STOP THE PETITION TO BAN ANIME!!! · 10:09pm Jun 6th, 2015
Help stop the petition to ban anime! George King's post is similar to the closed minded, bigoted rants I hear from small sect extremist groups, like ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the WBC.
Here is a well thought out reason for signing by someone:
I believe this petiton needs to be removed because the grounds on which this petiton based is completely biased and ungrounded. Judging an entire community as "fat and smelly" is hardly justification for asking all anime to be banned.
I am a long standing fan in anime for over 20 years. The individual who created this petiton has only a biased view of the community. Treating an entire community as a plague on society simple because they are fans of anime is justification enough to ban anime? I'm sorry but that would do more harm than good. Billions of dollars would be lost and the economy would suffer. Importing anything creates jobs and puts money in economy through the buying and selling of merchandize. Think about it, importing anime is more than just bringing over a few DVDs from Japan. Countless hours goes into translating, producing and publishing it. If anime was banned their would be less jobs for people such as voice actors, writers, producers, publishers, translators, editors, costume designers (like myself), artists (like my best friend), animators, video game designers, and so forth. Putting aside economics for a moment let's talk about their justifications.
1: Anime fans are commonly fat, lazy unemployed individuals who smell (yah that's what they said).
False: while it is true that their are fans who fit into this category this issue exists everywhere in the world in every community. So how does banning fix this issue all over the world when what causes it is a far greater problem? The vast majority of my friends are members of the community or similar communities and have been in it for some time and among these friends I can count people from all walks of life including animators, artist, air force traffic control, nano technologist (my sister) teachers, small business owners (Monopolatte Ottawa ON in case you don't believe me, the owners name is David Narbaitz google it), government workers (secretary, security and mail office), horse trainer, chefs, and much more. Out of my circle of friends their is only one person I can think of who is unemployed however this is be a use she is a stay at home mom and her husband is a Chef at Carelton and can afford to support her and their daughter.
2: Anime encourages people to be unhealthy and unhygienic.
False: While I myself can account myself for being overweight I am not obese or unhealthy and neither is the vast majority of fans. It is true that their are those who are obese saying that anime encourages obesity is not only preposterous but a slanderous stereotype that man fans work hard to avoid. Many fans cosplay, a term we use to describe the act of dressing up as a character and attending events. Anime is largerly Japan based and Japan has very strict rules for weight (so strict that one can be fired for being overweight because it is considered a work health issue) and very few anime characters are depicted as being overweight, because many cosplayers strive for accuracy in their costumes many will undergo training regimens to lose weight and build muscle tone so that they can represent the character in question accurately. While it is true that not everyone does this (myself included) saying anime encourages obesity couldn't be further from the truth. Moving on to the second part of this.... Hygiene wise it is true that convention go-ers do suffer from this but the vast majority of those who suffer from what we call con-funk tend to be youths who are new to the community and have yet to learn the ever important 5-2-1 (5hrs sleep, 2 snacks or one decent meal, and 1 shower per day) rule of conventions. Outside of conventions I have yet to meet a fan who has poor hygiene.
3: Anime Encourages Social Ineptitude
False: I can assume this is largely directed at youths (14-20). At such a. age that is to be expected as they have so much going in their lives. However I still argue that is false as while anime is stereotypical seen that way it is what also can encourage fans to seek out other like minded people and bond with them creating a sense of community. It did for me anyways. Growing up I was a socially awkward child who sat at the back of the classroom quietly drawing anime. It wasn't until I discovered cosplay and dawned the mask of another that I was able to truly see myself. Their is a famous saying that goes "Give a man a mask and he will show his true face" I believe this quote truly exemplifies the fans who are struggling with their identity and social needs. As youths you have a lot to learn about the world and about yourself and its only when you pretend to be someone else do you truly find out who you are. For me it helped me go out, see the world meet new people and eventually launch my own career.
4: Anime Encourages Sexual Perversion
Plausible: Anime is known to have over idealized woman and sexual scenes especially of woman and while I can justify part of it given what Japan's community is like we are talking about the western world so here we go.... PORN is going to happen! That's a fact of life. Humans like all animals are sexual creatures and despite our best efforts we will never erase our baser primal urges. No matter where you go in life their is going to be someone who thinks of something in a sexual way, so get over it. Fetishes exist everywhere and for pretty much everything, saying anime encourages it is just silly because being alive encourages sexual perversion. Again I say this, we are HUMAN. Its just a matter of how you conduct yourself is what is going to separate you from your dog who likes fucking the pillow. Sex is in everything and exists everywhere as the famous saying goes "Sex Sells," its just what you do with it that matters. Me personally? I think its unnecessary and distracting yet unavoidable because that's just the way humanity vastly works as a whole.
5: Anime Encourages Pedophelia
Plausible: See above.... that said their are sickos and creeps in every walk of life, why pick on just one community when the problem is much bigger than that? Pornography itself is to blame not anime. But so long as humans are living and breathing and so long as the internet still exists so will pornography and the weird dark places of the internet that few dare to venture.
In short while I can understand where they are coming from their justifications are biased and lack evidence. I however will gladly provide case reports, statistic, community surveys, and whatever else you like because I WILL put the time and effort I to properly researching it and anything else rather than making biased petitions like this which try to present the community in an unfair way.
And here is another one:
I completely disagree with this George King, he is biasedly listed only negative views and he is completely neglecting all the good that can come from anime; it’s great for all ages, Many anime shows have distinctive art styles that incorporate colors in beautiful and vibrant ways. Being exposed to all of these colors regularly can positively impact your mood, You learn a little bit about Japanese culture regardless of what anime you are watching, and if you watch the subbed versions of anime (the version in Japanese with English subtitles), you can also learn phrases and single words in Japanese. Despite the rather unrealistic nature of most anime, many shows teach viewers a lesson or explore at least one major thematic issue central to human existence. Of the core concepts discussed in anime, friendship is often one of them. Many shows place emphasis on how rare a truly good friend is, and this makes many anime nerds really appreciate the good friends they have. One of the best parts about watching anime is how often a show can surprise you. Sometimes for the better; sometimes for worse. But if anime nerds know one thing, it’s that anything is possible.Not only is it pretty easy for anime nerds to be open to making new friends, but the community of anime fanatics is actually quite large, even in the U.S. alone. This makes it really easy to find new people you have a lot in common with. One final reason that anime nerds are highly satisfied in life is cosplay. Cosplaying is when you dress up like a character from an anime, comic book, movie or even a TV show. It’s kind of like dressing up for Halloween, except whenever you feel like it.
Cosplaying can lead to greater life satisfaction because it’s typically done with other, like-minded people at large conventions. Not only does this facilitate a sense of togetherness and community, but it’s also just a ton of fun.
My signature:
I am signing this petition because George King's post is similar to the closed minded, bigoted rants I hear from small sect extremist groups, like ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the WBC.
He sees us otaku as a blight on society and yet he posts a song on here that has multiple uses of the word "nigger" telling "spear chuckers" to "go back to Africa."
Who exactly is the blight on society? Us, who do such harmless things as dress up as our favorite characters (Captain Okita, Uchuu Senkan Yamato and Captain Harlock), or him, who spouts racist lyrics.
Who is the real monster here?
signed.
i don't see the original petition doing anything because of 2 reasons.
1: Anime is a culture and one of Japan's biggest economy's. to ban Anime is to severely cripple Japan's, and the world's, economy.
and 2: he's asking 1000 people to sign it. 1000 people. that's 0.000000000000000000000000000001% of the worlds 8 billion population. that won't hold up in the UN.
I don't think any sort of entertainment medium should be banned even though I hate anime. Shit is retarded. And while some of you guys aren't like those weeaboos, a sizeable portion of you are. There's enough of them to give the rest of you a very bad name. Just like bronies. That alone should give you a glimpse into how the average person perceives you guys. Fair? Not really. But that's how it is. This George King guy sounds like an asshole for sure, but he's not a bigot. He has reasons as to why he hates the medium. You even admitted this by acquiescing the validity to some of his generalizations. And honestly...are we going to label everyone with a strong opinion these days a "bigot" just because we don't like what they have to say? That's a bit dramatic, yes? The guy is just an opinionated troll who says racist shit for laughs, because he knows people like you will take him too seriously. Nonetheless, it's pretty jackbooted of him to try banning something that isn't to his taste...if he's serious. Kind of a dick move, albeit only if the guy doesn't know that a petition signed by 1000 people doesn't mean shit to anyone anywhere...because then he's either irredeemably fucking stupid or he's trolling. Meh.