Censor This

I've been censored.

One of my presentation handouts (actually an 8-page booklet) has been deemed inappropriate by the powers-that-be. The reason? My statements diverge from the "official line". In a segment of my presentation, I explain the Japanese societal structure "tateshakai" by comparing it to the military chain-of-command (from my 'experience' in 4 years of JROTC). I'm gonna run with that here. My booklet writes about various challenges faced by us grunts on the ground, and offers suggestions and information to combat these problems. According to the official line, these situations leading to problems aren't even supposed to be allowed to exist. Same old song, 'uninformed' bureaucrats sitting behind desks making blanket statements like "we don't torture" when.. and I'm gonna shut up right now.

Bottom line is that the official view on how things 'should be' does not reflect what actually happens. A child knows this. The higher-ups do too, but conformity to a reference statement (that we don't have easy access to) moderates the orderly status quo. And it's not that they are pretending the problem doesn't exist - I get the distinct feeling they know exactly what's going on. It just can't be written about, lest it be taken seriously. Change will be instituted. Traditional values will disintegrate. Babies will be born out of wedlock. But honestly, if I can't discuss relevant issues, the seminar loses it's value. I said as much.

Compromise! Yay! I can leave in the situations, but can't detail how to deal with them. I can talk all I want, but nothing can be distributed in writing. Well, that won't work either, because I don't want to waste 70 minutes playing fill-in-the-blank. They are worried that my booklet will be read and given weight out of scale with the authority of it's author. This is despite lengthy disclaimers and the basic fact that I'm the one handing it out, and no-one takes me seriously anyway.

I do sympathize. I see how putting a spotlight on things that shouldn't be happening can cause problems. For example, some people got vacation for Obon and some didn't. When this was brought up, the entire ken was knocked into the official line that no-one gets Obon. Also, my section on the conflicting roles of our program is in hot contention now, and as my superiors in the tateshakai, they might have to answer for what I say. So I agreed to edit my document to be as innocuous as possible, and resubmit it.

He said, "But that's a lot of work, isn't it?"

I think that was the most offensive part of this whole situation. That they really don't have a high opinion of us. We're a bunch of lazy children. The shadow of 'more work' would be enough to dissuade us. Now, I have no illusions that my booklet will bring drastic change. I don't think I possess valuable knowledge and that my words are manna to succor my wandering brethren. I'm not even saying it's any good. I'm just coming up against the attitude, and I just think a lot of problems arise because they refuse to acknowledge in an official capacity the disparity between rule and practice. I actually welcome the edit- kencho going over it with a fine-toothed comb means lends weight- and dare I say- credibility to whatever makes it out the other end.

Oh, for 30 hours in a day! I have a lot on my plate right now, and the cold I caught shakin' it in little more than a sarong and my hair is cutting into my productivity.