Django Wrote:There was 日本 and 外国. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have been asked in "In 外国 do you have this plant/animal/custom/noodle?" Not only may I not be in a position to comment on matters in my own country, but how am I to know in how many countries udon is available. Now I know that the questioner likely did not mean to test my general knowledge so severely, but that is part of the problem. With words like 外国、外国人 and 外人 in such common use it is easy to reduce the debate to a facile 'us' and 'them' opposition.

This has happened to me at least once or twice, and although right after the question was asked I did think about saying something like "how the hell would I know what goes on in the US and other foreign countries, I've never even been there!", I did hold back because it was an innocent question and I understood what she meant. The meaning was simply, in western culture/countries... does [this] happen/ do they have [this]?, and although I don't know a great deal about America or even mainland Europe for that matter, from her perspective I am an expert.

I also find that [my country] is often just referred to as 「向こう」, "Do they have such and such over there?".. I have definitely responded to this one with "where is 向こう again?"

I did a brief consultation with a native japanese speaker on the 外人　vs. 外国人

This is only one person's opinion, of course, but I was told:

1. that it was better to say 外国人
2. that 外人　has a negative connotation, especially depending on how it's said.
3. She thought pocketmonster --> pokemon and 外国人　--> 外人　were different. She thought of pokemon as an abbreviation but that 外人 and 外国人 were different (albeit related) words

Though I'm sure you can find many japanese with different opinions

I was once told that I wasn't allowed to stay at a hotel because "外国人の方" were not welcome. The proprieter explained this to me in the most polite way, with lots of bowing and keigo, as she shooed me out of the lobby.

I would have much preferred a vulgar front-desk clerk saying that 外人 are appreciated.

Words aren't racist, people are.

This being against Japanese law. Everyday refusal isn't against the law but refusal to hotels and baths is. If you want to let http://www.debito.org know about it i'm sure he'll be interested.

People be ignorant.
That's your default state when born, so it happens. I could let the occasional gaijin utterance bother me but eh?
How many Americans thought I'd be eating only sushi if I moved to Japan?
How about the high-school girl who asked me to teach her Japanese so she could order at a Chinese restaurant.
You can throw a hissy fit, or you can educate. That's basically it. Does the word gaijin bother me? Nah. I am a person from the outside. It happens. Now if you tell me to get out of the country, then I might get fiesty.
Like the hotel experience above, I just want to be treated fairly. Hell, you can call me a dirty ass mother fucker while you do it, if that pleases you so.