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Not necessarily in the sense of making trips to go and stroke the horses etc like many people may do, but more in the sense of welfare for animals, and knowing the difference between right and wrong treatment of them.
I was extremely saddened to hear about a deer in Nara park found with a dark in it's neck, only 1 week from when I wrote about a young boy throwing stones at them.
What a sad and disgusting situation.
The deer here are so majestic and peaceful.
I can think of no reason why anyone would want to do that, other than because their lives are seriously lacking.
Many years ago in Nara, the penalty for killing a deer (even accidentally!) was DEATH.
And while this may seem severe (of course the law has been changed now) perhaps a deterrent like this is needed for these idiots.
Either that - or for me to patrol Nara park at night in a superhero outfit :-)
In all seriousness though, this is a very sad and shocking scene, and hopefully one which is not a sign of things to come.
With the incident on the Shinkansen recently (that I'm sure you all heard about on the news), and then these two incidents right on our doorstep, I have to say that I don't know what the world is coming to.
On the positive side - out of almost 1 year in Japan, and many other trips to this wonderful country, this is the first negative thing we have witnessed, and is a long way better than I would expect in many other places.
I really feel that education is a key factor here.
Education for the young people of course, but also older people as well.
If people really believe that these actions are OK, then it just goes to show how corrupted their minds must really be.
Despite all of this, I am optimistic for the future.
And if it all goes 'tits up' (British idiom) then at least there are hundreds of incredible mountains for me in Japan to find solace on :-)
Have a peaceful weekend everyone.
David
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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!
If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:
https://www.instagram.com/pb_fitness_zen_yoga/?hl=en - My personal page
or
https://www.instagram.com/thisnihonlife/ - The travel page for my girlfriend and I
Please check out my lessons if you are interested in learning real, authentic British English, or have an interest in Yoga, healthy eating or general health and fitness.
Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student
David
Jun 23, 2018
'Uh oh' I need to keep watching incase something happens. The man walked over to a tall tree and pulled some leaves down and fed the deer, then sat with it, stroking it and talking to it. What a wonderful scene! Not often we talk about the good things in life, but this made me smile. My instant reaction (based on fear and negativity!) was that he would hurt the deer, but in fact he was kindly offering it food and time. How wrong I was!
David
Jun 23, 2018
Thank YOU for your opinion Yoko! I really enjoy this interaction and discussion! :-)
P.s - Today's positive news - Yesterday the weather was BEAUTIFUL. There were lots of baby deer in the park, happily interacting with their families and the tourists. We sat in a very quiet part of the park to have a picnic and watched a deer creeping up on a man who was typing on his laptop. The deer scared him and the man stood up. My instant reaction was that he would harm the deer, so I started to think
Yoko
Jun 23, 2018
I agree with you, David. We should make more effort to build the 'Good News Channel' which reports Good News only... Yes, in this word, there are so many nice
people who accumulate good deeds in return for nothing. Thanks for your opinion!
David
Jun 23, 2018
It's true Yoko - but the crime rate in Japan is still FAR lower than in many western countries for many common areas like burglary, assault and murder. There were some areas which Japan had surprising rates of crime (fraud, groping of women on trains etc) but this is nothing I have personally witnessed, whereas I have been the victim of crimes in London before, including an unprovoked assault on myself at a train station.
David
Jun 23, 2018
countries wanting to take advantage of us.
It is this fear that makes us put bigger locks on our doors (or a WALL around your country!). It makes us scared to interact with other races, and instead blame them for actions that they didn't even commit. It makes us PARANOID of things that haven't actually happened yet, which in turn leads to isolation and hatred.
Yoko
Jun 23, 2018
to such a Japan-phile person like you, but I wanted to inform you that the crimes in Japan nowadays are as horrible as those in western countries and the true reasons behind those unbelievable crimes are very complicated and hard to infer.
David
Jun 23, 2018
report negative news, as this sells. I just wish for one day they could report all of the wonderfully positive things happening in the world! Just imagine.....attitudes would be so different. I often talk about 'Fear and love' being the two strongest emotions (I have a column coming out about this soon!) and I feel that it is this negative news that turns us towards fear. Fear of our neighbours, fear of immigrants in our country, fear of people wanting to steal what is ours, fear of other
David
Jun 23, 2018
Haha you do not have to apologise Yoko! You know personally how I feel about Japan. I truly believe that this is the most wonderful country, full of such kind and caring people, beautiful nature and a very high quality of life. I have visited over 30 countries, and despite a life full of adventure and exploration - nowhere has resonated with me quite so much as Japan. I was discussing this with another student (regarding the Shinkansen incident and dart fired at the deer) - the media will always
Yoko
Jun 23, 2018
Thank you very much for your kind explanation about the phrase. It has very interesting story about the origin. I can assume the story from the vulgar meaning of tits (=breast).. and now I can make a clear picture of the British phrase 'tits up.' Also thanks for the meaning 'stroke' Oh, it means to pet?, touch gently ? Sometimes in English, simple and easy words have many different meanings and this is the hardest part of our study. David, sorry to keep telling you the dark news of Japan,
David
Jun 23, 2018
no emotion, no sign of any indifference. A 'TRUE' psychopath.....
David
Jun 23, 2018
'W' - possibility resembling a pair of breasts. So this would happen when the planes were going to crash or perhaps have an accident due to this problem.
I only learned the origin of this myself this morning due to do you asking me! So there you go. A very commonly used British phrase, which perhaps has vulgar origins!
Very sad situation indeed. I have no idea why anyone would want to do this, but what struck me was how 'calm' he looked when he was being handcuffed and taken away. No remorse,
David
Jun 23, 2018
it is totally 'IMMORAL' and 'PHILOSOPHICAL ILLOGICAL' (in my opinion and that of many). As for 'tits up' - this is a phrase we use to describe a situation turning very bad. The believed origin of this phrase is as follows :This is a 20th century phrase, probably of military origin. It has been suggested that the term derives from the behaviour of aeroplanes' altitude indicators, which turn upside down when faulty and display an inverted
David
Jun 23, 2018
Good morning Yoko! By 'stroke the Horses' I mean LITERALLY, going to 'stroke horses' like many young girls and animal lovers love to do in the west. They may make a special journey to go and see horses and stroke them (British English term for 'petting' them). This is something that I don't have a lot of interest in personally, despite being an animal lover! My view on not killing animals for food, clothing and entertainment stems not because they are 'CUTE' but instead because
Yoko
Jun 23, 2018
The Shinkansen incident is completely horrible. We all have the biggest sympathy and compassion for the young Japanese man who bravely tried to confront the danger and was killed by the criminal. But my question is why the criminal had been so desperate to do such a random killing at that time. I felt the same way when the unbelievable massive killing was done in the home for the disabled by the former staff of the organization. 19 people were killed at this time and this is just 2 years ago.
Yoko
Jun 23, 2018
David, I'm not sure of the expression that you used in this column. It is 'stroke the horses' in the 2nd line. Is that British idiom too? Will you please explain it to us ? And, 'tits up' , which is the 2nd line from the last, means 'fail' or 'end' or something like these? This expression is quite new to me. British people casually use it?