Why I hate weeaboos so much.

[Roxas]

So it really goes without saying I dislike weeaboos. The question is, why? For those who don't know what a weeb is:

Weeaboo: An individual who has taken a strong, fanatic interest into anime and manga, to the point where they think it is the heart of Japanese culture and is superior to all other forms of culture. They also attempt to learn Japanese solely through the anime they watch and bastardize the language by speaking Japanglish. They will respond unfairly to those who dislike their antics or culture.

Back to the point...

I hate weeaboos mostly because I can't admit that I love Japanese culture anymore. I do love American culture and politics (in fact I'm a non-radical nationalist) with a healthy appreciation of Japanese culture, far beyond the otaku sub-culture. I don't even shove culture in people's faces, or imagine characters as my significant other (waifu) or speak Japanglish. I talk mostly about what common interests there are between a person and I.

I also have a realistic view of companionship, along with a humble, elementary level of speaking Japanese. Beginner, no. Elementary, yes. I'm at a point where I can and will call out flaws in pronounciation and sentence structure, whether it be a misinformed person, or a form of media (that means you, Mortal Kombat X).

Nowadays whenever I recommend anything linked to Japan, I make sure to explain it in the most Western way possible. This means I only recommend light novels in contrast to manga and anime. If I find a genuinely amazing game, I'll recommend that (but will forewarn the anime aspects).

Unfortunately, this is not enough for people. No matter how many times I explain this widely accepted definition of a weeb, I still get called a weeb for having very modest interests in Japan, i.e. wearing a jacket with Japanese on it, wearing a pin from a Japanese expo that is worn in memorial of a family member.

Basically, I get called an insult because liking Japan in ANY way, shape, or form is laughable in the eyes of many. I get told by people that they are just messing with me, but it happens so often that I often respond with my own joking name-calling that usually offends someone, and then my same friend is all "stop stop stop". Whenever I say a name it's always "I'll punch you in the nuts", but when I get called a weeaboo, it's "they're just messing with you Riley."

This is the prime example why I hate weeaboos because they ruined the reputation of having interests in Japanese culture and gave it a more stereotyped look. I would put this in the vent thread, but I was wondering. Do you agree or disagree that weeaboos have made a bad name for Japanese culture, that it has almost ruined it for you?

[SuperSceptile]

Reading through the whole thing, I still believe this belongs in the Vent Thread. Next time, title it appropriately.

[Great Lord Diego]

To me, it seems that you're more pissed towards the society for their missconceptions about a certain group of people, than the actual group of people you're being compared to.
In which case, 3 things to say:

1) Sorry bro, Society sucks at times.
2) By focusing your anger on the wrong place, you're not being better than the people that does the same to you.
3) Enjoy your stuff, and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist. That's what we all do :D

[Majorasfan]

Of course they ruined interest in Japanese culture. There is a strong number of people in the anime fandom that I would seriously say fall into that category (while the rest of us jokingly call ourselves that knowing it's not the truth). Those people that have to know what they're doing is annoying but do it and say it anyway. It's pretty disappointing to see such people and think about how those people are what represent your interest.

I openly claim to like anime quite a bit (as everyone here knows) but I actually don't have a very strong interest in Japanese culture, honestly. It's a weird thing, but I've never been interested in feudal Japan, samurai, or anything like that. When people assume I love those sort of things because I like anime, I actually get pretty agitated. Even modern Japan I only like to an extent, mostly related to the entertainment industry (video games, anime, etc). The thing is, I realize this and don't claim Japan has "superior culture" or any of that stuff. Heck, it's probably the Western influences that make me enjoy certain stuff so much as it is. That's not to say I hate Japan or anything, but I really only like certain aspects of the entertainment industry. My true heart lies in American and European entertainment, but anyone who knows me knows that I have an extremely obsessive personality. I take one thing, and devour everything I can about it. "Anime" is a pretty big thing, but even lately I've been slowing down on what I watch. I'm also actually pretty subdued in my interests unless I'm online or with friends - I would never admit to liking anime to anyone that's not a friend in real life.

But yeah, the people who love the panty shots and cool baka desu etc etc etc people... they are pretty bothersome to me. They carry the very obvious anime bags, and talk in broken Japanese. They're the sort of people I actively avoid at cons when possible. Yes, I really don't like them. But honestly, there's a group like that in most fandoms. Doctor Who gets a pretty bad rap because of "Whovians" nowadays, and some people really annoy me even though I really enjoy the show. Harry Potter fans can be the same, and the list goes on - anything that people are extremely passionate about but cannot hide in society gets called out on. That's when people recognize it as strange. I think anime has an extra layer added that the others don't because not only are fans very enthusiastic, but the product is animated AND from a foreign country often in another language. That makes the disconnect pretty big. The closest thing I can think of is the MLP craze, and that's not exactly looked highly upon either.

All in all, yes I dislike them. I wish people could be less enthusiastic with their interests in public and only share it anonymously online or with close friends, so that a bad rap doesn't start for the rest of us.

That said, I don't know many real weeaboos online or in real life. I hear of them, but I don't know many personally.

[Starry]

If someone enjoyed watching French films, French cuisine, etc. but didn't speak a lick of French, would you say they "ruined the reputation of enjoying French culture?" I would hope you don't. Same with other cultures or languages, including Japanese.

So what if some people really like anime, manga, etc, or think that it plays a big part of Japanese people's culture. Happens with almost every culture. I've seen plenty of people who think that baguettes, snails, and the Eiffel Tower are the biggest points of French culture, and while that is incorrect, coming from a family that actually is part of that culture, I wouldn't say that I hate those people for ruining anyone who wishes to partake in it normally. There are also people who think African culture is mostly lions and elephants, people from England are mostly tea and crumpets, etc. I would hope that no one thinks badly of those in well.

I guess, to make it short, the way I see it, is that it is only wrong if it's actually hurting/offending people. Weebs are people who are INTERESTED in Japanese culture, and want to be engulfed in that, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

For your point about ruining the rep about anyone else wanting to enjoy Japanese culture, there are much worse people that cold ruin it, and quite a few of them can be the Japanese themselves. Racists, homophobes, criminals, etc. are part of most, if not every, culture. That would probably a better reason for someone "ruining the people who want to enjoy that culture." People being weebs wouldn't exactly be the best reason.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, a bit tired.

EDIT: Also, what "offensive" names did you call them? 'Cause "weeb" isn't exactly as offensive as most other terms.

[Majorasfan]

I guess, to make it short, the way I see it, is that it is only wrong if it's actually hurting/offending people. Weebs are people who are INTERESTED in Japanese culture, and want to be engulfed in that, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

For your point about ruining the rep about anyone else wanting to enjoy Japanese culture, there are much worse people that cold ruin it, and quite a few of them can be the Japanese themselves. Racists, homophobes, criminals, etc. are part of most, if not every, culture. That would probably a better reason for someone "ruining the people who want to enjoy that culture." People being weebs wouldn't exactly be the best reason.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, a bit tired.

No, makes perfect sense to me. I think it's reasonable. And that's an important distinction to point out - there are very many people who are fans of anime, manga, etc and are interested in it. I wouldn't classify them as otaku or weeaboos though. I think those terms start coming into play when people aggressively shove their interests of a rather niche thing into the spotlight. I think when interested in something niche you have to have some level of tact, or people will assume the worst.

But another good point is "ruining the interest in Japanese culture". I should clarify my comments in my previous post were implied to be about overseas anime fandom and how they're seen by their own society. You're absolutely right, if we talk about ruining public perception of Japanese culture, I don't think the kawaii-anime culture is doing that. it makes them seem unique and odd. BABYMETAL is extremely popular worldwide and they thrive on that, etc. Again, I think it goes to social cues for this sort of thing. But yes, Japan's extreme xenophobia and other things are certainly worse for worldwide perceptions of the country. It also doesn't help that they are were global economic competitor fpr a while, so a lot of people started disliking Japan's success until the '90's.

[Bricktoad]

i don't really find this relatable, but I do agree that.. weeaboos are really what you can consider a worst case scenario. A school was visiting for a music fest the other week and a couple of kids from there were dressed as anime characters, a couple of my friends said "it's not Halloween yet".

Not a lot to say about this, I think that Japanese culture can be fascinating at times, as with any. I don't like how anime and whatnot can be easily what comes to mind first.

... An old friend of mine, and Quag's, had one major downfall. She tried too hard to live her life like an "anime character". Her actions were too... i'm missing the word, but they were too fixed on acting that way. It got really annoying, and honestly her judgment and the way she was received was awful. Negativity should go towards people who act like this, people who ******* act like life's an anime.

[Roxas]

i don't really find this relatable, but I do agree that.. weeaboos are really what you can consider a worst case scenario. A school was visiting for a music fest the other week and a couple of kids from there were dressed as anime characters, a couple of my friends said "it's not Halloween yet".

Not a lot to say about this, I think that Japanese culture can be fascinating at times, as with any. I don't like how anime and whatnot can be easily what comes to mind first.

... An old friend of mine, and Quag's, had one major downfall. She tried too hard to live her life like an "anime character". Her actions were too... i'm missing the word, but they were too fixed on acting that way. It got really annoying, and honestly her judgment and the way she was received was awful. Negativity should go towards people who act like this, people who ******* act like life's an anime.

This is exactly what I meant by my post.

[sonriopoby123]

why should you care about what others think. the only reason these people exist is because they dont care, if they did they wouldnt be the way they are. this goes for everything

so basically, anata wa BAKA

[Dragonite]

every fandom/identity is structured the same way: there are the people with no interest, the people with the mild interest, the people with the strong interest, and the otherworldly fanatics. And by "every," I mean "every." anime lovers, gamers, hipsters, sports chemistry nerds, the guy down the street with all the cars from the '50s, you name it. if you walk into an AP Literature classroom, you can very well start World War III over Catcher in the Rye vs Alice in Wonderland if you wanted to - I've witnessed plenty of these, and I didn't even take that class.

and there's nothing wrong with that. if you live and breathe the Ideal Gas Law and can talk about it all day, then good for you. If they scream and shout and yell any time you try and suggest that you like biology better, then that's their problem, not yours. If a group of biology lovers accuse you of witchcraft when you say you like chemistry, that's also their problem, not yours. concepts, likes and dislikes on their own are not inherently bad or good, nor will they ever be, and if someone else reacts badly to one that's something they control, not you. nobody "ruined" anything. I walk around in public with a short that says "dragonite" on the back; this has gotten a mixed reception. I don't especially care. The "pokémon is for babies" stereotype that's prolific in high schools has not "ruined" pokémon for me any more than the 2.4 billion views on Gangnam Style ruined the song.

tl;dr you can't control other people. if you stop having an interest in something because other people take it badly, you've done exactly what they wanted you to do and this benefits no one. if they're literally punching and kicking you over it,

speak with the god damn authorities.