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Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

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Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#41

Post by thrownaway954 »

“I thought I was a strong person,”But when you end up alone you feel very lonely.”

BOOM right there... Loneliness and isolation causes people to do weird and desperate things. If you're lonely and isolating it might be time to join a group or get a pet. There are thousands upon thousands of groups everywhere and online (though meeting in person is preferred to combat the isolation part).

Personally I see these types of "industries" as predatory... they are no different from the snake-oil salesman selling a dying man a cure for cancer.

Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#42

Post by coldtea »

aclimatt wrote: post #33
sdrothrock wrote: post #19

This is a repost of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16927649 from two weeks ago. So in that vein, here's my comment on that one: Getting a little tired of these showing up. Yes, these services exist, yes some people use them, and yes, it's totally "weird Japan." But no, they're not anywhere NEAR mainstream. I think using the word "industry" really makes the reader think it is and imagine a huge, dysfunctional so…

I'm not sure how that's relevant. As others pointed out, even if it's very niche, it still exists. Yes, there are a number of articles fetishizing all of the "weird" aspects of Japan and perhaps in some way making them seem pervasive to people who haven't visited, but this article is doing absolutely none of that. (And even if it were, that's not the point.) I'm going to gather you didn't make it past the first few p…

>I'm not sure how that's relevant. As others pointed out, even if it's very niche, it still exists.

It still exists in the US too. So there's that.

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/rentafriend-lets-buy-frien...

Besides, no information makes sense in isolation. Knowing that X exists or Y happened doesn't say much, if anything at all.

Why it exists, how prevalent it is, etc, is far more important.

"People eat dead babies in Finland" doesn't say anything -- it's actually downright misleading.

But:

"Two weirdos satanists pals stole a stillborn baby from a hospital in Finland and ate it" put things in the right perspective.

(P.S The Finish story never happened -- it's an example).

Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#43

Post by coldtea »

anonthu2018 wrote: post #38
aclimatt wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure how that's relevant. As others pointed out, even if it's very niche, it still exists. Yes, there are a number of articles fetishizing all of the "weird" aspects of Japan and perhaps in some way making them seem pervasive to people who haven't visited, but this article is doing absolutely none of that. (And even if it were, that's not the point.) I'm going to gather you didn't make it past the first few p…

I think adding perspective is extremely relevant. If I did not read sdrothrock's comment, I really would have a completely different view of Japan and Japanese society. I often feel a lot of these Western articles on various Asian cultures to be quite disingenuous. The point of the article is entirely different if this was a common occurrence in Japanese society versus it being based on a tiny, niche, that affects le…

>I often feel a lot of these Western articles on various Asian cultures to be quite disingenuous.

Half of it is people that haven't lived abroad, and are not familiar with different cultures (or are only shallowly familiar) not being able to image a different way of life and set of values as "normal".

Another half of it is media wanting to paint a story such as that is larger and more impressive than it actually is.

Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#44

Post by coldtea »

stcredzero wrote: post #22
sdrothrock wrote: post #19

This is a repost of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16927649 from two weeks ago. So in that vein, here's my comment on that one: Getting a little tired of these showing up. Yes, these services exist, yes some people use them, and yes, it's totally "weird Japan." But no, they're not anywhere NEAR mainstream. I think using the word "industry" really makes the reader think it is and imagine a huge, dysfunctional so…

You don't have to imagine. Just look at the coverage of dog eating in Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat_consumption_in_South_... Yes, these services exist, yes some people use them, and yes, it's totally "weird Korea." However, this practice is sharply declining in the younger generations.

Not to mention that there's nothing "weird" about it.

Some areas eat frogs, others don't. Some areas eat squirrels, other don't. Some areas eat snails, other don't. Some areas eat horses (including major places like Italy) other's don't.

Some areas eat dogs, other's don't, and that's not just limited to Korea -- it happens throughout the globe:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat#By_region

Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#45

Post by stcredzero »

coldtea wrote: post #44
stcredzero wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to imagine. Just look at the coverage of dog eating in Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat_consumption_in_South_... Yes, these services exist, yes some people use them, and yes, it's totally "weird Korea." However, this practice is sharply declining in the younger generations.

Not to mention that there's nothing "weird" about it. Some areas eat frogs, others don't. Some areas eat squirrels, other don't. Some areas eat snails, other don't. Some areas eat horses (including major places like Italy) other's don't. Some areas eat dogs, other's don't, and that's not just limited to Korea -- it happens throughout the globe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat#By_region

Really, eating octopus should be considered like eating a dog or a dolphin. Those things are scary smart!

Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#46

Post by coldtea »

stcredzero wrote: post #45
coldtea wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention that there's nothing "weird" about it. Some areas eat frogs, others don't. Some areas eat squirrels, other don't. Some areas eat snails, other don't. Some areas eat horses (including major places like Italy) other's don't. Some areas eat dogs, other's don't, and that's not just limited to Korea -- it happens throughout the globe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat#By_region

Really, eating octopus should be considered like eating a dog or a dolphin. Those things are scary smart!

Scary tasty too!

Re: Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry

#47

Post by stcredzero »

coldtea wrote: post #46
stcredzero wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really, eating octopus should be considered like eating a dog or a dolphin. Those things are scary smart!

Scary tasty too!

My wife loves calamari, and orders it pretty much every chance she gets!
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