guys would really enjoy
Just because of how truthful it was
Oh thank you
I'm not... I hate books, I don't read books
I'm sorry, I'm very much like an internet article, short attention span kind of girl
But I read his book in a good 4 days, I couldn't put it down
I really really enjoyed it, so yeah, thank you for sharing it with me
It was nice to be able to relate with some of the experiences
Oh yeah?
Which one's did you relate with?
The train one, a lot
Even, like, maybe tell them about that so they know what we're talking about
I call it the empty seat phenomenon. A lot of times when you get on a train in Japan
You might find that, while all the other seats are occupied, the seat beside you is not
I'm sure that occurs for a number of reasons
You know, I think over the course of the 12 years I've been here, I've processed the reason
It has changed, it has evolved over the years
Yeah
From 'these are racist people!' to 'maybe they just don't understand English and they're uncomfortable too
You know, so it's evolved but the whole thing. You're processing as a person. It's impossible to ignore
Exactly
Completely. So, you're trying to attribute a cause to it and sometimes that cause is..
It's a reflection of who you are more so than what they are
You know nothing about them
That's so true. You have these assumptions like 'why don't these people want to sit next to me?'
And usually your first assumption is like 'they're racist'
'They hate white people' 'they hate black people' but now that I've lived here for 10 years and you've been here for 12
I think we can both say they do not hate white people. They do not hate black people
And the majority, the huge majority, of Japanese people don't have any negative feelings towards us
I think it's more of like an awkward, they're more like, kind of worried
I'd say that it varies from, it's case by case situation
I think that it's a rare case that it's about hate but think that it is prompted by fear
What that fear is, you will never know unless you can read minds
I think the most important thing is how you process it as opposed to trying to figure out why they're doing it
That's so true
That's going to impact your experience here. How you process the behavior that's taking place around you
Right. And how you interact with Japanese people. If you try to keep a positive mindset about it
They're going to warm up to you as, because they're going to see that your friendly, easy to talk to person
And you're not judging them negatively
And that's exactly how it's worked out
Yeah, so I really recommend reading his book if you're interested in the experience of a foreigner in Japan
I think you'll get a really good look into a truthful, a truthful look into what it's like here
Also he has a Kickstarter going right now because you want to get your book translated into Japanese
Yeah, I mean, I think after living here for as long as I have, I've learned a lot about Japanese people
It's kind of limited, how much they can learn about me because of language and cultural differences
But I think once I've gotten this book translated to Japanese, I can build a stronger bond with people
Because they'll have a better understanding of where I come from
Exactly
And where people outside of Japan come from. The translator I found, she's magnificent
I think we're going to really do a fantastic job, we just need the funding to get it done
He's trying to raise $5,000 to get this book translated into Japanese
So if any of you guys are looking to back this cause, please go check out his Kickstarter
I will put the link down below
Do you have any advice you could give?
I've had a couple viewers comment: I'm scared to go to Japan because I'm black and I think they'll hate me
That's ridiculous
There's no reason to be afraid to come to Japan. Just come here, be yourself
And take it day by day, you know
There are assholes everywhere
Oh yeah
As far as racism being an issue here in Japan
Like the kind of violent racism you might be thinking of when you hear that word, it doesn't occur here
I have't seen it, at least not against black people
That's not even something you should be concerned about
I think for the most part the only thing you could be concerned about
Is how you approach Japanese people and what kind of energy you bring to each interaction
If you keep that positive, for the most part, your experience here is going to be positive as well
For sure
I've been here 10 years, and I can only think of a handful of negative experiences that I've had
And really the only super racist experience I've had would be this, I think he was homeless, this homeless
Man yelled at me "go home white pig"
Jesus
And that never happens! But you guys will see articles online
Talking about these experiences because it stands out in peoples' minds and they want to talk about it
That is so rare!
It is very rare
So rare
12 years here, and I've heard the 'N' word one time from a Japanese person, 12 years
I think the person was out of their mind on the train
Exactly
Just walking around raving, that's not the kind of stuff that happens here at all
You get those kinds of people everywhere
You're not going to come across it more in Japan
I just want you guys to feel comfortable coming to Japan
And not worry about racism
Of course it exists here, it exists everywhere
I don't think that it's something you guys need to be worried about
I agree
Thank you so much for coming!
You're welcome! Thank you for having me I appreciate it
To me and my viewers today
Please go check out his kickstarter you guys! I really want to see this backed
I really want Japanese people to be able to enjoy his book as much as I did
And kind of learn about our side of things
Thanks, and I'll see you guys soon! Bye!