DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - South American views on Nikkei South Americans

**bestonlinepharmasy2** · 04-12-2012, 06:07 AM

If you're not South American or of South American descent, then this topic may be incomprehensible to you.

As a person from a Brazilian background, I've noticed that some Brazilians coin a Brazilian of Japanese descent as "Japanese", even if they're a fourth-generation Brazilian who can't speak a lick of Japanese.

For example, the other day, a Brazilian woman (of non-Japanese descent) was telling my parents a story about a couple in Brazil who were expecting, and just to clarify, neither the wife or husband had Japanese ancestry. She said that when their baby was born, the husband asked her why the baby was Japanese. In short, he suspected that she had fooled around with a nikkei. But, what puzzles me is that he referred to the baby as Japanese, when the baby is: #1) Brazilian, and #2) has a mother of non-Japanese descent.

What I don't understand is why some Brazilians, and I'm talking about a sizable percentage here, persist on referring to nikkei Brazilians as Japanese? The vast majority of nikkei Brazilians don't even speak Japanese. Also, many even go as far to refer to the admixed nikkei Brazilians as "Japanese" as well. Every time I hear a Brazilian refer to admixed nikkei as "uma mistura de brasileiros com japoneses", I cringe, because it makes absolutely no sense. I've read stories by many nikkei Brazilians, both unmixed and admixed, who get labeled as Japanese by many Brazilians. How come they're Japanese, yet Xuxa and Gisele are Brazilian? Why isn't Xuxa Austrian? Why isn't Gisele German? Why isn't Gugu Liberato Portuguese? Why isn't José Serra Italian? Why are they exceptions and yet not the Brazilians of Japanese and/or Asian descent? I find this lack of respect fundamentally racist.

I read that Peru is much more inclusive when it comes to their nikkei community. The Peruvian mentality is "todos somos peruanos". Is this sense of inclusion derived from the fact Peru has a larger percentage of people of Asian descent?

Most Americans will refer to any person born and raised in the States as American, regardless of their ancestry. Brazil promotes itself as a multiethnic society, but how come some of them make an exception when it comes to Asian Brazilians? I think it's obnoxiously hypocritical. As far as unity goes, Peru and the U.S. seem to be the most inclusive societies when it comes to their citizens.

04-12-2012, 06:07 AM	#1
bestonlinepharmasy2 Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 514 Senior Member	South American views on Nikkei South Americans If you're not South American or of South American descent, then this topic may be incomprehensible to you. As a person from a Brazilian background, I've noticed that some Brazilians coin a Brazilian of Japanese descent as "Japanese", even if they're a fourth-generation Brazilian who can't speak a lick of Japanese. For example, the other day, a Brazilian woman (of non-Japanese descent) was telling my parents a story about a couple in Brazil who were expecting, and just to clarify, neither the wife or husband had Japanese ancestry. She said that when their baby was born, the husband asked her why the baby was Japanese. In short, he suspected that she had fooled around with a nikkei. But, what puzzles me is that he referred to the baby as Japanese, when the baby is: #1) Brazilian, and #2) has a mother of non-Japanese descent. What I don't understand is why some Brazilians, and I'm talking about a sizable percentage here, persist on referring to nikkei Brazilians as Japanese? The vast majority of nikkei Brazilians don't even speak Japanese. Also, many even go as far to refer to the admixed nikkei Brazilians as "Japanese" as well. Every time I hear a Brazilian refer to admixed nikkei as "uma mistura de brasileiros com japoneses", I cringe, because it makes absolutely no sense. I've read stories by many nikkei Brazilians, both unmixed and admixed, who get labeled as Japanese by many Brazilians. How come they're Japanese, yet Xuxa and Gisele are Brazilian? Why isn't Xuxa Austrian? Why isn't Gisele German? Why isn't Gugu Liberato Portuguese? Why isn't José Serra Italian? Why are they exceptions and yet not the Brazilians of Japanese and/or Asian descent? I find this lack of respect fundamentally racist. I read that Peru is much more inclusive when it comes to their nikkei community. The Peruvian mentality is "todos somos peruanos". Is this sense of inclusion derived from the fact Peru has a larger percentage of people of Asian descent? Most Americans will refer to any person born and raised in the States as American, regardless of their ancestry. Brazil promotes itself as a multiethnic society, but how come some of them make an exception when it comes to Asian Brazilians? I think it's obnoxiously hypocritical. As far as unity goes, Peru and the U.S. seem to be the most inclusive societies when it comes to their citizens.
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