4 ms·

> vandalism is generally explained as a response to a social hierachy Japan is even more hierarchical than the US. Their vending machines are fine.

m4rtink 5y ago
You would thinks so! But one time in the middle of Shinsekai in Osaka I've seen a trash can for drink cans full of regular trash - oh, the horror! ;-) On related note, Shinsekai is nice - it remainded as a bit of back home & the hostels there are super cheap. :-)
bloqs 5y ago
This is a canny observation, but not entirely complete. Japan has incredibly low unemployment, even lower rates of juvenile delinquency, homelessness and drug abuse. "Being more hierarchical" isn't really meaningful if you look at the core differences. The West is far more severe in its application of competitive consumerism, where inequality is supposed to act as a motivator.
handrous 5y ago
I think the answer might be that the lowest large portion of their society—aside from some marginalized groups and outliers, talking the broad base of their social pyramid—is their working class, not something else even lower. There's enough affinity or in-group feeling among the working class that it's not divided into a whole bunch of categories, with some very low ones indeed that are very clearly and visibly way under the top of that stratum, but into a smaller set that still consider each other fairly similar and "one of us", for where-am-I-on-the-social-hierarchy purposes. (pure speculation)
heurisko 5y ago
It could be that the relevant thing is the absolute position of the lowest rung of the hierarchy. In that case, the lowest rung of Japanese hierarchy could still be much higher than that in the US.
- porknubbins 5y ago
  I’m not convinced social heirarchy/inequality causes vandalism as much as bored teenage deliquents do. I can’t picture a bunch of tired fast food workers who can’t wait to get off their shift and smash a coke machine or tag walls. Having lived in Japan my theory is that there is a much tighter social fabric and there is always someone watching. Japan has plenty of delinquents but there is always a slightly higher more responsible delinquent to go “hey idiot vandalism isn’t cool” (or a nosy neighbor to call the local cops who will find the perps family. And the ostracism can be instant and brutal in a way that isn’t really even possible in middle class America because we do not rely on the social fabric or reputation anymore since we are a fairly low trust society.
WastingMyTime89 5y ago
Japan unemployment rate is 2.97%. They are basically gifting jobs to people who would be left behind in the USA. It's easier to have a peaceful society when nobody feels excluded from it.

m4rtink 5y ago

You would thinks so! But one time in the middle of Shinsekai in Osaka I've seen a trash can for drink cans full of regular trash - oh, the horror! ;-) On related note, Shinsekai is nice - it remainded as a bit of back home & the hostels there are super cheap. :-)

bloqs 5y ago

This is a canny observation, but not entirely complete. Japan has incredibly low unemployment, even lower rates of juvenile delinquency, homelessness and drug abuse. "Being more hierarchical" isn't really meaningful if you look at the core differences. The West is far more severe in its application of competitive consumerism, where inequality is supposed to act as a motivator.

handrous 5y ago

I think the answer might be that the lowest large portion of their society—aside from some marginalized groups and outliers, talking the broad base of their social pyramid—is their working class, not something else even lower. There's enough affinity or in-group feeling among the working class that it's not divided into a whole bunch of categories, with some very low ones indeed that are very clearly and visibly way under the top of that stratum, but into a smaller set that still consider each other fairly similar and "one of us", for where-am-I-on-the-social-hierarchy purposes. (pure speculation)

heurisko 5y ago

It could be that the relevant thing is the absolute position of the lowest rung of the hierarchy. In that case, the lowest rung of Japanese hierarchy could still be much higher than that in the US.

porknubbins 5y ago
I’m not convinced social heirarchy/inequality causes vandalism as much as bored teenage deliquents do. I can’t picture a bunch of tired fast food workers who can’t wait to get off their shift and smash a coke machine or tag walls. Having lived in Japan my theory is that there is a much tighter social fabric and there is always someone watching. Japan has plenty of delinquents but there is always a slightly higher more responsible delinquent to go “hey idiot vandalism isn’t cool” (or a nosy neighbor to call the local cops who will find the perps family. And the ostracism can be instant and brutal in a way that isn’t really even possible in middle class America because we do not rely on the social fabric or reputation anymore since we are a fairly low trust society.

WastingMyTime89 5y ago

Japan unemployment rate is 2.97%. They are basically gifting jobs to people who would be left behind in the USA. It's easier to have a peaceful society when nobody feels excluded from it.