Cultural Insensitivity

“Michael Jackson…he’s the guy that changed his face, right?” That’s what I was greeted to when students wanted to confirm his death with me. Even as I’m typing, I can’t believe it. It took me a couple of days to actually write because of the sheer shock I experienced. Seeing red background with bold white letters telling me that OUR Michael is gone after I check my mail wasn’t really my favorite way of being told. I go into the office that morning, upset but trying to hiding it because I didn’t want to make a scene. While still in shock, I sit down and just wait until I have class. Then one of the teachers decide to bring it up, albeit sensitively, which I appreciate. However, I found out 20 minutes before I went to work; I simply wasn’t prepared to talk about something so monumental; something even I didn’t fully understand, in Japanese. I didn’t mean to lash out but I said as politely as I could remember at the moment that I simply didn’t want to talk about it.

Afterwards, the female English teacher next to me, “Oh my gosh how terrible!” at my response of not wanting to talk about it. I talk about everything else with them, so clearly there’s something wrong if I don’t want to talk about something, and yet I still had to explain. It got to the point in where I could only say about two words and I would quickly stop because I knew if I opened my mouth and spoke anymore that I would start to cry. So after two words to make them understand, they left me alone, which I appreciated. However, I couldn’t act like this all day because I have to be bubbly and cheery for my students, like how my personality dictates. So, I go to my class, trying to forget about the news. I thought I was able to forget about it until unfortunately one of my students decide to bring it up and of course I don’t want to talk about it, but I have to for the students. I won’t be able to do him justice with my mind scrambled with confusion and sadness so I look towards the Japanese teacher I’m working with. She says that she knows him so I ask her to explain a little bit about him. As she’s relaying information while I stand there…something doesn’t sound quite right with her explanation. She lets me know during class when she confirms something, ”Michael Jackson…he’s the guy that changed his face, right?” Yes, this cultural insensitivity mess doesn't happen only from the foreigners' side onto Japanese people; it most certainly goes both ways.

……I try to hold in my fury and frustration with such tragic news in my mind while trying to explain to a noticeably apathetic group of Japanese kids, whose only concern was that they knew that he had a pretty sister and asked me to remind them of her name and after the face changing question that I’m SUPPOSED to confirm is true, the only thing I can get out is, “That doesn’t matter! What matters is his music and contributions to the music that ALL OF YOU are listening to!” I’ve never done that before so they know that it’s a big deal, but I didn’t want to get into it anymore, and started the class. I felt so tired after that, understanding that I’m being forced to once again talk about something that even I can’t fully wrap my mind around. Then the teacher says, ”Oh..well…our generation knows Michael Jackson…but I don’t think the generations after us do.” False, false and false. Just…no. I didn’t want to tell her that she’s absolutely wrong and it’s only people living in a country who decide to cut themselves off from the rest of the world around them are the ones who don’t know who the hell Michael Jackson is, but I wasn’t going to get into that in class at my emotional state at that time.

Most frustratingly don’t know about him, but I won’t make it my job to tell them anything and me and Keith were invited to a private art exhibition so I took off from work after my interview test with the students and after deciding that I should apologize for my outburst in my office, I was able to go back home before once again dealing with people who can’t comprehend the gravity of this situation. Damnit. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. In any case, from the students’ apathy, to the teachers not understanding why I was upset, to today when this stupid moron decides to “be funny” and tries to terribly and offensively do “The Moonwalk,” ask me if I know what it is and how to do it, and after shutting him down HARD, I’ve decided to say, “You know what, Japan? Nevermind about it.”