Why Loving Japan isn’t Wrong

Okay, this post is a bit more serious. I wanted to address something that’s been in the news a lot and that I’ve heard a lot of controversy on. If you don’t already know what I’m talking about, it’s the tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear power plant problem inJapan.

I’m a frequent visitor of deviantart.com (it’s my home page, actually), and right after the quake, all sorts of art popped up expressing support and grief forJapan. Pretty much right away people started complaining. You’ve probably heard it, right? “You just care because that’s where you get your [insert fandom here] from, you weaboo,” or some other similar sentiment.

As a video game and anime fan,Japanis pretty close to my heart. And I’ll admit, one of the first things I thought about (besides the safety of my close friend there and the Japanese people in general) was whether or not my favorite mangaka were safe and whether they’d get a chance to finish their stories.

I think both sides have valid points—it’s right for me to care about Japanbecause I have personal connections to it, but it’s also right that it’s wrong to care about Japanonly because of my personal connections to it.

But the reality is this: there will always be countries (and people and animals and things) that we are more attached to than others. I love Americabest, cuz that’s where I live. I love my friends and my dog best, because I see them every day. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I love other countries and people and dogs less.

The wonderful thing about love is this: you don’t ever have to run out of it. There won’t ever be a cap to how many people I can love.

So yes, I am more concerned for Japanthan I might be concerned for another country. I would be even more concerned for America. That is the nature of being attached to things. But that doesn’t make my love any less valid, it doesn’t make me a terrible person, and most importantly, it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t care as much if it was another country.

We all need to learn to love more, and condemning people for caring any amount is not the way to do it.  

 

~ by astarakki on May 4, 2011.