I'm a big fat unabashed lover of Japanese culture, its cinema legends, samurai related history, tasty teas, crazy precise tank model kits, Nintendo stuff, giant monsters, and the just plain wonderful weirdness that comes out of that island nation.As such, the wreckage of said nation has sat black with me. I'm certainly not Japanese, know no Japanese folks (natives), have no family in Japan or any other ties to that land. I should by all means not be a fan of Japan given that both my grandfathers spend lots of time dodging kamikaze attacks and type 38 Arisaka rounds.
However, it left me sad to see the videos of destruction and hear tales of people being swept away by walls of water. Then I started seeing images of victims with nothing left after the wave, waiting in orderly lines for a cup of water. Or patiently doling out equal cups of soup. Or taking up only a certain amount of space in the shelters. This adherence to fairness is self-imposed as well.
Cops don't have their hands completely full with jackasses jumping lines and bashing TVs onto puppies. It's astounding. Now they're not superbeings without greed, hate or avarice, I know that. But overall the public has responded in a much more civilized manner to such absolute desolation than, say, just about any group of Americans during the dreaded Black Friday sales. It's inspiring in a way.
Now, couple this devastated nation's plight with a pending nuclear catastrophe. What do you get in the news?
Americans buying every single ounce of fucking potassium iodide they can get their goddamn fucking shit hands on. Because people in LA are wondering how this radioactivity will affect them. Christ. Get over yourself America.
So this week's mood has gone from bleakness, then to respect, and now to anger. Woo. Hoo. I think I miss bad movie night more than ever, as it used to ease these things from my brain.
But, at the end of the day, Japan, you are still my hero. (But I think you already knew that.)
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