Tokyo's Geek Ghetto 488
anaesthetica writes "The Washington Post is running a story on Tokyo's "Geek Ghetto" which has arisen in the city's electronics retail district, "Electric Town." From the article: "We have been discriminated against for being different, but now we have come together and turned this neighborhood into a place of our own.... In Akihabara, we don't need to be ashamed of who we are and what we like.... We can feel comfortable because here, we outnumber everyone else." There are concerns, however, that the total immersion in escapist culture may be causing social problems, including a growing number of shut-ins." I've gone to Tokyo 3x and visited Akihabara all three times. Highly recommended for anime fans and techies.
Re:Geek persecution (Score:4, Insightful)
I've never been persecuted. I might be a geek, but I am also so many other things. Labels are stupid.
Re:Will not be a problem... (Score:5, Insightful)
So: hello, speciation.
Anime != geek!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
I play with Linux, computers and build things, but I have never really liked Anime, and I got over my comics phase when I was a teenager. In my spare time I sometimes play with the computers, but I also enjoy GETTING AWAY from the computer and play my son, go bicyling, play in the garden, etc.
Re:Geek persecution (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone ever been to a *IT? (Score:3, Insightful)
are you kidding me? (Score:4, Insightful)
A nice beach - cold beer - girls - bikinis!
The purpose of a vacation is to ESCAPE - the last thing I want to see is technology and be surrounded by GEEKS.
(no offense guys)
Who pays for shut-ins? (Score:1, Insightful)
What happens when whoever is paying for you to mantain your lifestyle stops doing so? Hikikomori can isolate themselves for years, and when they emerge from their isolation, they are very poorly equiped to handle reality. This poses all sorts of problems for them because they don't know how to support themselves. If they can't get a job or a home, that is society's problem because society has an intrest in reducing the number of homeless people.
Re:Why not in the US (Score:2, Insightful)
Similar problem in the US (Score:3, Insightful)
However, in Japan, my perception as a Gaijin is that Japan's social structure is far far more rigid. You fly this way, or else face social rejection!
Why do geeks in the US withdraw into themselves? Because society shuns them! Why to geeks in Japan withdraw into their houses? Because society shuns them!
My point? Well the article misses the problem because it suffers from the US perception of geeks as weird and shunned. The problem is not the geek, it's the people who shun them. Maybe society needs to be more accepting of these peoples behaviors and appearances add not judge them on actions that do not hurt other people. Otherwise it's society itself that's to blame for people who cannot interact with the rest of society.
Re:Why not in the US (Score:3, Insightful)
But they are social zeros because they can't get a date
Unfortunately, at least in the US, being a geek is kind of synonymous with being ugly. We are expected to be ugly. Some of us even became geeks mostly because we were ugly. A super good looking geek is kind of a brain twister for most girls. I have met a few in my life and, yes, they all had really hot girlfriends. I don't think those girls thought of them as geeks, although they actually were.
I just figure I wouldn't have as much time to pursue my geeky interests if I had a girlfriend. Haha! More time to work on my latest game or assembly app or Lightwave model of the perfect female face...
Re:Anime != geek!!! (Score:3, Insightful)
Isn't that what a geek is? Someone with interests outside the mainstream?
Oh the irony...
Re:Geek persecution for a reason maybe? (Score:5, Insightful)
Here in the USA, we have restaurants where women are paid to dress up in tiny orange shorts, white tank tops, sneakers and pantyhose. A while back there were clubs with women in satin bustiers, hose, high heels and rabbit ears that catered to the wealthiest businessmen. The servers in many casinos wear skin-tastic outfits that aren't remotely grounded in typical dress standards.
The shut-in part is certainly an unhealthy lifestyle, but there's nothing particularly odd about enjoying waitresses in 'fetish' costumes, particularly when common denominator is lots of exposed skin.
Re:Persecuted? (Score:3, Insightful)
You were lucky, and I suspect you're younger than I am. Being geeky/nerdy/smart is not seen as big a negative as it used to be. Now it is cool to know about computers and the Internet. Back when I was in school most of the kids didn't really know or care what a computer was. All they cared about was I was different and my parents weren't rich. That made me the target-dejour.
You should think about what you said though, do you realize just how "high and mighty" you've come across in your post? You sound just like the people you're saying deserve to be persecuted.
And for the record _NO ONE_ ever deserves to be persecuted. If you don't like them, ignore them and avoid them, but don't treat them poorly. How you treat others speaks more about you than it does them. I never persecute people, I've been through enough of it myself and know how dehumanizing that experience is. If I think they're an idiot or don't like them I just ignore them and get away from them as soon as I can. But I _DO_ treat them with respect and courtesy, even if they're jerks to me. I'm not going to become an asshole because of someone else's attitude. If you want to, fine, but I'm not lowering myself to that level.
Being good-looking isn't the only issue (Score:3, Insightful)
So good looks aren't everything; there are also basic social skills, not talking in a monotone, making eye contact, basic personal hygiene, and being able to hold a conversation about things outside of one's narrow field of specialisation (be it microprogramming, football, the history of punk rock or whatever). And, of course, the skills that come from repeated social interaction with people who don't necessarily share one's interests shouldn't be ignored.
Re:Being good-looking isn't the only issue (Score:2, Insightful)
you're forgetting about money.
Re:It's important to note... (Score:4, Insightful)
Apparently you are the "live to work" type, while your friend is more in the "work to live" camp.
As the famous philosopher Torquato Tasso said "Any time not spent on love is wasted." Sometimes those personal projects we like to think are important are really just an excuse to avoid social interaction. (trust me, I've wasted more than enough time in this manner)
Re:It's important to note... (Score:3, Insightful)
Do not measure the meaningfulness of a person's life by how much they achieve, but by how happy they are with their life. If you can sit around in the bottom of a ditch covered in shit and truthfully say that you have nothing to regret and would not have it any other way and are happy, then your life is far more meaningful than someone who is rich, has a handsome spouse, and all of the modern conveniences, and is miserable with them.
Re:It's important to note... (Score:3, Insightful)