u crazy ah, give him that book for what? show him that japanese sux?Originally posted by alexkusu:I gave a book entitled "Rape of Nanking" by Iris Chengs to a male japanese friend for his birthday...... my japanese gf said it is offensive.. do u think its offensive? at least they should remember the past right? is it wrong of me to give him that book? any thoughts? comments?
actually not true. u know that japanese their history lessons only teach the good things. the horrible things they did to singapore etc, are not in their textbooksOriginally posted by gerrykoh:Yah, nobody likes to be reminded of what their pple did esp war crimes.
I'm sure he is aware cos all these info are easily avail.
Point taken.I was thinking he is a bookworm..so a book would be a good idea.Didnt meant to rub it in....thinking about it,my actions may have consequent implications..i think i should find out what he thinks of the 'gift'...but that would be rubbing it in isnt it?Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:I think it is insensitive ba. Most of the time for birthdays, the intention is to give a gift that would please the person and make him happy.
I think you could have discussed the war with your friend, offered to get him the book (or other non fiction books), brought him to the museum etc, on any other day than on his birthday. Still, you got to remember as you said, that many young Japanese have no idea what happened. Also it is not their fault, they shouldn't need to carry the guilt of their forebears.
Educating and letting them learn something new, should also be done with a degree of sensitivity. To rub it in right to his nose on his birthday is not something very polite. I am sure you won't enjoy having someone give you a book which suddenly lets you know your family/race was guilty of genocide or massacres on your birthday either.
It's been more than 50 years, it is time for education AND reconciliation.
i think you need to apologise for the faux pas.. and.. Hmm... if he is a sensitive person, and the Japanese have a lot of racial pride... it will be pretty devastating to him. A friend of mine who read the book was quite affected by the graphic portrayals. and she's neither Japanese or Chinese.Originally posted by alexkusu:Point taken.I was thinking he is a bookworm..so a book would be a good idea.Didnt meant to rub it in....thinking about it,my actions may have consequent implications..i think i should find out what he thinks of the 'gift'...but that would be rubbing it in isnt it?